small trailer for expediting ?

[idtrans]

do any of you pull a small trailer with you to expedite with ? I have a 2007 united cargo tandem 16' trailer enclosed of course. I have thought of throwing some etrack in her to haul more freight. or at least open possibilities of getting better freight. of course if I have the trailer it does create a few headaches such as not as easy parking, sticking to main roads no getting around traffic jams easy. but it will also add more fuel expense.

The van I pull the trailer with is my 03 e350 diesel. I get around 17mpg if running light without putting my foot into the speed. and if real smart driving i get around 18.5 with trailer.

But the best part is I should be able to get freight easier to have less lay over time.


It's just a idea I am tossing around before I spend the $200 on etrack for the trailer.

Thanks ahead of time for your inputs on my idea.

 

[xiggi]

My guess is there is a reason you do not see people doing it already. I am sure you are not the first with the idea. What does the trailer weigh that is that much less freight you can legally haul than you could in the van alone.

 

[highway star]

You would need an "A" CDL as you'd be a combination exceeding 10k. I seriously doubt you'll find a company that would want something like that. A small straight truck makes more sense.

 

[LDB]

If I was going to pull a small trailer I'd rather have something like this.

Casita Travel Trailers - America's Favorite Lightweight Travel Trailers | Lightweight, Aerodynamic, Durable, Easy-to-Tow, High-Fuel Efficiency

 

[idtrans]

yes a camper trailer would be cool. but my trailer is a freight trailer. I would rather sleep uncomfortable and make more $$$ after all we are not out here driving for a road trip or scenic route! At least I am not LOL I am out here to move freight for $ . I did the scenic route crap already when I started driving a truck in 1995 drove many useless miles all over the usa for very low pay and saw all the usa. in 1997 I woke up and started making $ instead of teh scenic routes .

 

[Brisco]

You would need an "A" CDL as you'd be a combination exceeding 10k. I seriously doubt you'll find a company that would want something like that. A small straight truck makes more sense.

Incorrect......

Sorry, been a while since I posted, but this id guy made me "log in" today.

Trailer id is speaking of probably has 2 3500 lb axles underneath it, thus making it a 7K trailer. He would only need a Class A license if the GVCW of the trailer exceeded 10K, of which it doesn't, and if his combination weight exceeded 26K, of which it doesn't either. His '03 E350 Diesel is probably 9600 or 9900 GVWR. So add those 2 together, he's well under a 26K combination. He can run that Van-Trailer setup all day long with no CDL whatsoever.

 

[highway star]

I thought any combo required an "A" once you were in official commercial vehicle territory.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Incorrect......

Sorry, been a while since I posted, but this id guy made me "log in" today.

Trailer id is speaking of probably has 2 3500 lb axles underneath it, thus making it a 7K trailer. He would only need a Class A license if the GVCW of the trailer exceeded 10K, of which it doesn't, and if his combination weight exceeded 26K, of which it doesn't either. His '03 E350 Diesel is probably 9600 or 9900 GVWR. So add those 2 together, he's well under a 26K combination. He can run that Van-Trailer setup all day long with no CDL whatsoever.

Ok then why do the trailer haulers have to log and scale when delivering a trailer? and they must have the DOT number showing...it is on a cardboard display which they take out and convert back to normal P/U truck....

 

[greg334]

He will still have to log which he just as well get the right license and get into a real truck - 14 foot reefer.

 

[Brisco]

Ok then why do the trailer haulers have to log and scale when delivering a trailer? and they must have the DOT number showing...it is on a cardboard display which they take out and convert back to normal P/U truck....

HS didn't say anything about "logging and scaling", HS said you'd need a Class A license to pull this trailer with his cargo van, which was incorrect.

Yes, if the vehicle itself is above 10K, or the combination of vehicles is above 10K, then that driver would have to "log and scale". But that's not what said and not how I answered.

 

[Brisco]

And to further your education OVM, probably 75% of the retired RV/Trailer delivery guys do not have any type of CDL whatsoever, but yet they still "log and scale" every delivery they are on.

Example: A guy using a 12,200 GVWR Dodge Cummins Dually pulling a 31ft fully loaded 9500 GVWR bumper pull(TAG) RV Trailer IS required to "Log", to "Scale", to run with DOT/MCC #'s displayed, etc when running from Indiana to San Diego, but he is not required to have a CDL License at all.

It's all in the "weights" and "combination of weights" that is involved. Yes, his truck, the power unit, is over 10K, thus requiring him to "Log", but it's not over 26K, which would require at the very least, a Class B CDL. Now trailer he's pulling is under the 10K limit, which if it was over 10K, then a Class A license would be required. Now add both those GVWRs together, 12,200 + 9500 you get 21,700, leaving you well under 26K. No CDL requirements at all.

Need any more help understanding?

 

[greg334]

I just threw that in to confuse OVM, no other reason.

Yea one more thing, any money in pulling trailers across country?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

And to further your education OVM, probably 75% of the retired RV/Trailer delivery guys do not have any type of CDL whatsoever, but yet they still "log and scale" every delivery they are on.

Example: A guy using a 12,200 GVWR Dodge Cummins Dually pulling a 31ft fully loaded 9500 GVWR bumper pull(TAG) RV Trailer IS required to "Log", to "Scale", to run with DOT/MCC #'s displayed, etc when running from Indiana to San Diego, but he is not required to have a CDL License at all.

It's all in the "weights" and "combination of weights" that is involved. Yes, his truck, the power unit, is over 10K, thus requiring him to "Log", but it's not over 26K, which would require at the very least, a Class B CDL. Now trailer he's pulling is under the 10K limit, which if it was over 10K, then a Class A license would be required. Now add both those GVWRs together, 12,200 + 9500 you get 21,700, leaving you well under 26K. No CDL requirements at all.

Need any more help understanding?

Thanks for the info....

 

[idtrans]

Thats cool now we will see many guys pulling cargo trailers behind their vans now LOL. hey look at it this way a bigger trailer than a sprinter costs less than a sprinter and you can haul more in it also than a sprinter.

and yes my trailer is 2 3500lb axles when I pull trailer I don't drive fast to keep MPG up I get around 16 or so sometimes a little higher as long as not many hills and not to heavy of a load. but remember my e350 is a diesel that mpg would drop allot with a gasoline van with my big trailer.

 

[nightcreacher]

better get your own authority,don't think any of the companies are going to put you on with that set up.The fed has a guywith a tractor that pulls a refrigerated pup,but thats the only one I've ever seen

 

[Moot]

When Con-Way started up in 1996 they were using Ford E-350's and pulling enclosed trailers. That setup lasted about 5 or 6 months.

 

[idtrans]

just may have to do that now

better get your own authority,don't think any of the companies are going to put you on with that set up.The fed has a guywith a tractor that pulls a refrigerated pup,but thats the only one I've ever seen

 

[Brisco]

.....one more thing, any money in pulling trailers across country?

Simple one word answer, Nope.

It's a great thing to do if you want to see the country and have your expenses paid for, including your truck payment. But, if you've got a family of 4 to feed, a mortgage, and all that stuff, then No, it is not a career paying gig.

Yes, there are guys out there making a grand a week or so, but they're also running their tails off, illegally sleeping in their trucks, eating baloney everyday, and such. A life I wouldn't want to live.

Only way to make any decent money is with a "Haul & Tow" truck where you can deliver 2 trailers at a time, and have a car or 2 as a backhaul for extra money.

Here's a very POPULAR thread that shows exactly what a Haul & Tow is.
Haul and Tow Transporter Truck Build - Auto Expeditor Forums
This is the second truck this guy has built. First truck he built he ran it for less than a year before an 18 wheeler driver totalled it by running it over in a truck stop parking lot.

With his first truck, he did not have it set up to run cars as backhauls, but yet he cleared almost $23,000 in a 6 week period with it. With this new truck here, I foresee $15-$20K a month in hauls done very easily.

This is also the type of truck I was trying to get built last January until I ran into Obamas Socialist Regime rules and regs where banks refused to loan money to experienced drivers that have 800 credits scores and have jobs waiting for them when they get their equipment ready (truck built). Obama and the Dems would rather hand me unemployment money than letting the banks loan me money to build a truck that would bring me in $20K a month.

Yeah, Change is what Obama promised and change is what we got. Sad............

 

[Brisco]

Quick Picture of a H&T so you don't have to search through all 13 pages of the link above.

This is where the good $$$$ is to be made when hauling "trailers".

 

[idtrans]

thats a cool setup. now the trailer I pull is for freight. Now that I am working on getting into a straight truck I won't pull my trailer. And If I do get the straight truck I will try to find a good driver that will drive and take good care of my e350 diesel and work her good like she likes to be worked.