Why no trailers??

[MrSheltie]

I see you guys running cargo vans with dinky little bunks, like living in a submarine.
Or a straight job that could be a lot more comfy if it bent in the middle.
Being new to the game, perhaps there is a reason I do not see them, but why wouldn't you use a trailer to do your runs?
Keeping a tow vehicle all yours for sleeping/living and the trailer for the cargo. This would also give you freedom of renting for a few days to repair or whatever.

Have any of you tried the trailer route? Is there a reason why you cannot?

Also, are some of you using 1/2 ton cargo vans??

 

[fastman_1]

1/2 Ton Cargo Vans, I'm sure there is 1 or 2 out there, but they can't carry the weight of the 3/4 or 1 ton, a trailer on a cargo van....do you wanna unhook at every pick up and drop off? in the rain, snow and cold? The bunk I had in my Cargo Van was the size of a twin bed.Folded up against the wall when loaded, and down when empty to sleep.

 

[MrSheltie]

Why would you unhook...ever? The point would be to keep the van for your living 1/4's and use the trailer for the cargo.

Am I missing something as to why this has not been done?

With good brakes and the right setup, I can load more into a trailer behind a 1/2 ton than any 3/4 ton van can carry.

I know it would not be as city friendly, but besides that, why not?

 

[60MPH]

He said use the the trailer for cargo, there are a few independents out here doing that but it puts your GCWR over 10,000 so you have to log. Unless you run under the radar i.e. no signs or anything like that (have met 2 doing this). As for the 1/2 tons I know of only one, he runs alot of airfreight that is not all that heavy. but if you are out here to make money then you need atleast a 1 ton imho!! As for the trailer/van set-up I have been kicking around the idea of getting a 14' enclosed trailer with pallet jack to tow behind my 1 ton van. I would be able to get non-dock high C truck freight which pays a better rate and stuff that is to tall/long for my current van. p.s. if you are leased onto a carrier then your chances of them letting you pull a trailer behind your van are very slim.

 

[Moot]

Con-Way Now tried pulling trailers behind cargo vans in 1996 with the idea of being able to haul more freight. These were company owned vans and trailers. After a few months the idea and the trailers fell by the wayside.

Was any E.O. member at Con-Way then? Does anyone remember this setup? I believe one of the company's early brochures showed a van with a trailer.

 

[fastman_1]

My Fault I mis read the thread, I've seen 1 ton Pick Ups pulling Enclosed Trailers with Frieght, but never a Van, my Guess would be the loss of mileage outweighs the benifit, Van freight don't pay that much.

 

[Moot]

Why would you unhook...ever?

I believe that is exactly the reason Con-Way Now sold off their trailer fleet. At least the trailers that were still salable. The drivers loaded several thousand pounds of freight in the trailer and nothing in the van.

 

[x06col]

Besides, a trailer weighing over 10,000# requires a class A, and loging. That eliminates the leekers out there that enjoy it under the radar. But, go ahead with your plan, an let us know how it works out. Believe it'll be some schooling for you.

 

[60MPH]

COL, I have a Class A. I would not run under the radar which means I know I would have to log, this does not bother me. I know I need to have more direct freight from the shippers than I do now to take the leap into buying a trailer. I have been kicking the idea around for the past year but have yet to get to serious because freight for me is to slow and a log book would make it worse as I only run solo. Now if I were to get out of expediting and into hotshot hauling, which I have contacts in. Then my set-up would be a Dodge 5500 with used truck sleeper and a 9' flat bed hooked to a 48' mini float trailer. With a 25,500 GCWR. So yes a log book but still no IFTA

 

[blizzard2014]

If y'all gonna have to log and all that, why not get back into a big truck and make you some real money? Oh, who is that fellar that you were saying drives a half ton cargo van? I bet his shocks and struts are all worn out!!

 

[MrSheltie]

I would not buy a 1/2 ton with this in mind, but add a trailer set up right to a 1/2 ton van with 400 in suspension mods and the proper tires and brake controller, it will haul as much as a 1 ton van and have larger area to do it in.

My 300/6 in my 91 E150 with the 5 speed hauls my car trailer with a van on it (6800 gross) without trouble. A tad over, but with the right cargo trailer, the weight could be kept legal with a 2500-3000 lb payload pretty easy.

That engine gets 21MPG empty, 16 with a car on the trailer.
I would guess a pretty solid 17 combined with a 6 foot wide low pro cargo trailer.
(You have to shift it on the hills, but if you compare it to a big rig, it has plenty of grunt for the hills.)

I just thought it would be a neat thing to try.
In the UK, a huge amount of freight is moved with a Ford Escort and a 80 HP micro diesel engine just like this one:
Yep, tiny tiny tiny

If a guy can use one of these with a FWD mini car running gear to move loads, why not see how to make a 1/2 ton chassis do it on USA roads.

 

[mjolnir131]

Besides, a trailer weighing over 10,000# requires a class A, and loging. That eliminates the leekers out there that enjoy it under the radar. But, go ahead with your plan, an let us know how it works out. Believe it'll be some schooling for you.

Actually i think the regs are an And/Or ... any vehicler over 10,000 or any combo vehicle so those hot shot pick-um-up should allhave to have a class A liceness i'm pretty sure they don't but they are suppose to

 

[60MPH]

I just read the DMV book to refresh my memory here is what is listed:

any trailer over 10,001 being towed commercially needs a class A ( even with a 1/2 ton van you still need the Class A)

so you can have a 1 ton van with a 9600GVW pulling a 10,000GVW trailer with no class A, but you will have to log!! (need class C)

now if you take a 1 ton van with 9600GVW and pull a 10,001 or heavier GVW trailer than you need to have a Class A.


one other thing I learned was that with a Class B is that you can drive a tractor with a GVW above 26,001 and still pull a trailer of less than 10,000GVW and still be legal. but the minute that trailer GVW goes above 10,001 then you need to have a class A.

Here's a link for PA look in the 2nd paragraph:
http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/driverLicensePhotoIDCenter/license_classes.shtml

 

[x06col]

Hmmm, I believe I typed that a few replies earlier.

 

[guido4475]

I see you guys running cargo vans with dinky little bunks, like living in a submarine.
Or a straight job that could be a lot more comfy if it bent in the middle.
Being new to the game, perhaps there is a reason I do not see them, but why wouldn't you use a trailer to do your runs?
Keeping a tow vehicle all yours for sleeping/living and the trailer for the cargo. This would also give you freedom of renting for a few days to repair or whatever.

Have any of you tried the trailer route? Is there a reason why you cannot?

Also, are some of you using 1/2 ton cargo vans??

Why would anyone want to add to the cost per mile to haul less than dollar a mile freight? If you like working for free,go for it.This here is a perfect example of big truck mentality versus expeditor mentality.Haul the freight with as little expense as possible.

 

[Turtle]

Hmmm, I believe I typed that a few replies earlier.

Most people missed it because it wasn't obfuscatedly shrouded in euphemistic code. It contained too much plain English.

 

[DannyD]

Mr Sheltie,

Some great Q's you ask. A lot of times I'm thinking along the lines you are & you've asked a Q that I had in mind too.

Ironic in that yesterday I was at a house that had the small camping trailer & wondered about having that on my van (I had read your Q wrong the first time also). I realized being up close to it that the thing weighed more than I had first thought so kind of crossed out the idea.

People dog ya but I think you're on the right track w/ the Q's you ask. That's how ya learn, so keep em coming if ya have one.

Anyway, as we get down to 60MPH's response, he gave me a GREAT idea!!! I can use my van & a trailer to get my CDL license. I'll have to practice a bit I'm sure, as long as they let me look backwards (they didn't when I just used my van, but that was ok) when backing in the trailer I'll be fine.

I'm a whiz at backing a jet ski into the lake. As a matter of fact a friend & I would often offer to help people who kept snaking it & then have to keep pulling up. We did this not cuz we're such nice people, but cuz these people who couldn't back in were holding up the lines.

Trailer rental = $19, CDL truck rental = $150. This post could very well have saved me $130. I'll buy the pizza if we ever meet.

As for your original idea. I like it. I'm not sure what my van can tow, but I'll have to look into it. The responses gave me some things to think about as a reason not to, but I'm at least going to take a look at the idea.

 

[transporter]

has anybody towed a 14 or 18 foot enclosed trailer with 4500 lbs of cargo? how many miles per gallon did you loose? I think this is the biggest thing to consider second would be insurance

 

[DannyD]

What my van could tow wouldn't be enough to make it worth it when ya factor in the weight of the trailer. I still like the Q's this guy asks & like how he thinks outside of the box. Also, it'll still save me over $100 for my CDL test as long as I'm allowed to look backwards.