Would you pay to have something towed?

insanity · #1 04/20/06, 09:55 PM

I'm considering trading a 1/2 truck I'm not using for a 1 ton dually i will rarely use.But i will have a payment to make.So i got to wondering if maybe i could tow things for other folks for money to help with the payments.

I need it to pull a (7000Lb) 31 ft Airstream camper we bought last year.We rent a seasonal site on the lake so i just need to get it down there and back once a year.(Might move it around more if i buy a real truck.)My mom took it down there and brought it home for me last year but i hate to keep bothering them every year.I cant even get her to take gas money for the trip.

So the truck will be setting a lot,but steadily eating until its paid for.My wifes been talking on an Airstream forum and it seems every so often someone needs one picked up in one state and delivered to them in another.Got me to thinking maybe it could pay for itself and give me a little extra income later when/if i ever get to be fully homesteading.
What do ya think? Ever needed anything towed?
Guess i could stand on a street corner with a sign, Will work for truck payment.

I'm not talking about a new truck by the way.Not even half new.The one I'm looking at is somewhere around an 85 Chevy crew cab.Im still scared to ask how much it is.Im sure i cant afford it if the fuel tanks are full.

Boleyz · #2 04/20/06, 10:01 PM

We live in the Land of the Lawyers, and they will see to it that your liability risks would be too high.

You'd probably have to be licensed by the state and bonded, if you wanted to cover your backside.

If you ever had a wreck and destroyed a client's property, he's going to expect your insurance to pay for it...If your insurance discovers that you're running a towing "Business" without notifying them, they will refuse to pay.

Then, Guess who drives away in the 1 ton? Right...the customer...

50 years ago, it would have been a great plan...but not in today's "Lawyered Up" society...way too risky...IMHO

Gary in ohio · #3 04/20/06, 10:06 PM

Towing for money puts you into trunking, Know your laws and rules.

daytrader · #4 04/20/06, 10:08 PM

There are many drive away companies that you could lease the truck onto. The age may be a problem.

They generaly pay .85 a mile to tow a camper or boat. They are also paying .19 a mile fuel surcharge.

Some of them are part time gigs others are full time.

Obser · #5 04/20/06, 10:31 PM

Google "hotshot trucking"

Freeholder · #6 04/20/06, 10:45 PM

How about if you do it the other way around -- rent a truck on those rare occasions when you need to tow the Airstream?

And yes, I would gladly hire some towing -- I use my van for hauling hay, goats, building materials, and so on. Can't afford a pick-up, but could afford to hire someone to haul stuff for me once in a while.

Kathleen

uncle Will in In. · #7 04/21/06, 12:53 AM

The money you will spend for insurance and plates on the 85 will be much more than someone from the campground would charge to tow your trailer to and fro.

insanity · #8 04/21/06, 06:22 AM

Yea i figured on having the correct insurance.And also still need to check on the laws when towing from state to state and such.But i was thinking with it being limited in towing weight it wouldn't be to big of a problem.My most resent FIL moves things for others and does a lot of towing i figure he will have a lot of info for me.And also might need help from time to time.No i would not pay him to move anything,Ive seen how he drives.LOL Which is also the reason i don't really want anyone else to move my camper.We are redoing it right now.Though it will not be worth a fortune to others it will be to us do to the man hrs involved.
Humm leasing the truck out.I hadn't thought about that.

I figure ill get a little more use out of it than i let on.My wife has always wanted horses.And i might just give in if i can get a real truck.

Thanks Obser! I'm still reading on the topic.I couldn't find out anything on it a while back when i was looking.Kept finding car towing companys and big rigs with nothing in between.Ive always wanted to drive a Tractor Trailer but i dont think i have the mind set to be getting such a rig stuck hung in tight areas around some cities.But i could manage 30 to 40 ft.

I figure there might be plenty of folks needing tractors,machinery,and maybe even livestock moved around here.I see live stock trailers for sell cheap every so often and i can build a nice flat bed trailer myself.As i used to be a welder.

Obser · #9 04/21/06, 06:57 AM

Another thought. Those who hire people to tow loads are NOT favorable toward older trucks. Proposing to tow their property with a 1985 model will not be taken seriously.

pcdreams · #10 04/21/06, 07:10 AM

another thing to consider is if there is a storage place you could rent near the lake..

I got a friend that bought a older ford with a 460.. Cost him 180 to pull the trailer to and from the lake (about 50 miles each way).. He recently found a place that lets him store it there for $15 a month.. They got an inside location coming open soon that will run him $25...

If you could find something like that it would save you quite a bit.. Might even be able to hire him or someone else local to tow it to the campground for you..

Hoop · #11 04/21/06, 07:20 AM

You probably won't believe this but there is significant demand for towing (trailering) motorcycles to & from the big motorcycle Rallies (Sturgis, Daytona, Laconia, etc). Less than 1/2 of those in attendance at motorcycle rallies actually ride their motorcycles there in person. They are trailered there. The owners fly out to the Rally and rendevous with the motorcycles. They bop around for the week as "Pseudo" bikers and then catch a flight home.
Of course, if you plan on engaging in motorcycle transport, you'll need an enclosed trailer and a like new vehicle, along with very good insurance....as some of the custom motorcycles now sell for $150,000.

LiL OHNNL · #12 04/21/06, 07:34 AM

Check out this website it links people who need shipping with people who ship. Kind of like ebay for shipping. www.Uship.com I used one of these guys to ship my pick up from NY to NC. Worked out great for me and was cheaper then conventional shipping.
John

TedH71 · #13 04/21/06, 07:56 AM

I've been considering a business transporting dogs and cats. I know of a guy in either Wisconsin or Wyoming that does 2 trips per month (on weekends) and makes $4k per month!
He eventually quit and sold his business along with his customer list....not too sure about the horse towing thing tho.......

ericjeeper · #14 04/21/06, 09:57 AM

if that airstream is an older model, like mine.. In the brochure it shows it being towed with a car.. back in the early seventies, not many folks owned trucks.. only farmers and construction..so cars were doing the job that you feel needs to be done with a dually.
and in my opinion that 1985 truck will be a fuel hog and not reliable enough to do any cross country hauling.But maybe it is a really low miles chariot.
I have a ton truck and I hate the payment... try 775.00 a month for six years..but I know it is ready to go.. hitch her up and pull..
But why have a payment going out monthly to let it sit?
Wife drives ours daily.. we are constantly hauling with it.. Groceries and butts mainly..But when we do wish to hitch it up or slide the slide in camper into the bed it is ready to do the task. something a half ton can not handle.. hauling a 4,000 pound slide in unit in the bed. Takes a dually.
Even with the dually I am over the GVW by a couple hundred pounds./
I would sleep on it before buying anything.

Boleyz · #15 04/21/06, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericjeeper

I have a ton truck and I hate the payment... try 775.00 a month for six years..but I know it is ready to go.. hitch her up and pull..

I would sleep on it before buying anything.

$775.00 x 12 x 6 = $55,800.00 - Lot of $$ for a truck to haul mostly butts & groceries...

insanity · #16 04/21/06, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericjeeper

if that airstream is an older model, like mine.. In the brochure it shows it being towed with a car.. back in the early seventies, not many folks owned trucks.. only farmers and construction..so cars were doing the job that you feel needs to be done with a dually.

1975 SOV. here.
LOL yea Ive seen those pics to.But i haven't seen a camper that looked longer than 21ft hooked to a car in any pics.I don't think they would have recommended it.Plus lots of those old cars had big block engines and also out weighed the campers.My 85 half ton Dodge pickup weighs in at 5850lbs dry.But its not just a weight/safety issue.It will not pull it.Moans groans on asphalt and spins tires easily on very hard pack gravel.Takes about 1 1/2 miles to get up to 50mph With the sewage tanks in the rear full.LOL yes its just a 318 but it has Edelbrock performer cam/intake/600 4barrel carb so its gotta be pushing what say 180 hp.

A 1/2 or a 3/4 ton with a big block engine/lower geared rear end and atleast 6ply tires might pull it better but then id still have the weight issue.I was looking for a newer 4door F-250 (Fuel injection being a big plus!) as I'm sure it would pull it fairly well.But man those suckers are high,even with high mileage.It would have also been a daily driver for my wife.But then she reminded me she doesn't do well parking long wheel based vehicles.And then theres those gas prices.
A note on tires.Those old Vise ply tires they used back then must have been very stiff,6ply side wall or something.

Obser · #17 04/21/06, 06:37 PM

The old cars actually had a frame, unlike today's unibody construction.

insanity · #18 04/21/06, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obser

Another thought. Those who hire people to tow loads are NOT favorable toward older trucks. Proposing to tow their property with a 1985 model will not be taken seriously.

I had thought about that.When reading up on hauling for companies.If i thought i had a shot at that i wouldn't hesitate to buy a new one to give them confidence in my rig.I'm not much of a talker so my truck would have to be the one to make a good impression.

To every one.
I think most folks would think this one looks pretty good.Best looking one Ive seen in some time.I'm not buying a junker for goodness sakes.Its straight/ clean, looks to have been taken darn good care of.Has a few add on parts air dams/tubed grill/step rails.And the high dollar Alcoa wheels (Isn't that the name of them?) every one wanted back when.Doesn't look like it would leave you walking, coarse i haven't seen the mileage or heard it run yet. LOL

But i could pay this one off in a year.Rebuild the whole truck if i wanted to.
Or i could buy a new ugly truck on a 6year note.And not even be able to change my own oil or plugs.Humm

insanity · #19 04/21/06, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obser

The old cars actually had a frame, unlike today's unibody construction.

Yep kinda like a four door truck with a bed cover. LOL

insanity · #20 04/21/06, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiL OHNNL

Check out this website it links people who need shipping with people who ship. Kind of like ebay for shipping. www.Uship.com I used one of these guys to ship my pick up from NY to NC. Worked out great for me and was cheaper then conventional shipping.
John

Dang good site!Thanks
Shoot id move half the stuff they want hauled now. For just gas (with in reason) just to see new places.
But i noticed a boat right off the bat headed from here to WA lowest bid 2600! Hum sounds good to me as long as its value or my insurance didn't run to high.I gotta call my insurance company Monday!