Why I Quit Delivering Gravel
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- Today I am talking about a recent decision in my business to stop doing sand and gravel delivery with my dump trucks.
**EQUIPMENT USED**
Takeuchi TB285 Excavator
1992 Chevy Kodiak Dump Truck
**PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT**
GoPro Hero 11 Black w/ media mod
DJI Wireless Mic
Cardioid Boom Microphone Headset
Adobe Premiere Pro
MacBook Pro M3Pro Laptop
I feel like all I do is pay taxes and insurance, and you can't circumvent the insurance system as it was done in days past. I think some agents of the past pushed clients to disclose as little as possible about their business so they could write an affordable policy. I'm sure Insurance companies have paid out losses and have had to cancel people for not disclosing the full scope of their business and once an accident happens, all the details emerge. Company/person x should not have been using their dump truck or dump trailer (or you name the equipment) for paid deliveries or X services, otherwise, they would have been covered for x incident. That said, it is hard to remain competitive when you are "by the book" vs. "what can I get by with", and I see so many with the latter. I get quizzed every renewal season on what exactly I do with trucks, trailers and equipment (very annoying). Commerical insurance is extremely expensive, as is workers comp, if you have any employees and need it. All I can do is add that to the cost of the job and remind my customers I am fully/properly insured should something happen. Hence, why I am not the cheapest. A reality of being self-employed that most customers (or side hustlers) don't understand.
Well said sir. This perfectly encapsulates the dilemma of trying to do the right thing when so many around you choose not to. The irony is, we are paying into these systems that constantly feel like they are trying to put you out of business. Thanks very much for sharing this.
Insurance of any kind is off the chart expensive. Seems like every six months it goes up 10-25 bucks. I can understand why some people don’t have it. Good topic. Thanks for sharing and have a great week!!
Yeah, it's pretty ironic that your reward for paying and never filing claims is paying more. Have a great week!
Man! Sounds like you live in Romania :)) Everything is super complicated regarding paperwork, documents, and things like that. I quit doing a lot of things because of this paperwork madness. I wouldn't say I like it and the worst thing is that looks like is the same even on the other side of the planet :))
About the video :D You made me again to feel like I am doing the job with you and having a chat with a friend :)
PS - The end is crazy good :))
Thanks so much my friend. Sometimes you just have to pick your battles. Appreciate the feedback, I am hoping to be able to do more like this, it felt very natural to put together. Best!
Great video. Interestingly, now you realize how you were getting over on the system. I commented on another video questioning how you had "not for hire" and no DOT # on the side of your truck while delivering aggregate to customers
Yeah I am not really making the connection there. My DOT number was covered in previous video you commented on. It is a privacy thing. Thanks for watching :)
@@DirtAndRocks my pleasure
Good explanation. It’s so hard to build a sizable business with all these issues (by design I 100% believe). With my little business (small tractor work) I have what I do tailored to thread these needles. For me it’s a side gig type situation supplementing other income, but I would be so frustrated in your shoes. Thanks for another good one!
Thanks for watching and commenting, I appreciate it!
Thanks for sharing, your dilemma about insurance.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
I don't have a CDL. We have a 304 and 257 skid we move ourselves. We also have a 312 that we just pay to have it moved. All the materials come and go on jobs via subs. I'll never own and operate big trucks. I won't even buy a diesel pickup...too expensive to buy, operate and maintain
yeah it is a shame that you have to go to that much trouble. Thanks for watching!
Upstate NY here. I took my trucks off the road about 10 years ago. If the 2 trucks weren’t running every day they didn’t pay. I have a contractor move me and haul my materials. It can be an inconvenience at times, getting the equipment moved, but I would never have a truck on the road again. DOT inspections are the worst part. I had a NYS Trooper spend 40min trying to find a violation on a brand new truck, BRAND NEW! 60 miles on it. He gave us an unsecured load ticket for my drivers lunch box on the passenger side floor! The worst part the judge upheld it. $500 with surcharges. I had an overweight ticket once, had my driver go to a certified scale at the local truckstop immediately following the stop. Both the ticket at the quarry and truckstop indicated not overweight. The judge admitted the city’s portable scales were probably wrong, but he wouldn’t throw out the ticket. Pay it or go to jail for 30 days.
The worst was Millers Concrete, the local cement plant. They got pulled into an inspection about 1000ft from their plant with a full load of cement. The trooper put the truck out of service. They couldn’t get a wrecker to tow it back to the plant. Steve, the owner drove over to the stop and pleaded with the trooper to let them drive the truck back. The concrete got hard by the time the wrecker arrived.
that is truly horrific. I don't understand the point of making it miserable for people to try and make a living.... Thanks for sharing your story, I appreciate it very much.
Gotta love our insurance system 🤦🏼♂️. We have a similar setup to you with primarily excavating but we have a single axle dump truck too. The way my insurance rep explained it to me was; as long as the material I am hauling is owned by me “on my account at the gravel pit or haul off from one of my sites” then I am safe to get the lower rate.
Yeah that was basically the gist of what I got, with the caveat that the job had to be something more that just dumping material. Seems like they are just looking for ways to fence people into the higher rate. Thanks for watching!
@@DirtAndRocks sadly :(. The margins are so much better digging anyways 👍
Currently I use a dump trailer. I don’t haul much just to dump and go. A lot of wear and tear on my 2500 for slim margins. At a point a dump trailer is ineffective or would cost more than one dump truck. There’s a niche I been looking for, landscaping has been what I been staying busy with. I agree tho if the insurance won’t work with you, you’re gonna have to adjust your plan.
Yeah, we have the 14 foot dump trailer too, and it has a place in our fleet for sure. I think it is much more effective for brush and stuff like that, plus it is easy to load with pretty much any piece of equipment.
You are correct that the niche is key. And finding a niche that you truly enjoy is equally, if not more important than just finding one.
Thanks for watching!
I’m in Florida running a single axel 34700 gvw , not for hire through progressive about $1600.00 per year
that's not bad at all. Thanks for watching!
@@ChetHighnote-zo4jr I run a not for hire 1991 Chevrolet C70 Kodiak C7H042 6.6L. Progressive $321/yr. Weighted tags are the bigger expense.
Correction, my rate is 1065/yr
I had the same issue. The way I was told is at the end of the year that if it made up to 20% of your profit then you are in the clear. Unless you hauled a lot and didn’t work a lot with the machine then you would have an issue. But most times you would be fine.
Thanks for the info! Yeah, that was the gist of what they told me, but the agent was also pretty clear that the underwriter's goal is to try an find a way to work you into the higher rate if they can, so I just decided not to give them the opportunity. Appreciate you watching and commenting :)
@@DirtAndRocks it was a pain. I’m more excavation but would like to deliver stone here and there. That’s why I went and asked about it.
Overhead just keeps growing 😢.
yep, it is always a challenge....I have been thinking a lot about that kind of thing for future content.
My friend who has a wrecker service does non concent towing ( police towing ) has found it almost impossible to get a believable price for insurance .
Yeah it is going out of sight. I just cannot understand the logic of "let's make it harder for people to be in the business of doing things"
Buy and old car and next time the insurance guy ask for a load give them a big ass bill and when they ask why just when if we had insurance on the water tankers I woukd have been cheaper show up in a old willy jeep and 3 5gal buckets of rock tell them we'll have it done by next winter
ha, yeah for sure. Thanks for watching!
But u can still haul gravel for yourself?
yeah, as long it is a part of a job I am doing
It all boils down to money
sure seems that way! Thanks for watching
Getting harder and harder everyday to keep the money in our pockets.
10-4 on that... thanks for watching!
I've been through this years ago. If you bring material in as part of a job you are doing, you are not a for-hire carrier. You are saying "having other equipment on the job" Equipment on the job can be hand tools. If you tailgate a load of stone and dress it up with a shovel or a rake for 5 minutes, then you did a paving job. Personally I am a for hire motor carrier, just because I work my dumps for other contractors on occasion. But if I didn't sub for other large contractors, I would never have a MC number or the insurance required for the MC number
Yeah I think for me one of the nuances is I don't want to split hairs with the insurance company because at the end of the day, I am putting this stuff out on UA-cam, so its just a question of landing somewhere that there is no ambiguity about what kind of work I am doing. I did not get the sense that they would buy into the idea of "i raked it out" as being having equipment on the job. Thanks for watching!
@@DirtAndRocks You know around here I see a lot of dumps doing "for hire" work without any MC or PUC number. I've even seen a few with farm tags. Makes me feel like an idiot for going through the trouble of doing things right.
If you do get into the "for hire" game with your dumps, keep in mind that there are 2 types of operating authority. Intrastate, and Interstate. If you are not crossing state lines it is probably in your best interest to only get the intrastate. That is usually handled by your state's Public Utility Commission.
Here in Pa, if you only run dumps intrastate with a PUC # you are not required to have cargo insurance even though you are hauling "for hire".
Cant haul sand and gravel but can haul dirt and logs? Makes no sense lol
well in this case I was hauling for something else I was doing, I wasn't delivering a product. Thanks for watching!
MOST PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.
That’s ok. Maybe it helps one person. Thanks for watching and commenting