Hello, all. I managed to buy a pair of 3/4-ton pickups, with no rear hitch on either of them. One is a '79 Chevy C-20 2WD RCLB, with fifth wheel and goose-neck hitches in the bed. It had a smoking 350 gas engine with an SM465, and a 4.10:1 FF 10.5" 14-bolt. Only 43,000 original miles. I swapped in the 6.2 diesel from my '83 C-10, and the 700R-4, since my dad may need to drive it, and he lost his left hand and has bad knees. It has seen 28 MPG this way. Gotta love 55 MPH with low revs, low ride height, a 5" airdam, and the 6.2! I went e-shopping and the only hitch I found was $270 delivered. Ha. I've built class 5s before for under $100. But first, my other. It's an '06 GMC 2WD RCLB 6.0L / 4L80E / 4.10:1, and it came with no hitches. I bought steel, made a pattern with cardboard, then built a mock-up of wood, for a test fit. I drove that a week, then began cutting the steel. A bit of welding, a bit of paint, and some 1/2", grade 8 bolts, I'm all set. Not having much need for the fifth wheel, I decided just a goose-neck, so decided on a 1" by 8" by 43" slab of steel under the bed, atop the frame rails, with a hole in the exact center of this slab. Both of these hitches, together, totalled less than $220 installed. I already had a spare ball for this goose-neck. I don't love the electric trailer brake controller I put in this one, but it works. With this I move trailers for local farmers. They drive their pickups everywhere, all the time, but seldom expect to need their other stuff. So if "Bill" drives to the next valley to tend to his cows in some pasture he's leasing from "Tom", and they get to talking and strike up some new deal, "Bill" may need his trailer, possibly empty, possibly with me loading something on it. You'd be surprised how much "Bill" and many others like him need this, I know I have been. But it's not keeping me busy enough. And I need to buy a better differential for my '06. The one-wheel-drive thing causes problems.
This holiday break is boring. I checked with UDOT, and the DMV, and the Dep't of Public Safety. Since both of my pickups are under 10k GVWR, and neither is rated to do 26k GCWR, and I'm non-profit, I don't need any CDL, or any other special permits / licenses / registrations. Further, it seems best to become a single-member non-profit LLC, since I'm trying for adequate weekly pay ( around $500 ), rather than daydreaming of netting the outright impossible $4000 / wk that it seems all of y'all are claiming. I'm surprised noone here has asked me how I figure I can make it work at this rate, but an older gentleman from SCORE has reviewed my plan. I'm looking to straight trade my '06 for a '93 Ram D-250 Cummins with NV4500, 3.54:1 and NO modifications to the engine or VE-pump, but good maintenance records. NADA and Kelly both give the value of my '06 as being over $7300, considering it's just 62,000 miles.
As a non-profit, the profits go to a charity, such as helping disabled children. In fact, I chose Shriners as my cause. Profit is what's left over after the costs. Paying the driver is a cost. Nothing says the owner can't be the one doing the work and getting the paychecks, as this is the way all the non-profit thrift stores operate. Most also have volunteer employees, which my dad would be if I ever needed him to bring me my backup pickup. As an LLC, the LLC gets the DOT number, not me. The secret to my plan is not trying to get enough per mile to pay for the pickup, and not using a 1-ton, but a GM 2500HD, which is below the 10K GVWR limit. The pickup is paid for, is very low-mileage at under 63K, and the chassis itself should be as good as that famous Dodge that is now over 1.6 million miles. These 6.0 engines like mine are proven good for 300K mi of highway use, and can be scored in the salvage yards, with around 100K mi, for $200, except on half-price-day, when someone will beat you to it. The spare transmission is even less cost, then the rebuild kits add another $200 every 150K miles. No trying to pay off a new $60K dually before the warranty expires, and thus lower insurance also. And no worries about depreciation or resale. Then, I have my personal pickup as backup in case of un-scheduled down-time for the '06. I can call my dad 24/7/365 to bring it to me, it can easily haul / tow anything the '06 can.
you will need your class A license if the gvwr of truck and trailer are over 26k, not just the truck, so if your truck is say 9k gvwr and your pulling a trialer with 2 7k axles, your total would be be 23k = no class a needed, but if the trailer has 2 10k or 3 7k axles 20-21k gvwr, now add you truck, 29-30k total = cdl. you also need to have your medical card and if you cross state lines you need a mc number. good luck sounds like you have a good business plan.
