Any Movers on here?

[bluebombersfan]

I run a small moving business. Right now I have a ranger with a 6by12 cargo trailer which I use for small moves. Eventually I hope to upgrade to something bigger. The big question, Should I buy a moving truck or a bigger Cargo trailer? I talked to another mover and he said he had a moving truck but because it was over 5 tons he had to get safeties done every year. He said it was expensive and switched to a truck and cargo trailer instead. I don't know what a 5 ton truck is though. I was thinking if I went with a moving truck I wouldn't want anything bigger then something with a 16 foot box.

 

[Mark_88]

I'm not a mover officially, but I have moved quite a bit of stuff and worked for a moving company many years ago...and I did rent a moving truck (van) once to help someone move...

So, with those dazzling qualifications I now present you with a link to my google search for five ton trucks...

https://www.google.ca/search?q=five+ton+trucks+for+sale&biw=1440&bih=767&tbm=isch&imgil=nud5pdYa_8LPmM%3A%3B2XEjzxjM3dU-pM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fbringatrailer.com%252F2011%252F03%252F29%252Fbobbed-m813-5-ton-1970-kaiser-4x4%252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=nud5pdYa_8LPmM%3A%2C2XEjzxjM3dU-pM%2C_&dpr=1&usg=__-BDRtCoycUUF9KdtJOgH84dCeZQ=&ved=0CE8QyjdqFQoTCNTi_fiyw8cCFRcRkgodZbECQA&ei=O-_bVZTZBZeiyATl4oqABA#imgrc=nud5pdYa_8LPmM:&usg=__-BDRtCoycUUF9KdtJOgH84dCeZQ=

There are many flavours from what I can see there...but moving trucks are enclosed so you can count most of these out...it does show a few with about 16' boxes on them that would work well...

The van I rented was like a cube van and only about 12 feet long X 8 feet high...and as you probably know quite well, you don't want to go too small and have to make several trips...which is what I ended up doing...but that did include a storage barn about 5,000 square feet of flea market sales items...that could not be stacked if you wanted to keep your nuts and sanity safe from the wrath of the owner...

 

[don4331]

Mark:

Your google search is what I think of for 5 ton trucks as well - Class 8 truck.

But for bluebombers fan; 5 ton equates to class 3 (Ford F-450/550, Dodge/GMC 5500, etc); a Medium duty truck. As they are class 3, they require a higher level driver's license and annual safeties.

So, getting an F-350 + 5th wheel allows some of the smaller local movers a less expensive alternative: F-350 & 5th wheel can be parked on driveway where as F-450 cargo truck can't be parked on local residential street, so they don't need a dedicated industrial home. F-350 doesn't require special drivers license/annual safety (and can be driven for personal use on weekend/evening). And the cargo space of a 5th wheel is pretty close to that of a class 3 truck.

Maneuvering is a toss up between them once you get good at backing up the trailer. 5th wheel tends to have lower lift height...

 

[Mark_88]

Thanks for the information Don...I forgot about truck class and that can shift things around a bit. So his idea of a fifth wheel F350 would work out better unless he really hits the big time and expands into cross country house moves.

I did all my moving initially in my Ranger so I got really good at packing things for maximum load...moving up to the cube van took a bit of getting used to but it paid off with less trips and better all around.