Starting the search for a dry van trailer - Buy or Lease?

[Mike]

Spending some time today looking at trailers. Looking at purchase options, also looking at lease options.

I have found a local place, about 35 miles from my house, who rents by the month, or by the year. Cheaper by the year. Numbers for a dry van are $500-750 deposit (depending on credit). $550-$625/month for the trailer. By signing a one year lease, the payment on an 07-09 would be in the $550-$575 neighborhood. This is an air ride/air slide trailer. Don't remember the make, and didn't get into detail about the setup of the trailer. Gonna want one with logistics posts and an aluminum roof.

Why aluminum roof? Food grade. Seen too much online about trailers with translucent roofs being refused with food grade loads.

Logistics posts, the more the better, for cargo securement.

Not a bad price, but would need to look closer into exactly what I am getting.

New trailers (Great Dane), looking at upwards of $30K, for a pretty basic air ride trailer. This would be my preferred path, and I'm not concerned with qualifying in terms of credit, but finance companies tend to stick it to individuals on equipment like this. A good finance rate and I would clearly go this route. The interest rate, though, makes a big change in the overall cost of something like this.

Older trailers. Not sure how old I can safely go, without limiting the freight I can haul. Still researching this. Can get an older trailer, at significant savings, but it comes at the cost of higher maintenance, claims risk, and the concern of shippers potentially not accepting a trailer due to age.

 

[Blood]

Things may have changed since 2011 but I was never refused a load due to trailer age except by one broker who was running General Motors freight (10 year age limit).
As a matter of fact I photo shopped a registration and ran a coupla-few of those loads anyway (don't tell).

I ran older stuff but it was as good or better than a lot of 3 year old fleet stuff.

I had (have) one translucent roof and nobody ever mentioned it...
but like I said, 2011.

 

[mndriver]

I wish I would have never gotten rid of my dry van now. But oh well.

I still suggest a reefer.

 

[Mike]

Yeah, GM is pretty picky on that 10 year thing. I think Ford is as well. Come to think of it, seems like I get that note just about any time I pull an automotive load.

 

[mndriver]

I've had a couple ice cream loads they were touchy on age. Otherwise Volkswagen was the only place touchy on age. And that was on brand new rims.

 

[Mike]

I still suggest a reefer.

Keeping my eyes and mind open toward both.

Great Dane dealer has a 2010 SuperSeal with a TK unit on it for $31k. 10,000 hours on it, former Trailiner unit. Looks to be in really good shape. Inventory | Great Dane Trailers of Springdale

They have a dry van that I am waiting to get a price on. 2017 model that some young guy came in an bought new. Put aluminum wheels on it, side skirts, trailer taile. Well spec'd. Gave it back because he wasn't running the numbers he thought he would run. It's there on consignment, waiting to see the price they throw down on it.

 

[mndriver]

Great Dane dealer has a 2010 SuperSeal with a TK unit on it for $31k. Less than 10,000 hours on it, former Trailiner unit. Looks to be in really good shape.

About what they paid a year ago for the one @JunkYardDog5958 is dragging around.

 

[Mike]

I need to get in touch with some brokers and such in my area to get some ideas on freight rates coming out of here. Reefer is a consideration, but only if I feel confident I can turn a better profit with the increased expense, and enough of a better profit to justify the headaches.

The big waiting game right now is on taxes. Waiting to see what the results are for them this year to see how quickly I proceed forward with this.

 

[Duck]

@mndriver Do you ever haul for Tyson, Excel, Cargill, Swift/JBL, Smithfield, etc?

Just wondering if they give you live-load guys priority or if you have the same or worse delays in getting out of the shipper as the drop & hook fleets.

 

[mndriver]

@mndriver Do you ever haul for Tyson, Excel, Cargill, Swift/JBL, Smithfield, etc?

Just wondering if they give you live-load guys priority or if you have the same or worse delays in getting out of the shipper as the drop & hook fleets.

It's kind of hit and miss based more on site.

Cargill I have been to have treated me great.

Americold, McLane, Sysco are really bad on detention.

 

[ironpony]

You might want to consider an old Prime trailer... they take really good care of them.

 

[Duck]

You might want to consider an old Prime trailer... they take really good care of them.

Do they sell them themselves or trade them in to a dealer?

Van Wyk takes care of theirs too. Except the ones that the wheels fall off of. Those are rare, isolated incidents.

But they don't sell them. They trade them in. Sioux City I think.

 

[mndriver]

My first reefer was an old Decker trailer that was sold to Wilkins out of Iowa. I bought it with 7800 hours on the reefer unit. The box was a 2003. That was in 2013.

Now those similar Decker units are being resold with 15-18,000+ hours on the reefer unit.

During that 2008-20XX recession, they opted to hold onto trailers longer. They also no longer sell themselves, they are leasing instead of purchasing.

 

[Duck]

Van Wyk doesn't keep theirs very long. I don't know what criteria they use for deciding when to trade them in but I've never seen one more than 4-5 years old.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Van Wyk doesn't keep theirs very long. I don't know what criteria they use for deciding when to trade them in but I've never seen one more than 4-5 years old.

I'd say the criteria is 5 years. [emoji6]

 

[Electric Chicken]

BTW there's a place called Pennstro leasing that opened up in my town. I think it's just a franchise but they seem to have nice stuff. They're in the former Pharo's Truck Stop aka Miniskirt Junction.

Don't know anything about them otherwise.

 

[ironpony]

Do they sell them themselves or trade them in to a dealer?

Van Wyk takes care of theirs too. Except the ones that the wheels fall off of. Those are rare, isolated incidents.

But they don't sell them. They trade them in. Sioux City I think.

Both...

They sell many to dealers and rental outfits. I've seen them in truck paper.

Utility R3000s and Wabash trailers.

The direct sales outfit is Pedigree Truck and Trailer Sales.

Pedigree Truck & Trailer Sales - Quality used trucks and trailers from Prime, Inc.

 

[Injun]

Ten year age limit at many paper plants as well. They don't want metal fatigue to split a trailer frame. Good rule of thumb is if there's an age limit on the trailer and/or they're asking you to go in light on fuel, it's going to be a heavy bitch of a load. Is it worth the fuel economy to haul?

 

[Tazz]

You might want to consider an old Prime trailer... they take really good care of them.

Yeah those Gramma's only drive them really slow, to church, on Sundays


Actually I would say that is the one thing Prime does. Keeps up there trailers at the DCs. They have to by contract but so do everyone else and theirs look to be in better shape.

 

[gearjammer]

owning or leasing a trailer depends a lot on which way you see your business going I have owned a trailer in the past, bought is years ago from another O/o it is now sitting down the road a neighbor bought it and is using it for storage but it could still be used for hauling if you wanted too.
leasing is what I mostly did, I had a pretty good deal at the time and also had the freedom of switching out to a different trailer if the need arose.