Making a large purchase

So, need some collective input. I'm wanting to purchase a large dump trailer as a investment/asset. I'mma have to borrow the money, but it's the cheapest money I'll ever have to borrow. This would be a large purchase that would not break us by any means, but still, it's gonna be a big pill to swallow. I've watched auction houses and used trailers are going for every penny of, if not more, than a brand new trailer (blows my mind) so I might as well order what I want and use the chit out of it. I know I can make money with it and pay off the loan. I'm wanting to do this NOW so I can start getting my name out there for the busy spring season.

Here's my problem. Everybody is screaming of a recession coming up. A LOT of indicators of such, are going off like signal flares, but I want to get this going. I've waited for 9 months now with out pulling the trigger and it's like now or nothing. Been listening to people spouting off the doom and gloom forever about were heading into a depression to rival world history. Hasn't happened in the last 9 months I've been hearing it. All these rumors about the entire continent is going to run out of diesel in 23 days...which was over 30 days ago and diesel has done nothing but fall in prices so far.

Would you be willing to make a $17K purchase (that you know you can make money with) right now? Like I said, not going to really hurt us financially, but it's not a small bump in the road either. Would really appreciate the OT's opinion.

There's a lot of businesses that are recession proof, or at least resistant.
Look at the market, the competition, and decide if the economy goes tits up, are you still in need?

Some questions you need to answer for yourself:

1. What additional costs will be required beyond the purchase of the truck? Storage, maintenance, additional equipment, labor, fuel...
2. What do you need to break even and make money?
3. Who are your customers?
a. if individual consumers, will this be a service they still use if they lose their job?
b. if corporate entities, are they in industries that are likely to be hit hard by a bad economy?
4. What is your competition? Can they squeeze you out, either by underbidding jobs, or through better market placement?

Don't feel like you have to answer this on the forum. These are just generic questions that could apply to any business venture. Hopefully it gets you to look at this thing from all angles, not just through the dollar bill goggles you get when you have a big idea.

Buy it and get to work. Worst case, you can sell it for all or most of what you paid for it.

In my area, you wouldn't have trouble getting work, but you might have trouble finding help.

Things are certainly slowing down. I had electricians call yesterday and ask if they could come a few days earlier than I had scheduled them. Today I have eight electricians here doing a two man job. Supervisor said it was either send them here or home.

my thoughts. go for it.

Now or wait on buying. Other than sales, new will probably never come down since people are still buying at inflated prices. Used, well, if there is a recession, someone might look to sell off equipment and you might pick up a deal. But how much revenue will you have lost waiting on a deal?

Now or wait on Loan. Interest rates will probably keep going up for at least the short term. They might even go back up to where some of us olds remember them as normal.

Now or wait for using it for revenue. Once peoples belts tighten (if a recession happens) revenue might thin, but sometime there priorities shift from buying things to dumping things. Getting loads of gravel hauled in to do the driveway/roads. Selling their dump trailer, then having to rent or hire someone to do their project for them. Even in a recession there are opportunities. And, as long as you can still make the payments, you have an asset that once any recession is over that will probably get used a lot.

If I were you, I would do it now.

I pulled the trigger this year on several large ticket items. The backup generator for the house being the biggest once you added installation and new propane tank. Pulled the trigger because I had the money and the local Generac guy had one in stock so I didn't have to order and wait.

" Hopefully it gets you to look at this thing from all angles, not just through the dollar bill goggles you get when you have a big idea."
LOL! I know exactly of what you speak. That's why I've been putting it off so long, thinking maybe that hair brained idea will go away. Opportunity is on the horizon and it's just as bright as ever. Construction business is booming down here in Cleburne and there is new houses and developments going up everywhere. But that's just a small slice of the pie. It was mainly going to be a side hustle.

I have a lot to cleanup on my own property as well, which is what spurred all this to begin with.






That's honestly how I'm looking at it. So much to get done!

my business regrets are what I didn't do not what I did. If thats something you want to do then by all means march forward.

It's probably never going to be cheaper than it is right now.

I think there are a couple by me for sale. If not there are 2 mfrs close by also.
Call buck dandy trlrs and get a quote (only a few miles from me and will custom build).
Sitting at eye dr in denison now will look on the way home

Do you have ag exe.ption? If so it will save you a ton on sales tax

The answer is always YES.

we're already in a resession.

I wouldn't buy it using someone else's money.


I'm my own bank. Borrow the money against a CD. My bank charges me 3% to handle the books.

The only creditor is me. I'm the buyer and financer. Any hit to the money....it's my money. I can repo it while it sitting in my yard. Sending late notices to myself.

Interesting this keeps being said. I can't throw a rock without hitting someone's new car.

You could most likely get some of your money back should the bidenflation continue spiraling up exponentially. Also, there is also no such word as "I'mma." Please refrain from using that unless you suffer some brain injury or something.



$17K is not that big o deal either. New cars and trucks are at least $50K and up, same with boats and RVs. Go for it!

Just do it! Find the best deal and go for it. Plus, you can write it off this year's taxes.

DAVE-O you wouldn't believe how many people I sell trucks to that do the dump trailers. I tend to quiz business owners how the operate. It sounds like an aweful good side hustle that could turn into a full time gig.

That's awesome that you can do that, not an option for everyone.

I do for my tractor, yes. But land wise, no.



Totally agree with this, honestly. My importer friend keeps telling me it will be cheaper in 2nd quarter next year. By what... $150? I would make twice that in one rental/delivery.

Our house build in Rockwall went from Slab mid Sept to ready for Sheetrock and Masonry today so they have accelerated the ones where customers have hung in there and paused all the drop outs. Interest rates creeping the right direction too fingers crossed.

One thing to remember in all of this...gas / diesel prices.

As gas prices fluctuate, so can your profit margin. If you plan your rates accordingly, then you'll be good.

We had a few around here and they have all been busy recently, but when the gas was high, they were not listing their services as much and their quotes seemed to reflect the gas hike.

Been in Construction for 45 years. DFW is a pretty safe place to be in Construction when it comes to a recession. We are in a recession right now, but all those folks who held off on building when covid came down, most have still been holding off because of supply and demand, when this little slow down is over it will take off again quicker than any place in the US.

Could you also use this trailer for hot shot deliveries while your primary business is ramping up?

Although I don't have that option, my credit union has me locked in at 4.25% right now. And I know if anything, I will always be able to make the payment.





That was part of my agenda, equipment and supply deliveries. The trailer is going to be 18K lb GVW so I can haul most anything my truck will pull...and my truck is a well maintained pulling machine. Have my CDL, so I'm ready to go! Skid loaders, mini excavators, bricks, sand, gravel, dirt, mulch, tractors, Mama June....







Oh HELL! I didn't know she was monitoring this thread!!!

Yes. Absolutely. If you feel comfortable and the money is right, go for it.

We did pretty much the same thing with the solar and battery combo. The economy as a whole isn’t about to tank. We’re dealing with a little bit of remaining backup due to the pandemic, and a little bump due to the tariffs on China from a few years back. We’re going to have some problems due to the harvest disruptions in Ukraine messing up European markets and creating a ripple effect of need from further sources. But it’s not going to get much worse than now over the next 6 months, and then I think it’ll lift barring anything else blowing up.

Go for it, I started my first business in 1985, not a great time, it is still going strong, started another business in 2008, not a great time, it is booming now, good luck.

Be that as it may be, by definition, we are in a recession.

I should make another thread and debate this with you. But I won't

You need DOT numbers, annual inspections, etc. I don’t think you can afford it if your not willing to pay cash for it. I’d pass in this instance if I was you- or save the money.

Come on in.

https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/14550091/what-is-a-recession#Post14550091

None of that stuff is really all that much money vs what you can make doing it. A 3yr loan at 4% isn't much of a payment and he will only pay $1300 in interest if he took all 36 months to get it paid off. It's fairly likely that at the end of three years the trailer may still be worth close to what he is paying for it now. Dave - O go for it!

If I took this advice I would still be working at the cheese plant in Muenster TX.

Aren't you in the mob?

exactly

I watched a lot of people buy second homes in the mts. for 12 or more yrs. knowing that most were going to try to flip them. oops.

we are about to experience housing bubble part deux, we may or may not have charlie sheen coming, probably not.

a WHOLE LOT of people have bought new homes with good sized mortgages, recession is gonna cost a lot of jobs blue and white collar. if it comes we

may see another problem with "too big to fail" loans/grants.

jmo

Some people do well at borrowing to start a business, but more fail than succeed- for everyone of you there are 3 or 4 not so happy campers. 17k is not much cash, I’d be prioritizing some other things if I couldn’t scratch that much together. I understand measured risk- I’ve done it a few times in business and it’s paid off well for me.

Well I’m curious, who exactly pays you for using your dump trailer? You haul material for homeowners or something? Hauling junk off? It must be different down here and I’m curious about this.

if you plan on hotshot work, find a co. that needs barrels of stuff hauled. hazmat cert. on the cdl means more money.

I would recommend you contact OOIDA, they will have someone that can give you the short rundown on what is required for what type hauling you want to do.

start there.

https://www.ooida.com/

good organization.

100% with ya Mr. Kamper. The only reason I haven't done this 10 months ago, was a nagging mom who over thinks everything, to the point of doom and gloom. "No one will hire you with out a million dollar policy". Yet, I've got two potential clients who have been waiting for me to get a trailer and come clean up their properties. One of them being my current employer. Only thing holding me back is the best way to collect the money.

1993, opened my first business. Hugely successful for a 19 yrs. Sold it.
1995 took over a Motor Vehicle Record and back ground checking biz, very profitable. Govt. regulated me out of it.
2003, started a very successful Photography business. Covid and the iPhone killed that.

I am SO ready to go!

I never made any decent money until I broke off and started working for myself......
But my boss is a major a#$hole!

I wish you the best of luck in your business- nothing I said is to deter you.

bet on yourself

I am always leery of taking any financial advice from anyone on the internet. I know both WAWI and HK are legit and are success stories. I have seen it firsthand. I have zero issue listening to their advice and chances are I would learn something in the process. If I don't personally know the person giving the advice then I would ignore it and move on. For all I know those strangers behind usernames might be living in a tool shed out back at their Mom's place.

Well, be open to some advice.


I have zero dept. I dont owe anybody, anything. No credit cards. No loans. If I can't afford it in cash. I don't get it.


Everything is paid off. To including the car. I'm a credit ghost without a score and I'm financially set. I also buy a lot of silver. From coins to bars.


Narrow vision can get you into trouble.


(I also do not carry or own a cellphone)

Man...so many things. Mostly I'm going for property maintenance. Gravel driveways, trenching, pasture mowing both residential and commercial, that kind of stuff. But yeah, property cleanup too. Mom voluntold me to go help her friend who was losing her house. The lady is a hoarder and a crazy cat lady. So I was told to go to her house and clean out her garage so she could find find what was trash and what to keep. EVERYthing in that garage was covered in cat piss and moldy. Apparently it hadn't been gone through since 1984, at least. The whole house looked like this. I just don't understand how people can live like this. Lady slipped me $300 though, for helping out. Biggest thing was I had to load and unload my trailer by myself. Dump trailer would have made that so much easier.









At work, there is a lot of property stuff to clean and repair. That's where my tractor comes into play. Here's another hoader place that needs to be condemned and junked out. Back the trailer to the door and just start throwing. Hazmat cleaning crews are super expensive. I just load it and dump it.






And yes, the dumpster rental business is huge and very competitive. I really don't want to get into dumpsters, but you can advertise to homeowners, you leave a dumpster/trailer for 3 days, charge $300 fees + tonnage of trash. All I have to do is drop off, let them fill it, hook back up and go to the dump. My entire cost is fuel and dump fees, which they pay. You do that 3-4 times a month and that trailer payment goes down quickly. Then there's roofers, builders, re-modelers...so many opportunities. The D/FW area is pretty saturated with rental dumpsters/trailers. And they are all busy! No matter what, we as a species produce a lot of trash and always will.


As dumb as it may sound, another part of this storm damage. If we have another hurricane Harvey or an bad outbreak of severely damaging tornadoes, you better believe I'm loading up my tractor, chain saws, chains and several cans of fuel and heading out to volunteer help. When we had those tornadoes come through Egan, had to go help some people down there with some clean up.

If no one ever took a chance we would not be here talking about it ! I have taken a few chances, some have worked out well and some have not, if Dave o is the guy behind the steering wheel, the shovel, the chain saw, etc he will do fine, its when you get a bunch of employees and equipment things change, thanks Mark.

Didn’t read all of this but my thought will you need a bobcat to use the trailer in an efficient manner when you do a job?

Exactly, scared money don't make money.

Duke I don’t think we were talking about scared money. Scared money is having money and not wanting to invest it.

Holy hell, that garage is disgusting!

I went to bid a job twenty years ago and the lady had trails through her house, junk stacked as high as she could get it. Now keep in mind, I’m bidding tiling all the floors, in the entire house! I asked the lady, “where do you suggest we put all this stuff while we are installing the floors”? I’m laughing and she couldn’t see my face…She says, “I thought we could put it in the bathtub”… I obviously never called the lady back.

Hoarders are aweful

Hey now. I hoard metal.


A hobby is TIG welding. I make things to pass the time. I hear enough from the woman about my stash of junk.

I have this, with many different attachments. Grapple on the front side makes super easy work of trees and limbs. My dream would be to have a skid steer and a mini excavator! I would start taking over the world!

nice rig

That’s a cool machine, you had good luck with it?

When I sold my house in Arlington 2 years ago, I bought this in full and have never looked back. It is the only item I have ever bought brand new in my life. I have had exactly 1 problem with it since I took it off the dealers lot. I blew out an O ring while drilling some post holes and I fixed it with a $.75 part from Tractor supply. Only things I don't like about it is, it has tires which can go flat and I didn't buy a big enough one.

👍👍I wish you success in your hauling business!

I would get one no hesitation. You hardly can't find them by us because they are so in demand. New & used both scream off the lot. If you get it and find out it is not for you, I don't think you would have any issues selling and coming out whole.

I think you could get quite a bit of home and swimming pool construction clean up, do you have a brush hog ? You could get some pasture / lot mowing as well. You can foam fill those tires or fill with a sealant, if you foam them the ride will be more bouncy plus it will add some weight to the unit.

Do it.

Wow, that is a nice rig for sure Dave-0 ! Best of luck in your business, you should do well. Up here in the metromess, suburb dwellers like me pay to have junk removed and taken to the dump often. In Liquor city we have junk and brush removal service included in our monthly trash collection, but it is worthless. The service is random and often the junk you pile on the curb stays there for several weeks. This kills your grass and looks like he!! for the time it is there. There is a company called Junk King that I can text and they will be by that day to haul stuff off. So there is a real need for that kind of service.

I’m a big entrepreneurial fan.

Do you have a written business plan? For constructive advice/criticism, walk us (or PM me) thru the revenue and expenses associated/projected for a typical project from you acquiring the customer/job thru collecting final payment - more detail, the better. Don’t forget to account for monthly and annual overhead: insurance, bookkeeping, taxes, etc…

You would have more work than you can handle

My dump trailer was my biggest and best investment for my business. Look around as there are deals to be had.

I bought mine from a dealer in Waco who was buying them from Load Trail in Paris, TX. I made a deal to go to the Load Trail facility and pick it up and save him on transporting it to Waco. He discounted the price and we both were happy.

Buy one big enough to haul your tractor and you then can do both drop off business and also clean up business.

No doubt. I haul to Denton landfill and see at least 12-15 dump trailer/dumpster businesses there each time.