Box Trucks - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
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Headache
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LoupGarou said:
Yep, very true which makes no sense because essentially you'd be doing the same thing with a used moving van on/with a much stronger shell, but private conversions scare them even though appraisers can set a value on them.
ArtW
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HDR, thanks for catching that, didn't realize it but I read the tow capacity as the GVWR, D'oh!
Sorry Vagabound for that unintentional bit of misinformation, hell, I was on a cloud myself for a bit, till HDR popped my bubble
For myself If I were going mobile right now I think a 10' U Haul would be a great choice, but for being mostly stationary, my travel trailer gets the nod
Sorry Vagabound for that unintentional bit of misinformation, hell, I was on a cloud myself for a bit, till HDR popped my bubble
For myself If I were going mobile right now I think a 10' U Haul would be a great choice, but for being mostly stationary, my travel trailer gets the nod
Sabatical
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Ask your insurance broker to check out American Modern for tiny house policies.
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frater secessus
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Headache said:
Can you give us a hint which company this was? I think it could be useful for those making a decision on forwarders.
ArtW
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I actually went and nosed around in a 10' U haul today
I am liking the idea, so long as insurance doesn't cause problems, and i can't see how it would
I am liking the idea, so long as insurance doesn't cause problems, and i can't see how it would
ArtW
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That's the bad part
They seem to not have a lot of mileage, probably because the 15 footers get rented more, so the 5 I've seen in my area are around $9-11k
https://www.uhaul.com/Locations/Trucks-for-Sale-near-Houston-TX-77066/755039/
They seem to not have a lot of mileage, probably because the 15 footers get rented more, so the 5 I've seen in my area are around $9-11k
https://www.uhaul.com/Locations/Trucks-for-Sale-near-Houston-TX-77066/755039/
frater secessus
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ArtW said:
The retired 14' units are catching my attention lately. I like the attic in them better than the newer 15's.
frater,
I'm finding a few 10' trucks available in Phoenix, only been looking starting today, but all in the $11-13K range (bit higher than Art's). 15'-16' - more are available than 10', but price only drops bit, into $9K range.
Anyone have any idea what the year range is on the 14' U-Hauls? I'm not seeing any (only 15').
Vagabound
I'm finding a few 10' trucks available in Phoenix, only been looking starting today, but all in the $11-13K range (bit higher than Art's). 15'-16' - more are available than 10', but price only drops bit, into $9K range.
Anyone have any idea what the year range is on the 14' U-Hauls? I'm not seeing any (only 15').
Vagabound
Optimistic Paranoid
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Vagabound said:
Have you guys checked to see what Penske and Budget are selling?
frater secessus
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Vagabound said:
All the ones I see listed near-ish me are 2006, so they had to be used until then at least.
frater secessus
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Optimistic Paranoid said:
I looked at Penske but at the time all the light box vans under $10K said "engine needs replaced" on them.
Check for used Crispy Kreme trucks...I almost bought one, and they continue to pop into market with milage in the low 100's. They are insulated/refrigerated, 14' boxes, nice double rear doors, and priced around $14-$16k. If you find one, mark the dealer as they will likely have a steady flow to replace them as they sell...
Optimistic Paranoid
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frater secessus said:
The problem with box trucks is that you're competing with small business's for them. A lot of demand for a limited supply. And they can afford to take out business bank loans and write them off their taxes.
frater secessus said:
That's what I found when I looked. They were called "Manager's Specials" or something like that. Forgot the prices, but $7000 plus needs a new engine didn't sound like a very good deal to me. The phrase "Rode hard and put up wet" came to mind. If the truck was that mistreated in less than 4 years, which is likely the case, I have to wonder what else is wrong with it. That said, I was a bit tempted to make a budget for that because some of the Penskes in that category were 2012 models.
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Has anyone determined a certain way of determining GVWR on box trucks? I've heard different things about the numbers on the door panel, so it would be nice to be able to determine the facts independently.
Vagabound
P.S. - So this doesn't get too confusing ... suggest we put generic box truck stuff here, and info about helping me specifically in the thread that I created for that - "Van Shopping in Phoenix ...". Thanks.
masterplumber
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Just to weigh in a little on the GVW and licensing/insurance requirements. I'm going through this right now for different reasons in Colorado, and as someone mentioned, each state is a little different. So, my situation was my 2012 Ram 2500 was always overloaded, by like 1000 - 1500 lbs and it had a 9400 lb GVWR. Part of that is because Ram diesels are very heavy empty when compared to others. So I've been on the search for something that would work for my business and not make the business unprofitable at the same time.
In Colorado you are supposed to run DOT numbers on any vehicle over 10,001 lbs GVWR OR GCWR. You do not have to stop at Ports of Entry (The Scales) but you do have to stop at temporary inspection stations that are set up randomly - sometimes with portable scales and sometimes just a safety inspection. You need a CDL to drive anything GVWR or GCWR over 26,001 lbs and must stop at all scales/port of entry. All of the above only applies if you are operating commercially. If you have an F550 with a towing bed to haul your horses or some other similar situation you are exempt.
That's the drivers license and operation part. Registration is different. Any truck is 16,000 lbs or under is considered a light truck, and then they go class 4, class 5 and so on up to class 8 semis. Now, among light trucks there are 3 designations - truck, which can be used with no restrictions; Rec Truck, which is only supposed to be used for personal recreational transportation; and Farm Truck, which technically can only be used for transporting goods to market and transportation of goods between farm properties. In practice most people register with the least costly option they think they can get away with. For example if you have Farm plates you are exempt from Emission testing - there are a few places that require that here, particularly with diesels. Currently I don't see any police departments actively enforcing these rules so most people I know run Farm tags. I used to run Rec tags on my old Ford - even after I went back into business, and never had an issue. But that could change at any time so now I run regular truck tags just so I'm covered legally and liability wise.
Insurance isn't an issue for me as I run a commercial policy due to my business. But I don't think it's an issue here anyway. I see plenty of older medium duty and even semi tractors towing large horse trailers with farm plates and "not for hire" on the side. I can't imagine those people are paying commercial rates as they really sky rocket once you get out of the light truck category.
All of this would apply to box trucks also as in Colorado trucks are trucks and body style is not relevant. I'm not sure if any of this helps in your search. I have a feeling you need to decide what will ultimately be your State of residence, and then search their requirements. I would probably do that before even looking at vehicles beyond the normal vans or pickups as it may be a nonissue in one state, and a huge insurmountable mess in a state next door.
In Colorado you are supposed to run DOT numbers on any vehicle over 10,001 lbs GVWR OR GCWR. You do not have to stop at Ports of Entry (The Scales) but you do have to stop at temporary inspection stations that are set up randomly - sometimes with portable scales and sometimes just a safety inspection. You need a CDL to drive anything GVWR or GCWR over 26,001 lbs and must stop at all scales/port of entry. All of the above only applies if you are operating commercially. If you have an F550 with a towing bed to haul your horses or some other similar situation you are exempt.
That's the drivers license and operation part. Registration is different. Any truck is 16,000 lbs or under is considered a light truck, and then they go class 4, class 5 and so on up to class 8 semis. Now, among light trucks there are 3 designations - truck, which can be used with no restrictions; Rec Truck, which is only supposed to be used for personal recreational transportation; and Farm Truck, which technically can only be used for transporting goods to market and transportation of goods between farm properties. In practice most people register with the least costly option they think they can get away with. For example if you have Farm plates you are exempt from Emission testing - there are a few places that require that here, particularly with diesels. Currently I don't see any police departments actively enforcing these rules so most people I know run Farm tags. I used to run Rec tags on my old Ford - even after I went back into business, and never had an issue. But that could change at any time so now I run regular truck tags just so I'm covered legally and liability wise.
Insurance isn't an issue for me as I run a commercial policy due to my business. But I don't think it's an issue here anyway. I see plenty of older medium duty and even semi tractors towing large horse trailers with farm plates and "not for hire" on the side. I can't imagine those people are paying commercial rates as they really sky rocket once you get out of the light truck category.
All of this would apply to box trucks also as in Colorado trucks are trucks and body style is not relevant. I'm not sure if any of this helps in your search. I have a feeling you need to decide what will ultimately be your State of residence, and then search their requirements. I would probably do that before even looking at vehicles beyond the normal vans or pickups as it may be a nonissue in one state, and a huge insurmountable mess in a state next door.
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