Straight truck vs trailer

[TheFutureFarmer]

Has anybody considered a non-cdl straight truck to haul cattle or hay over a trailer? I saw a brand new International 4300 with a livestock body this weekend at a local feeder sale and wondered why you don't see more of them. I don't know what a livestock body would cost but after looking at some used International 4700 trucks on truckpaper it has to be cheaper to just get a straight truck and put a body on it.

I understand that insurance and maintenance would be higher but the striaght trucks are built to last longer. Any thoughts?

 

[Aaron]

One big problem I can see is if the truck has motor problems, you could be stuck with a load of cattle that you can't do anything with. You would need to bring in a portable ramp to load them into a stock trailer. Whereas a trailer can be pulled with any power unit and moving cattle between stock trailers is much easier/safer.

Also, cattle are much safer in a trailer in a wreck.

 

[herefordlover]

U would be required to have a cdl with a strait truck as well. There would be alot of added cost over a trailer

 

[ibetyamissedme]

Here in the land of 10,000 lakes it sure does not take much of a pickup truck and trailer before you cross over into the realm of CDL requirements. I know a low mileage class 8 and pot can be bought for considerably less money than a low mileage pickup truck and trailer.

 

[TheFutureFarmer]

Even if the GVWR is 25,900 and your not doing it for hire?

Never thought about the engine breaking down part either :lol2:

The only cons I could come with are:
1) higher center of gravity
2) higher initial cost
3) higher insurance and maintenance costs
4) and if it is muddy (usually is at my local stock yard) you're more likely to spin out when empty :bang:

 

[denvermartinfarms]

You also have to own transportation and that's half of the truck and trailer way, and your not going to haul hay and cattle on the same truck unless you just had a big flatbed with racks. Insurance is another extra cost to a 25900 gvw truck over a pickup and gooseneck. And with a truck you would need a loading ramp everywhere you ever wanted to load cattle.

 

[TheFutureFarmer]

But if your truck is over 10,000 GVWR and your trailer is over 16,000 GVWR won't you need a CDL then since the GCVWR is 26,000?

 

[denvermartinfarms]

But if your truck is over 10,000 GVWR and your trailer is over 16,000 GVWR won't you need a CDL then since the GCVWR is 26,000?

Actually it's if your truck is licensed for 26k or more and or your pulling a trailer with a gvwr of 10k or more. That's what the law says, but there seems to be a farm exception, because I know for sure that very few people around here that are pulling 14k gvwr cattle trailers with pickups have cdl's.

But even if you do have to have it that's not a big deal. I wouldn't let needing a cdl keep me from having the rig that best suited my needs.

 

[Nesikep]

Around here, you need a National Safety Code to insure the truck over 10,000 lbs, Trailer GVW goes ON THE TRUCK, so trailer is cheap to insure. If you're hauling a trailer weighing more than 10,000 lbs, you need a 'heavy trailer endorsement' on your standard drivers license, or a CDL, Class 3 or Class 1.
If the trailer is more than 10,000 lbs, and either the truck or the trailer have air brakes, you need the full class 1 license as well

 

[dun]

I've seen flatbed trailers that were set up with removable cattle hauling racks. Looked just like an open cattle trailer. The racks were tied down using the stake pockets and heavy ratchet straps. Killed 2 birds with one stone, a flatbed and a cattle hauler.

 

[wbvs58]

In Australia just about all hauling of cattle is done with trucks. Everyone has a loading ramp. I have an Isuzu truck with a 6 metre (20') tray on it with a crate divided in two that clamps to the tray. It is easily removed by putting pipe through it and backing up onto sloping rack that lifts it off as you back up. It all takes about 30 min to do it. The GVM of my truck is 9500 kg (20900 lb), that gives me a load of about 5000kg (11000 lb).
I guess it is all about what you are used to. I know that trailers have been well developed in the US and are very good but over here the cost of good trailers is prohibitive and we have higher fuel costs and very few people drive around in the likes of your big V8's. Good 2nd hand trucks can be picked up cheap add a crate and you are set. We have farm concession registration for trucks which makes it reasonable to have a truck.
Ken

 

[pdfangus]

As an older unit, I recall when we did haul everything with trucks....

Stock trailers were the second greatest invention only to the round baler....

I would never go back to either one......(livestock trucks or small square bales).

 

[jltrent]

As an older unit, I recall when we did haul everything with trucks....

Stock trailers were the second greatest invention only to the round baler....

I would never go back to either one......(livestock trucks or small square bales).

+1

 

[pdfangus]

you have not lived until you have thrown hay in the back door of an enclosed cattle truck.....jumped in to stack it...jumped out and ran back to get the bales passed while you were in the truck....run back to the truck with said bales....repeat...

and if you complain you are reminded that the hay is for your !@#$%^&*! horses.

it was bad enough going thru that routine with a hay wagon...but we often got hay that was more remote and I came to hate jumping in that cattle truck....never did get good at it...

 

[Aaron]

Around here, you need a National Safety Code to insure the truck over 10,000 lbs, Trailer GVW goes ON THE TRUCK, so trailer is cheap to insure. If you're hauling a trailer weighing more than 10,000 lbs, you need a 'heavy trailer endorsement' on your standard drivers license, or a CDL, Class 3 or Class 1.
If the trailer is more than 10,000 lbs, and either the truck or the trailer have air brakes, you need the full class 1 license as well

The regs are much more lax in the majority of the states, compared to up here, Nesikep. Only one that we could compare to is California.

 

[skyhightree1]

I wanted a old livestock truck but the convenience of running them up in a trailer made me opt to not buy one. I have a class A cdl so the cdl part doesnt matter. I also thought about break downs with cattle. It would be alot easier to get another trailer or truck to hook to the trailer and go than building a ramp on the side of the road to offload cattle into a trailer.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Like others have said, there was a time when cattle hauling was done on trucks, we've moved away from that and I think there's a reason that we have.

 

[dieselbeef]

trlr dont cost nothin to sit there...truck does even when it aint runnin

 

[Nesikep]

Dun, I have one of those flatdeck trailers... I bought the trailer new (I'd build it myself now considering how lousy a job they did), then I found a stock rack on an indian reserve, and lengthed it to fit. It bolts down with 6 bolts, slides on, and usually lives on a couple pieces of firewood. It works pretty good, sure I could get more into an aluminum livestock trailer of the same size, but I'd never pay that off either. I can haul my calves to the sale barn in one load, I'm usually a little overweight, but the sides are high enough no one can see I have anything in it... Last year I had 16 calves for a live weight of 10,500 lbs, the year before was 17 for 11,500.

It's only 1 trailer to insure, it takes about a half hour to get the rack on, 10 minutes to take it off. I also built a pipe rack for the trailer so I can haul 40 ft irrigation pipe, should be able to fit about 40 pieces of 3" on there, and it sits 4' above the deck, so if I go to an auction I can still get other stuff on there, though a tractor wouldn't work. The trailer is a bumper pull, so any truck can hook up to it and tow it, should my truck break down.. I've been lucky so far

 

[John SD]

Don't know about your state, but in SD only requires insurance on the tow vehicle for personal use.

I have 16' bumper pull and 20' gooseneck livestock trailers and a 16' bumper pull flatbed. Insurance is on the tow vehicle, a 1 ton 4x4. No insurance on any of the trailers.

Of course none of this likely applies if you are for hire.