Need a truck- auctions and cleanouts-opinions welcome- from cheap to $5k

Any other cleanout folks here?So my dw is about to flip about 1- I don't have a vehicle, 2-not making any money, 3- having a hard time buying a vehicle. I enjoy auctions, but being realistic- it won't be enough right now to make a living. So I'm thinking of doing cleanouts as well. Vehicle has to be under 10k gvw. I will probably be doing work alone- prefer lowest possible bed height. I've never driven a trailer, some areas around here seem to be too tight for easy manuevering if I did. I'm kind of big- the chevy astro's driver's area was too constrictive after about a 1/2 hour driving. I also have a bit of arthritis. Would love the best combination of the following- takes a queen boxspring, could stand a refrigerator up, dumpable. I do have an underpass near my house ( about 9' high). I do prefer the weathertight capabilities of a box or van. Please throw some opinions- maybe i'm beng too picky Ps-would love any help for doing cleanouts too Thanks!!! -Mark

Do you currently drive something that can tow a trailer? If so maybe start out wtih a trailer and expand as you see necessary.

I have been wanting to buy a truck but am cheap and can't bring myself to get rid of my current car, figure I'll drive it into the ground first.

I normally am able to borrow facilities trucks free of charge, otherwise I borrow one from a buddy and if absolutely necessary rent one from home depot.

My origional thinking was renting a truck cuts into profits which is true but so does buying a truck in terms of initial price, insurance, high gas prices, etc.

I would get a large trailer open or closed depending upon what your looking for. Open trailer is nice in that stuff can hang out the top however closed is nice in the sense not only do you have something to transport items but a trailer can also act as temporary storage.

You can pick up box trucks for pretty cheap off craigslist. One thing to think about is what kind of neighborhood do you live in? Are they strict about association rules if you have one?

If so a box truck will probably be a class b truck and many neighborhoods with homeowners associations wont let you park it in your driveway. My gf's dad just got rid of the Lincoln Truck because it has class b plates, they woudn't let him park his 50k lincoln truck in the driveway yet people can hav big ugly white constructoin vans b/c they are not class b.

In terms of cleanouts you talking about foreclosure cleanouts, apt cleanouts, etc? If so having a truck with a dump feature may be nice. Will totally cut down on time. Having to dump a ton or two or garbage takes a lot of time or a lot of man hours.

Before investing a bunch of money in a truck for auctions or for a cleanout business start our renting until you know this is something you want to do and that you can make money at it.

Ps-would love any help for doing cleanouts too

Hey Mark, you might want to add your location to your profile or specify it here if you want someone to help with cleanouts.  I'm always up to making extra money when I have time.


I agree with the rental.  If you have a few cleanouts scheduled within a short time period, and they pay enough, stop by U-Haul.  It would be better to loose a little profit than be stuck with a vehicle you have to try to sell if you don't like doing it full time.

Maybe it's just the pleasure  of living in Nyc's shadow. Usually 10 year old box trucks with 125k miles are $7k and up. Iirc the last day I rented from uhaul locally it was $100+ for the day. Rollinradios- thanks,I added my location. Good point though about renting versus getting stuck with a pig. R4R- the ideal truck would be the single rear wheel cutaway; I probably wouldn't have a problem parking it here. I don't have a car either. I did look at a couple of fatties yesterday ( 1992 buick roadmaster wagon and 93 caprice wagon). I drove the caprice and somewhat liked it. It did feel way underpowered though. At the same time my fantasy about these cars was kind of crushed. After the test drive I got back into my wife's kia amanti  - jealous. Call me crazy- i'm entertaing the idea of getting a srw school bus. Thanks to you both -m

For trucks go to Home Depot instead of Uhaul. It's $24 for I believe 3 hours no additional mileage charges just gotta return it with a full tank. They have cargo vans or F250's with high sides, cant beat that deal, no 0.99 cents a mile or any of that garbage.

Home Depot is also super quick to get in and out of you rent them in the tool rental area. I was out in 2 min. I don't think I've ever rentd a uhaul truck or trailer and had it take less than 30 or 40 min.

Those box trucks sound like a decent deal however why drop 7k before you even know you want to do this ft/ theres money to be made, etc. Test the waters before investing 7k in a truck. Also do you have a place to store a box truck?

My one other point and this is huge aas I've helped my cousin do cleanouts property preservation, etc. If you got a ton of two of garbage and a dump truck takes a whole 2 min to empty it. If you have a box truck expect to pay 2-3 guys for a couple hours to empty out that truck.

For trucks go to Home Depot instead of Uhaul. It's $24 for I believe 3 hours no additional mileage charges just gotta return it with a full tank. They have cargo vans or F250's with high sides, cant beat that deal, no 0.99 cents a mile or any of that garbage.

Home Depot is also super quick to get in and out of you rent them in the tool rental area. I was out in 2 min. I don't think I've ever rentd a uhaul truck or trailer and had it take less than 30 or 40 min.

Those box trucks sound like a decent deal however why drop 7k before you even know you want to do this ft/ theres money to be made, etc. Test the waters before investing 7k in a truck. Also do you have a place to store a box truck?

My one other point and this is huge aas I've helped my cousin do cleanouts property preservation, etc. If you got a ton of two of garbage and a dump truck takes a whole 2 min to empty it. If you have a box truck expect to pay 2-3 guys for a couple hours to empty out that truck.

Is that all Home Depots? I dont remember seeing any trucks there I could rent.

Is that all Home Depots? I dont remember seeing any trucks there I could rent.

That is what I was thinking.  The Home Depots around here do not have any that I have seen, nor have I seen it advertised.  Maybe they just do it in hte big cities.  I will have to call ours and see. 

I'll put a link below to the page on the home depot site about it. You can put in your zip and it will tell the closest location to you that does it.

http://homedepotrents.com/truckrental.asp?cm_sp=tool_rental-_-visual_nav-_-truck_rental

They don't really advertise it and they keep the trucks around back so it's possible they do it at your local home depot and you don't even know about it if you've never inquired about it.

Many if not most locations in my area have it. I guess it's first 75 minutes for $19. If you got your unit organized and have a buddy to help I would think you should be able to load and unload two truckloads in that time, most likely clean out a unit and it only cost you $19 plus gas.

good call on the uhaul guys! much needed info for me---

 We use a combination of  Van , pick-up , SUV , trailers and  when moving lockers .
We hook up our 1/2 ton dodge p/u or my daughters Durango to our 7 X 12 Holmes open trailer for a dump run , and put the goodies on our 18 ft cam-superline  flatbed car hauler behind our one ton dodge maxi van .
  For flea markets , the van plus the 12 ft. trailer fit two 20 ft. spaces nicely .
 Bob
Ps.
  We started out with just a class 2 hitch on what ever We were driving at the time and renting         U-Haul Trailers for locker clean outs and flea markets .
Pps.
  I would of recommended a Astro to You as they can tow 5,000 lbs.  when set up right for towing , but You mentioned it was uncomfortable for You .
 Just find something that You like/fit that can tow a trailer small P/U Ex. Dodge Dakota after you make a little  cash with a U-haul , Buy a small open trailer $ 1,000.  it just takes time , ( mine were $ 2,600 and    $ 3,600 )