Insuring Semi Tractor for Personal Use

[Zewnten]

I'm looking to buy a semi for moving all our junk from Denver to Kansas city but the catch is I need a place to store it once it gets here. So enclosed trailer it is.

For about $10k I've been seeing semi's with dry van trailers that the owner swears up and down is road worthy, nothing new but one was an '89 L9000 with a 43' foot trailer. Theoritically I should have my CDL around when I've saved up enough PTO and cash for this project. But how much is the insurance going to cost? Ball park is fine but I've been told it could be $2000 to $5000, each insurance I call says I need a VIN and to sign up to get any more accurate.

 

[The Peej]

Insurance and registration will be high, See if you could register it as an RV

 

[Old Doug]

I could write a very thick box on why you shouldnt do this. If its a one time deal i dont think it would be that bad my insurance on my little semi is not that high and i bet you could get a trip permit . I love a good adventure and this would be one . There is no way that truck and trailer is road worthy without spending some time and money on it. If I was you i would buy a trailer here and then rent a uhaul or buy a van truck. It will take more trips but getting that truck road worthy is going to take some time to. I have helped do what you want to do several times and been very lucky that we didnt have to pay a tow truck to get us home i also know what its like to do a major repair job in a parking lot and paying a taxi to run for parts.

 

[stinky64]

Don't know if they're available in your area but have you considered PODS? Little storage containers they roll off on your lawn. You fill 'em, they move 'em then charge a fee for storage until you empty them. Have seen them used for extensive remodel jobs as well.

 

[Birken Vogt]

What about just getting a trailer together and then hiring a tractor as power only to move it for you?

 

[Old Doug]

What about just getting a trailer together and then hiring a tractor as power only to move it for you?

That is a good ideal but it is almost impossible to get any one to do this . I have been moving storage trailers with my truck the miles start from my house and end back at my house. The last trailer i moved was 40 miles away so i got payed for almost 80 miles bobtailing . Even having to pay this they are always very happy . We have had to hire a wrecker in the past no owner operater wanted to unhook there trailer and make a buck.

 

[redneckracin]

Why not pay to have the trailer moved? I think R&L carriers will drop a semi trailer off for you, let you load it, they move it, and you then unload it. It might be a little spendy, but very little risk on your part!

 

[Birken Vogt]

That is a good ideal but it is almost impossible to get any one to do this . I have been moving storage trailers with my truck the miles start from my house and end back at my house. The last trailer i moved was 40 miles away so i got payed for almost 80 miles bobtailing . Even having to pay this they are always very happy . We have had to hire a wrecker in the past no owner operater wanted to unhook there trailer and make a buck.

I mean if it is a standard semi trailer what about just posting it on a load board to be moved as if it was any commercial trailer from point A to B? Has that been tried? How about posting it on uship, I always get lots of action if I want some piece of freight moved there.

 

[DMiller]

I second the R&L Route. I have my own Semi currently, it is registered To Me, Insured as Mine and NOT FOR HIRE, that stated the MO License chart is almost debilitating as to how much for a weight tag, my 48BL is $710 for one year, 54 is over $800 the next step is over a grand, "L" Tags are only good for 150 miles from base NOT across state lines, F tags can only be used for FARM Products. CANNOT under any circumstance in MO Buy and Title a Semi as a RV unless prevent it from being able to pull commercial trailer(RV 5th wheel install), Caught using a RV toter as a Work Machine is $500 first incident and $5000 second.
My KW is registered truck for a second reason, once titled in MO as RV is damned near impossible to reverse.

 

[crane operator]

Buy a 40' conex (shipping container), have it dropped at your old place. Load it all up in denver, have it hauled and dropped where you can store it (most storage facilities have outdoor gravel storage). We've helped load and unload lots of loaded conex's for people moving like this.

Most 40' ones run between 3-5,000. There's a big yard in Kansas City so there's usually boxes available there relatively cheaply. But it would be better if you could buy it in denver and then resell it in Kansas city when you're done with it.

A conex will be much easier to resell when you're done with it, than selling some old truck and van trailer. Not to mention the troubles you could have trying to drive it back and forth in a weekend off of work.

 

[Truck Shop]

^^^^

 

[Steve Frazier]

When I built my house in 1990 I bought a 6 wheel dump damn near as old as I am to haul materials to the house. I hadn't shopped for insurance prior to buying the truck and the best I could do back then was $2500/annual. It was based on the maximum gross weight of the truck. I can only imagine it's a lot higher today and your talking a much higher gross, I was 36,000.

I'm surprised no one mentioned DOT experiences. My area was very rural back then and I ran weekends and back roads to avoid encounters with the DOT. With you planning to run interstate you have a very high probability of encountering them and with an old questionable truck it won't be pleasant. There's so many things that can result in a deadline and you won't be able to move the truck until repaired or towed to a repair facility.

I don't know if this is still a thing but I also had to keep fuel records, log laden and unladen miles to pay the fuel tax. And by the way, you'll need to do this for every state you pass through in addition to getting a fuel tag for each state. Lots of headaches to face for casual use!

I do love your spirit of adventure though, this is something I'd have dreamed up 30 years ago!

 

[Camshawn]

Next door neighbour tried to buy a con ex last year to move his shop, prices here were through the roof. At the end he bought a 48’ dry van, had it loaded and moved to a storage yard. When he got his new place, a towing company hauled it 300 miles to his new home. Sold it when he was unloaded a few months later. Cam

 

[Truck Shop]

Next door neighbour tried to buy a con ex last year to move his shop, prices here were through the roof. At the end he bought a 48’ dry van, had it loaded and moved to a storage yard. When he got his new place, a towing company hauled it 300 miles to his new home. Sold it when he was unloaded a few months later. Cam

The price of con-ex have gone up, depending on the dry van those have gone up too.

 

[Zewnten]

Too much stuff for a pod. I was needing to keep what ever I haul the crap in for storage.

I'd prefer the conex but the place I stored with has a horrible parking lot, I'm not sure a semi coould fit in for a timely loading not to mention all the heavy sh** that can't be lifted up that high. I was thinking my having own so I can load at my pace.

I also really don't like road side break downs so I wanted to make sure I wasn't forgetting something. Hadn't considered tags and such.

 

[Keith Merrell]

Just like Crane op said, get a shipping container, and have an owner operator haul it. I would count on paying $2.50 per mile. You might be able to get a hotshot to haul it with a 40ft gooseneck?

 

[Spud_Monkey]

Arizona and Texas have bought all the shipping containers up for border wall, market has gone either dry or too high now. Only 600 miles, you might want to just Uhaul it or Uship it. Wow that should be a easy move without buying any equipment, if you buy a rig it better be for more than this little trip.
I speak from experience I moved 6 loads 1200 miles across 4 mountain passes to be where I am.

 

[mitch504]

If you google "power only trucking" there are many companies that specialize in providing a tractor only for one-way moves of trailers, loaded or empty. It is a lot cheaper than finding an owner-operator in your area to dead head back. I have bought trailers in Michigan, Illinois, and closer states. I owned several tractors and already had them insured with drivers in them. In every case, I got my trailer brought to me for less than the trip permits and fuel tax permits for the states I wasn't registered for.

 

[Birken Vogt]

That is what I was trying to say in post #5. Freight broker, power only, maybe uship has a way to request power only, seems like it would be a breeze if there were no other hangups.

 

[DMiller]

PODs as plural will be a better choice, be smaller and more easily removed with a Forklift or Forks on a Tractor.