Choosing A Good Trailer For Heavy Duty Tasks

When you find yourself in need of a big rig to do big jobs for your business, there's a lot of key factors and even peripheral issues to consider. It isn't just about what kind of truck and trailer you need, but knowing whether you're truly getting the right deal long-term. If you're new to buying or renting trucks and trailers, here's a few tips to know.

The Length Of The Truck Or Trailer Lifecycle

The first question you should be asking before getting into the kinds of trailers you're considering using, or the weight and capacity of their cargo, is how long and how often you want to use your rig. Unlike regular cars and smaller pickup trucks, big rigs are built to go for many miles, even up to one million in many cases. Although the longer and more frequently they are hauling large freight across the country, the higher end more intensive the maintenance costs will be. But like every other vehicle, trucks depreciate so the only real return on investment you can get from them is time. When considering the time period you intend to use the truck and trailer for, you should weigh that against whether it's better to buy or rent your truck and trailer.

Specific Capabilities You Want From The Trailer

Certainly not every trailer is the same, and different industries require different designs and capabilities for loading and hauling cargo. For example, if you are transporting liquid substances such as oil or liquid natural gas, you would want a tanker. On the other hand, maybe you're going to have grain loaded from the top and you need a hopper bottom, or perhaps you're looking for easier unloading capabilities at loading docks that can happen with a walking floor trailer. For all other tasks that may not require extra moving floors or elaborate mechanisms, a dry van trailer will usually do the job.

Uses For The Trailer When You Aren't Hauling Cargo

For some businesses, they don't operate fleets on a regular basis and therefore may choose to rent the truck but buy the trailer. And that's a pretty smart decision if you can put the trailer to use in other ways for your business. When you need extra space to stash business inventory or keep other equipment at the ready, your trailer could serve as that extra needed storage room or utility area. If you have any clients who use trucks and trailers frequently, you could rent it out to them and get a bit of a return on your investment that way.

Get Extensive Vehicle History Before Buying Or Renting

If you're buying or renting brand new rigs, an option that's far more expensive than going used, you probably have very little due diligence to do on vehicle history. But if you are buying or renting used rigs, you need to know exactly what you're getting to make sure you aren't overpaying for equipment that you shouldn't. You should request access to the truck's history or the previous owner to find out if it's had any major accidents or had significant overhauls done to it. As flashy or shiny as a rig might look, you should never be in a hurry to get it.

The bottom line is you have to make sure you've made the right choice on buying or renting your truck, and ensure it's built right for the job you need it for. But even more so, you need to make sure you are working with a reputable dealer to get information on the rig, and work out other specifics like financing or leasing.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.