Saddle Up!

Dear Anklebiters,

White Oak, KY

Brian: Well, Jay, I went through almost the exact same dilemma a few years ago. The worst part was that the U-Rent-It company wouldn't let me rent a truck locally for more than one day. Consequently, when I had shows on two consecutive days, I would have to rent and return the truck twice. What a hassle! At the same time, a colleague of mine was dealing with the same problem himself. Each of us solved the problem a different way, both with distinct advantages. He traded in his car for a used, but comfortable, conversion van, and ordered a custom trailer to tow behind it. I bought a 24-foot box truck, and kept my car as a daily driver. The sidebar on this page breaks down how I see the benefits and drawbacks of each.

From my perspective, the freight truck was the way to go. The additional cargo capacity and the ability to pack the vehicle more efficiently made the larger investment worthwhile to me. Paul, I believe you own a pickup and a trailer. What prompted your decision to go that route?

Paul: I chose a trailer because I never thought that I would fill it. It was huge to me, and all of my gear at that time fit nicely in it. Now, 10 years later, I have to rent a box truck to haul my gear for the shows. I have to stack everything, and sometimes I even have to tow my trailer just to get everything to the gig. I have considered purchasing a truck, but the high upkeep and licensing costs have kept me renting. I usually rent a twoyear- old (or newer) truck from my dealer. I pay a flat fee for insurance, and I don't have to park the truck in the middle of the city when I am finished with it. I can get the truck for around $100 a day, including insurance and fuel. I need the truck, but a friend/erstwhile partner has two 24-foot trailers and a Dodge dually. He also has a truck, but most of the time he uses the trailers. He very seldom loads into venues that have truck docks. When he does, they have a forklift that gets the equipment from the pavement to the dock. He also loads and unloads his gear by himself into the trailers.

I guess that it depends on where most of your shows are and how much help you have to load and unload. I can't load a truck by myself, and it is difficult for me to load and stack in a trailer. Brian, how do you load your truck?

Brian: Frequently, I do all of the show prep and initial truck loading by myself. For shows of any size larger than speaker-on-a-stick gigs, I have some help scheduled to be at the show to assist with truck dump, load-in, etc. on through the load out and reloading of the truck. Fortunately, my truck is equipped with a ramp, and all of my equipment is in road cases with wheels. Some items are a little on the heavy side, so I have begun to leave the one really heavy case strapped into the truck when I unload the remainder of my equipment at my shop. In my situation, this is a case that holds about 30 microphone stands.

I've also somehow grown to fill this truck in about three and a half years. Like you said about your trailer, it used to look like tons of space, but I have filled it on more than one occasion recently. This past weekend, while I could have physically put more stuff inside the box, I was at the weight limit of the truck. Exceeding this limit is not only illegal, but is also very dangerous. Unfortunately I don't have either a CDL license to rent a larger truck when I need it, or someone who is qualified to drive another non-CDL box truck if I was to rent a second truck for a show. I've been toying with the idea of getting my CDL license and replacing my current truck with a basic truck tractor and a pup trailer. This way I could simply rent a 48- or 53-foot trailer when I needed more space. Not to mention I would have trouble exceeding the 80,000 pound limit of a tractor trailer. But hey, all this takes is money, right?

Paul: I also have filled my rental truck from top to bottom and front to back. I also towed a generator on one show for 700 miles and back. The rental truck usually got down to 25 MPH on the mountains and about 55 MPH on the flats. It was a long, slow trip! I did have a CDL Class A for a while, but I let it go because I didn't want to drive trucks all the time. I don't know about you, but a 53-footer filled with gear is not what I would routinely call an Anklebiter. I have a show coming up that will require a rental truck, two trailers and another vehicle to tow a generator. I have gone in with others just to do the show. I use Budget Truck Rental, and they have corporate and local accounts. I am able to get a truck for as long as I need one. I rent trucks that have lift gates as well as ramps. This is very convenient for me because I can walk to the truck rental place and pick up the truck. I did rent from a place further away, but with the price differential it was better for me to rent closer. I also negotiated with the closer place for the lower price, so it has worked out well for me. Brian, what would you like to offer?

Brian: I've had good experiences with both Enterprise truck rental and Penske truck rental. Both of these companies have dedicated commercial truck fleets, which are only rented to business owners. In addition to having amenities like a lift gate, they also have E-track inside the cargo box so that I can use all of the standard ratchet straps and load bars just like I do in my own truck. Some even have air ride suspensions and seats, along with air brakes.

There are some things to be aware of when renting a commercial truck. Always be conscious of the height, width and gross weight of the vehicle. Many roads, bridges and tunnels have restrictions regarding the size of trucks. One of the tunnels that cross the harbor here in Baltimore doesn't allow trucks any wider than 96 inches, and many of Penske's trucks are 102. Most of these trucks are also registered at 26,000 pounds GVW, but some are higher, so you have to be careful not to drive something beyond the limitations of your driver's license. And for goodness sake, don't try to drive a 13- foot, six-inch truck under a 12-foot, nine-inch overpass. The truck tends to look like an opened sardine can afterwards.

Paul: I have seen the results of the sardine can effect on a truck, and it is not pretty. One of the best things that I get when I rent a truck is the full insurance coverage. I watched a guy bring in a truck that he had covered with his credit card insurance coverage. A rock hit the windshield and cracked it. That windshield replacement cost him $900. I pay around $20 for full insurance coverage on the truck. The other nice thing about a rental is that you always drive a newer truck. I have had mechanical problems with a truck, and the rental company brought me out a different truck to use. I still had to unload and load them, but I got to the gig. The kind of weight that I put in a truck will not work in many dual axle trailers pulled by a 1/4 ton pickup. If you haul a 26,000-pound load, then you need a heavy-duty truck and a heavyduty trailer. The choice is yours as to trucks or trailers, but be careful and don't hurt yourself or anyone else. I never thought that I would ever need to rent a truck, and now I have had several gigs where I needed two trucks and several trailers. My, how things change!

Brian: It's the growing pains of having a small business. And it's healthy. Not always easy, but it's a good sign of growth.