large truck vs small truck?

Hey all, new to the forum, I've been scrapping in the summers and off and on throughout college, started abut two years ago and its amazing how fast you learn, and how many people have you running all over town to pick up metal! word of mouth really helps! I love scrapping, Im currently in school for a business degree and if it was possible, someday I would love to be able to recycle metal full time, working for myself. Now, i know in this business, to make money, you have to make sure your costs are as LITTLE as possible! (gas tools time being key) now my question is about my work truck, a 1991 mazda b2600i 4x4. This has been a great truck and is my second mazda, LOVE these trucks because they seeminly run forever.....I NEVER have to put any money into this thing, it just keeps puttin along. That being said, would it benefit me to get a larger truck?? the way i see it, yes my mazda is has smaller bed capacity, but the way i see it, im saving a ton on gas! I get around 19 mpg in town.....worthy trade off for lack of hauling space?? or would the bigger truck help more?? thanks!

I think if your average size for picking up scrap is small, then I'd just keep the Nissan for gas mileage... vice versa, if you want to get into bigger stuff, then I'd get a bigger truck.

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Originally Posted by jennija

Hey all, new to the forum, I've been scrapping in the summers and off and on throughout college, started abut two years ago and its amazing how fast you learn, and how many people have you running all over town to pick up metal! word of mouth really helps! I love scrapping, Im currently in school for a business degree and if it was possible, someday I would love to be able to recycle metal full time, working for myself. Now, i know in this business, to make money, you have to make sure your costs are as LITTLE as possible! (gas tools time being key) now my question is about my work truck, a 1991 mazda b2600i 4x4. This has been a great truck and is my second mazda, LOVE these trucks because they seeminly run forever.....I NEVER have to put any money into this thing, it just keeps puttin along. That being said, would it benefit me to get a larger truck?? the way i see it, yes my mazda is has smaller bed capacity, but the way i see it, im saving a ton on gas! I get around 19 mpg in town.....worthy trade off for lack of hauling space?? or would the bigger truck help more?? thanks!

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very dependent on how much weight you haul around.

I drive a 94 dodge ram 3500 Cummins 12v diesel. It's also a dually. If I were to turn the pump back down, I'd get around 20 city, 23-24 highway. Not bad for a 6500# truck. This is meant to be my tow pig for my 4x4 off road rig, but it's also my DD for now.

I would avoid a gasser with a larger motor if that becomes a major factor in your scrapping, a 6.0L chevy typically gets 10-13 no matter what you do to it.

If you were to pick up a diesel on the cheap, and do your own wmo setup (waste motor oil), you can beat the snot out of a gasser for price. You have to be able to find the WMO though, and build a dedicated setup for filtering and mixing. I'm planning to build one, but I haven't gotten that far yet. Mainly because I haven't found a location to do it (currently renting).

If you have problems filling up the mazda on a run to the scrap yard, I wouldn't invest in a bigger truck. If you have a problem with it overflowing or a collection run, I would look for a bigger truck, or a small trailer.

Hope this helps you out to some extent. You really need to factor in your daily miles driven into the whole ordeal. I can help you break it down if you throw some #s out there.

I used to scrap in an 89 Ford Ranger 4X4, same truck as your Mazda. I have carried over a ton in the bed and never had any problems. The key is to put all of your heaviest items as low and forward as possible.
And no I didn't kill the truck, I sold it when I moved.

As the word of mouth grows, the business will force you into a bigger truck, then a trailer, and then ................................................? The question will answer itself in time. Ideally it would be nice to have both.

I am big on a trailer, for the extra room, if you have a place for it. Low maintenance!!! I have one, that has served me well, for about 8 years! Big enough for some good size loads, and small enough to move around by myself, when needed. ie...had 5 loads out of a mailing company a few weeks ago. I dropped the trailer and got it right under the dock, the way I wanted it for loading, then hooked the truck back up. Area was tight trying to leave it on the truck. We took a forklift, I put a jib on it, and lifted some big old sorting equipment and dropped it all right in, like a small crane. When I got to to the yard, they just picked it all off. Hauled over 5 tons, and the only sweat I broke, was strapping it all in.

One of those days I had an e-scrap pickup a mile from that company. We loaded close to a half ton of old servers, etc, in the back of the truck. Picked up a load at the mail-house, went to the yard, then home and dropped the trailer. Backed the truck in, and thennnnnnn...took a nap! :p After a little beauty rest, came down and unloaded the truck. For me, having a truck and trailer, works out well. Jus my 2.5 (inflation)

If you have a dependable truck with good mileage and paid for, it would be sorta silly to swap it in for less mileage, unknown dependability, and monthly(or weekly) payments, long as there's any other choice. You didn't say what motor or trans you've got but if it's the 6 you should have no problem pulling a trailer, and if it's a standard just increase your shifting RPM with a load, and you'll be scrapping onward, with a trusted steed and lots more room when you need it

I *still* have my Tacoma 2.4L. You know, it gets the job done most of the time, and I have a 4x8 trailer just in case. I grew from just a truck, and then needed a trailer. If, on the off chance I need to haul a huge amount, I go rent a truck. 20 foot penske with a lift gate cost me $50 for the day last time I got one. Filled the whole thing up with stuff that was free. By the end of the day, I had run 2 tons of shred into the yard and that wasn't close to the majority of the money...definitely worth renting.

actually, mazda and ford didnt have a joint venture in the small truck market until after 1993, so not the same yet, my mazda is actually a mazda :) I do get what you are saying though, thanks!!

I have a 3/4 ton Chevy and 96 Nissan. Gona rebuild the motor in the Nissan, it has 230k and broke timing chain, and get a open center light weight car trailer for picking up cars. Gona have the best of both worlds. There's a benefit to both, which is why I'm gona have both. If I had to choose just one, it'd be my 3/4 ton, kinda hard to haul 3 ton of shred on a gooseneck trailer with a Nissan.

I was just looking at a few pic's and if you had stake pockets I would add side boards about a foot tall, but I don't see any on that truck.

correct, there are no stake pockets :( I've been trying to figure out away to construct some bedwalls (sideboards), and a guard for the rear glass, cant tell you how many times I've come close to shattering that!

I've built lumber racks with lightweight angles, then later made a plywood piece on each side cut to fit into the angles frame. The sideboards were easy on/easy off so I could put em on when needed or take em down when not needed. It only takes about 4 screws to hold each side in place. Depending on the truck bed sides, the base angles can be bolted in only a couple of places without fear of safety. If you're concerned about the paint just lay a strip of rubber under the angle before bolting it down. With the top angles just above the cab height you can carry some fairly long stuff. Only thing is the back cross member can be in the way for loading taller items into the bed, so I adapted it to be an easy on/off too.
Skill level is low to medium, and even at todays prices, if you had to buy new materials(I think I used bed rails, which are extremely handy hobby material, for the base angles on mine) I think under $50 would build a nice lumber/ladder/sideboard rack

I am also driving a 91 it's a Nissan hardbody 2wd 2.4L with 330k on the original engine. That's why I have always driven japonese and also where I got the name JapScrap. I'm pretty sure your truck has a 2.6L so our trucks should be fairly similar in power, your 0.2L should make up for your extra weight. SHOULD. Anyways I, like many have suggested already, bought a trailer. It's an all steel 4x8 with 4' sides and only cost me 300$. Sure I did have to fix it a few times but I had saved appropriate pieces of steel ahead of time from my scrap. The most I have ever hauled in the trailer and truck combined was about 4000lbs of industrial racking. It was scary as h*ll for me and my clutch and though we both survived I would never do it again or ever suggest anyone try.

Point being you can probably comfortably tow about 2000-3000lbs.
Oh and no one else mentioned it yet so I will and I speak from experience... Gat a hitch if you don't have one. At first I towed with my bumper (rated at 2000lbs) I never towed more than 1500 incl. the trailer. I found out pretty quick that after 22yrs my bumper couldn't take it and started cracking in four different places. Picked up a brand new curt 5000lb hitch for 225$. It can handle more weight than my motor ever could.
Best of luck!
Oh and another tip if your trucks bed is a 6 footer then the two halves of a steel futon should make the perfect size sides. If you drill holes in the bed rails at the front and back then stick long pieces of rebar in the two holes and then you can just slip the futon halves over the rebar and voila! As for the window I built my own "back-rack" with 1" square steel tubing it took about 1/2 hr, but you could always use another futon half. Cut however much you need out of the middle then piece it back together with steel tubing that will fit inside the horizontal bars. You can use plumber's strapping to hold your 3 sides together. You don't need to secure anything to the truck itself as gravity will keep it all in place,if your rebar is long and thick enough, and you can just take it all off when you want.
Sorry for the rant. Hope it was with reading and let me know if you need any more info or pics. I'd be happy to help!

Also for a window guard you can get the back piece off of a refrigerator (mesh) and cut to size and sheet metal screw to the rear of the cab around window. That's if it's not "showroom new".

hhahaha literally chuckled from this, it couldn't be further from showroom, its a 1991 b2600i 4x4, good ol' mazdabomb. shees a grinder though, never lets me down. besides idk about you guys, but around here, no one scraps in anything but old beaters (UNLESS, its an electrical company or contractors droppin off copper, then ive seen som brand new superdutys, ect, but im talking one man shows like myself):) Just part of the life of a scrapper! and i love it!

i started with a small toyota ,but been using a full size for about a year now ,....both have advantages

the toyota fit in alleys better ,lower to the ground for less lifting ,took less space when pulling off the road and had better visability for spotting stuff .........disadvantages,...less volume ,less interior room for stashing tools and less wieght capacity

run a dodge full size 2wd gasser now ,.....surprising enough it gets around 15-18 mpg ,compared to 20-25 mpg of the toyota ,....my gas costs per load didn't go up that much ,.....it has a bigger bed and more capacity all together ,if i strap stuff on the roof and toss stuff inside it'll hold almost twice the stuff ,....as for weight ,the toyota was maxed at around 1,500 lbs ,tires were ready to blow and axel was sitting on frame ,...so far the heaviest i've had the dodge was 2,000 lb load ,....it didn't notice it much ,.....disadvantages ,...the extra foot i gotta lift stuff ,makes a big difference ,it's harder to spot stuff ,turn around and sqeeze it into small alleys ,......it sucks in the snow too

as for side boards ,i don't use them ,....i like being able to access and roll stuff in from the sides ,....i can pack a quicker and more dense load without them ,and it's easier to unload a partial load at the yard so i can refill it ....instead i have like a thousand bungies and ratchet straps i use if needed......i also like looking more stealthy ,side boards ,unless built nicely, stand out ,make the truck look getto when i'm not hauling and effect gas milage ,......i won't use the

I've owned a full size cargo van a ford ranger with 7 ft bed and now I have a chevy 1500 with a full 8 foot bed so far the best has been the chevy when is first got it I was loading loads that I used to take I'm the ranger and realizing it only took half the truck bed up. The gas mileage from 4 cyl to 6 cyl usually isn't that bad and the extra power of a 6 will help when your towing trailers or have a real big load

A lot of good replies here. For me, I have stayed away from pickups and trailers. They take 2x the maintenance, tabs, d.o.t. inspections, ect.. They do cut short corners backing in on the lighter side, but can be a bear to load of you don't have power (winch or anything to help you load or tilting to unload). A single axle truck (in my opinion) is the way to go with a little Detroit diesel (excellent mileage, dependability, economy motor) and you can load it up nice (6-7 ton) and still get about 16 to the gallon in a medium duty truck. Maintanance is a tad more but repairs are very seldom. You have live hydraulics and can winch like none other using the motor for the power. these trucks are pretty cheap and cheap to operate. Keep your mazda for the light runs (pickups) and you have your bigger truck for heavy pickups and getting the bigger checks at the scale.