08' Dodge Ram 4500 maybe?

[Buster]

I have 17 years with the Teamsters and have been offered a M/F day shift 40 hour a week driving job With a union company. I am thinking about taking it.:confused: That means my truck and trailer "may" be for sale. I'm posting here to find out from people who know my truck and trailer and know what it would be worth. I'll give a little run down on them both. If you look around on this forum you will find pictures of both. I dont have any on this computer. I'll find some and post a link.

http://www.autoexpeditor.com/dto_garage.php?do=editvehicle&v=1004


Truck:
2008 Dodge ram 4500 120" standard cab, cab and chassis 6 speed auto trans. with 130,000miles, 6 Michelin tires installed at 115,000 miles, DPF delete with H&S programmer on stock setting, new exhaust manifold, turbo drilled and taped and flushed at 96,000 miles, all service and repair done professionally and on time or sooner (Amsoil ALWAYS), 2 Optima batteries, Pyrometer, 6 disk in dash factory stereo, 1000w inverter, Lap top stand, P3 brake controller, 48" AA sleeper custom built and installed by AA sleeper (Brisco was there and saw it the day it was installed) with 13500btu AC/Heat, Vuqube satellite with 20" flat screen TV and directv receiver box, Honda 3000 generator with remote start/stop, aluminum 91 gal fuel tank tool box combo plumbed to main tank with shut off valve, Super hitch fifth wheel hitch (25,500lbs), 1/4 fenders with flaps - set up for full fenders if you want to install them, class 5 receiver hitch, 2 60" under body tool boxes, 1/4 inch thick aluminum fuel tank cover, probably more but I cant remember now.

Trailer:
2009 Infinity GN400 4 car with Goodyear E range tires at about 75%, Electric over hydraulic disk brakes, 2 spare tire underbelly racks with 1 new trailer spare (Chinese) and 1 new truck spare (Goodyear), On board air compressor with 5 gal. tank, 22 extra "D" rings welded on for a total of 34 on lower deck for versatile tie down options, 9K pierce winch with remote and wired controller, 3 18" wide by 8' long aluminum ramps for easy loading of any kind of vehicles, Rear ramps reworked to accommodate wide vehicles, Tire chain racks with full set of chains for truck (3 railers) and trailer, 3/8" thick Rear skid plates to protect frame in low clearance areas. Probably more but I cant remember now.

So....What do you guys think its worth either together as a package or separately? I will throw in a full set of straps and ratchets for 4 cars both wheel straps and rjt clusters.

[haulin rv]

Best of the luck to you what ever direction you choose to go, hopefully no matter what you'll stick around with us!

[LBZ]

A good job with 17 years already in, guaranteed income & benefits is a no brainer these days.

Not sure what the value of everything is, but thinking you will do better stripping all the good stuff out of the 4500(the electronic stuff) to sell separately or possibly throw something in when a buyer is on the fence of purchasing it.

[Buster]

LBZ I was thinking every time someone offered less than asking price I would just say "OK but without......."

[Microsoftsteve]

if you do get to the point of selling items off the truck i'd be interested in some items like the a/c unit, tv, satilite, direct tv box. I sure hope you stay but a good job is hard to find.

[Buster]

Micro, the AC is easy. You can get them online for about $750 with both parts (inside and outside). It can be installed for under $300. Install requires a 14 1/4" square hole and the 2 pieces sandwich the roof with 4 bolts. You can run the wiring to a plug on the generator.


Update: Truck also has Firestone Riderite Air bags and LED tail lights.

[ccoop769]

Man i love your setup!!!! A++ work for sure.....

[Buster]

Been doing some research. Iv been seeing 08 Dodges with about the same mileage for between $28k and $34k without any upgrades AT ALL! Mine should be worth $35k.

I found 1 2007 Infinity 4 car for sale for $15500 with no extras. I was thinking my 09 should be worth an easy $15000.

Together with a full tank of fuel.....$47k
(sorry Coop, no financing :rolleyes:)

[Microsoftsteve]

It is one pretty set up. I always wondered about your generator, like as in someone stealing it. Nice to see no one ever messed with it.

[Buster]

Its bolted to the frame from the bottom in 6 places and its 3/8" aircraft cable locked to the frame also. The bolts in the frame are saftey bolts that take a special socket and they are hard to reach.

[smr500]

I paid 30k for my '08 5500 brand new through Woodhouse (shipped up from FLA). I got a good deal. I think you are in the ballpark Lee. It is tempting but got my mind set on the single axle semi. Hope you stick around here, always enjoyed and respected your opinions and experiences. Your truck is nice!

[smr500]

Forgot, try listing on truckpaper. Your first listing with them is free. Mine sold in 1 hour with 3,000 miles on it for 30k.

[Buster]

Thanks Shane. I'm still just thinking about it. I have time before the job offer goes away(months). I'm looking for opinions on the price.

[Dorsey]

This is only my opinion and everyone has a different opinion.

With the economy the way it is I would say around $30,000 for the combo minus all the add ons you have put on the truck. I haven't priced Dodges lately but a year ago you could get them for under $30,000. I'd start off a little more though. You have added alot of stuff to the truck but I doubt you would ever get your money for it so I would strip all of it and sell seperatly.

Anyways that's my opinion so don't shoot me please.:p

[Buster]

Opinions are exactly what I asked for. Thanks

[h2oskibumz]

Months? I think I would firm up "IF I accept how quickly would you need me to start? How quickly COULD I start?"

If its really that flexible I would throw YOUR price against the wall and see if it sticks. Put it on truckpaper and craigslist and see what kind of hits you get. Maybe none. Maybe you get a pretty good offer fairly early with or without some of the goodies. It won't cost anything to put it out there.

I'm with some of the other guys. It SEEMS a bit high, but it is a WELL put together package that has PROVEN ability to turn a profit... that's got value to a lot of folks. Good or bad economy makes no difference: the right buyer has to come along...

[ccoop769]

I agree with Dorsey. Its going to be a real tough market. If you were to setup your combo as is and I saw the price of $45k, I would just pass, but that doesnt mean I wouldnt drool over your setup.

Guess it all depends on your flexability with selling your equipment. Start high, and just keep on dropping, the less flexability you have, drop the price quicker. Give options to buyers with and without all your addons. post them single and combo.

There are plenty of buyers in this world that wants something specific, and may not worry to much about the price. Thus you might get a hit for 50k. Few from many doing this, but it does happen. definately worth a post of a high price for a little bit while your still thinking to take the union job or not. Selling it for 50k might be your incentive to quit being O/O.

Honestly though, if I was in the market and had cash/credit available, I probably wouldnt spend more then 30k-35k. But dont take my advice, i almost spent 50k on a chevy.

You also have to take into effect the new body style 4500/5500s. Price of our 3rd generation dodges are dropping now. Waiting a few months to decide on what you want to do might cost thousands of dollars while newer model dodges are rolling out and our trucks prices fall in the drain.

You have a very nice truck/trailer. Unfortunately, many people dont know you get what you pay for!!!!

[Microsoftsteve]

I hate to say it but I agree with Coop, it's not what you want to hear but I remember on the Gary's site someone "ryan"? had to sell his setup and ending up parting out the whole thing. Basically that is why I threw out that I'd be interested in the items I mentioned before. Your set up is as good as it gets for what your doing with that size truck, unfortunately most do not have that type of cash. And most would very tempted to get a larger truck as we all seem to need down the road if they were to spend that much. Good luck on it, hopefully you will find the right buyer. I'd do what Coop said and start at your optimal price and move down from there. I wouldn't part it out til absolutely necessary. I would separate the trailer, truck immediately from the start if needed. I do know one person who is getting into this business and I'll ask him too. He would love your set up and might pull the trigger.

[Buster]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the opinions and suggestions. As far as the job goes, it does not start until Dec. 1. I would be replacing a retiree. The job will not be offered to any one else until at least mid November. As for the price, I would not even consider selling the truck alone for much less than I'm asking. If it does not sell, I would remove the sleeper, generator, fuel tank and hitch and have a toter home type of thing done to it. Even in a bad economy, there is good equipment for sale for a reasonable price. People in this business know the value of there equipment. Especially when they see the crap out there that people are trying to GET BUY with. I agree that my starting price is a bit high but I'd rather start to high than to low. Even if I accept the job offer, I can sit on the truck and trailer for awhile. I am being hesitant about the job because I would be pulling doubles over a very high and often snow covered pass, 2 round trips a week. Been there, Done that, Got LOTS of shirts!!! I had a 19 year old kid in daddy's brand new Suburban pass me doing 50 in a blizzard. He spun out in front of me. I "T" boned him in the passenger side door which turned me to the right and off the cliff I went. I took out 70' of guard rail and I went 96 feet down a 400' cliff face first!!(I still cant find that pair of undies!!). It took 3 rig wreckers and a road grader 5 hours to tow it back up the cliff. This all happened on the same route I would be running and it happened all to often. So I'm a little hesitant to take the job at my age.

[Tosch88]

Lee, put the price you want on it & see what happens. I did this with my Fl70 this past winter. I didn't really care if it sold or not (was trying to make money on it) & really only got about 6 calls in 3 months. My free listing in the Truck Paper was about up when a guy called out of the blue & had to have it. We'll he came the next day bought it & made me an offer on the wedge that was more than fair considering I made out like a fat cat on the Fl I sold the whole set-up. Buying a complete package that is turnkey & ready to make money the next day counts for serious money. You can spend weeks putting a truck, trailer combo together & then all the other stuff to make it livable on the road. If you make an avg of $4k a week & spend 2 weeks getting your pieced together set-up going, you just lost $8k of income opportunity. If you buy something that's been rolling as a set-up since day one, you can letter it, plate it & be rolling the next day without the stress or work involved in setting up your own stuff. An experienced business person has to take all costs into mind & thats the buyer your looking for. Just my two cents. Good luck in your decision:D

[Brisco]

Watch this one just to kinda get an idea on what you might be able to sell it for.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/08-Dodge-slt-4500-SLEEPER-5TH-WHEEL-HAULER-/160467955783?pt=Commercial_Trucks

But, my opinion there Lee, if you've "been there-done that" with regards to what area that route covers, how long do you think it'd be until your mind would be thinking, "damn, here I go again" if you actually parked/sold your truck and went to work for "The Man" again? ;)