Dump Truck Financing – The Ultimate Guide

Dump Truck Financing

We’ve financed and leased hundreds of dump trucks. After talking to well over a thousand small business owners about purchasing a dump truck, here are the answers to the most common questions you might have about getting financing.

Dump Truck Financing Basics

Why finance a dump truck for your business?

Well, nine out of ten people who contact us couldn’t buy a dump truck unless someone helps them with leasing or financing.

For those lucky few with enough cash… it’s probably still a good idea to finance.

That’s because:

1. Unless you’re just swimming in money… using all your cash for expensive equipment would be foolish. You need working capital for your business, right?
2. You’ll eventually need to borrow money for your business. It’s much easier to do that if you’ve got some commercial credit.

Many people are surprised when they find out that getting a loan for business equipment is much different from a loan to buy a car.

The rules are totally different. Rates are way different.

Let’s go over how funding works when you are considering purchasing a dump truck.

How Much Can You Qualify for?

Here’s something we run into sometimes:

You want to buy a tri-axle dump truck for $75,000. But, sometimes you’re only able to get approved for $45,000. How do lenders figure out how much you’re approved for?

Check this out:

There are more than a hundred different dump truck financing programs on the market and they all have their own rules.

How much you can qualify for depends on several factors.

These include your credit, how much down payment you have, how long you’ve been in business, and other things.

Here are some financing basics

If you’ve got two or more years in business and good credit, you can sometimes get approved for up to $150,000 with barely more than a credit check.

Are you a startup business? If so, then programs are a little more restrictive.

Many startup programs top out at $75,000 but not always. In figuring out how much you’ll qualify for  here are the major factors:

• Time in business- more is better
• Credit – lenders look for a good credit score, along with “depth” – a history of financing. The longer the better
• “Comp Credit” – it’s especially helpful to have either business credit or having had financed vehicles personally
• Down payment – not always necessary… but a high down payment can often offset other risks like bad credit

So, how much you’ll qualify for really depends.

We can usually tell you within a few minutes how much you’re likely to qualify for with a quick chat.

How Much Down Payment Will You Need for Dump Truck Loans?

Down payment requirements for a dump truck totally depend on your situation. Sometimes you won’t need any down payment at all.

Most programs require a first and last payment upfront this averages around 4% of the cost of the dump truck. Other programs may require a 10, 25, or even 50% down payment to qualify.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to down payment requirements for dump trucks, but for some quick basics:

• Established businesses with good credit rarely need more than the first- and last- payment down.
• Established businesses with bad credit may need 10-20% down. It depends on how bad your credit is and what your business looks like in terms of cash flow
• Startups with good credit can usually get by with 10% or less down
• Startups with bad credit will usually need 20-50% down
• With 50% down, you would only be turned down in the most extreme of circumstances

Of course, how much down payment you'll need depends on your specific situation. We can help you figure that out. 

Dump Truck Leasing Vs. Financing

Here’s a question many of you ask. “Should I do a lease or finance my dump truck?”

The difference between the two is what happens at the end. With dump truck financing, that means you make X amount of payments (usually between 24 and 72).

On a lease, you’ll have a buyout at the end should you choose to keep the dump truck.

Dump truck leases usually have one of the following buyout options:

• 10% out – So if you bought a $50,000 truck, you’d have to pay $5,0000 at the end
• FMV (Fair Market Value) – you’d pay the average retail price of a similar dump truck in terms of the year, make, model and mileage
• TRAC lease (Terminal Residual Adjustment Clause) – You’d pay a predetermined amount at the end – this amount varies by contract

A lot of business owners decide whether to lease or finance based on what their accountant says. Always listen to your accountant.

With current tax law, when you finance you can choose to write off the entire purchase price immediately, while with a lease you write off all the payments.

Most of our customer's finance.

Since dump trucks hold their value very well, you're likely to want to keep the truck at the end of the term. 

Some of the programs available literally have no age or mileage restrictions. We recently did a deal for a 1992 Mack dump truck.

Other programs have restrictions, like “not more than ten years old” or “no more than 500,000 miles.”

Some investors are seriously picky.

Check out this note we got recently when seeking approval:

• Front axles are different…

• Rear axles are different…

• Transmission and gear ratios are different…

• Frames are double-framed on day cabs built for dumps…

• Highway day cabs only have 1 power steering box, dumps have 2.

• And many other things…

We do not finance any conversions at all anymore. While they do work, they are generally way more problematic trucks.

I mean, that dude seriously knows his dump trucks. A lot of investors don’t care at all about the equipment, including age and mileage.

With that said, we work with dozens of different programs. There’s almost always a way to find a solution for the truck you want to buy.