Dump truck financing helps excavation, paving, site-work, landscaping and hauling contractors put a truck on the payroll instead of renting one or hiring a hauler by the hour. It is heavy equipment financing for a machine that earns on almost every job, and a dump truck is often the first big asset that changes a contractor's margins.
Buy, or keep hiring trucks?
Start with your own records. Total twelve months of hired hauling and truck rental. If you are paying for trucking most weeks of the season, ownership deserves a serious look. As an example, $2,500 a week in hired hauling over a 40-week season is $100,000 a year, which is in the range of what many contractors pay over a few years to finance a good used truck. If you need a truck only a few weeks a year, keep hiring. Our contractor equipment financing guide walks through the same rent-versus-own maths for other machines.
What a dump truck commonly costs
Prices vary widely with axle count, body, mileage and condition. New tandem and tri-axle trucks commonly run well into six figures, with tri-axles often priced from around $150,000 upward. Used trucks span a much wider range, from the tens of thousands for older, high-mileage units to more than $100,000 for late-model ones. Quotes from your dealer or seller are what count; these ranges are only a guide to scale.
Two ways to fund it
Equipment financing for the truck. The truck secures the funding, and the term is matched to its working life. This is usually the cheapest way to pay for the truck itself, new or used, from a dealer or a private seller. See equipment financing and our guide to choosing an equipment financing company.
Working capital for everything around it. A down payment, insurance, registration and permits, a new bed or tarp system, a driver's first weeks, or a repair that cannot wait. These costs cannot be financed against the truck, and they are where many contractors come up short.
How it works
1. The truck and the numbers. The quote or listing, plus what the truck will earn: the jobs it will cover and the hauling it replaces.
2. Four months of bank statements. Your deposits are the core of the file, alongside a soft credit pull.
3. Offers. Equipment financing for the truck, and working capital for the costs around it if you need them, each with the total cost shown in dollars.
4. Delivery and payments. The truck is paid for at purchase, and payments run on a schedule that suits each part.
What we look at
Construction is underwritten more carefully than most trades, so deposits carry a lot of weight. We look at average monthly deposits and how steady they are, how many deposits arrive each month, how the account handles slow-paying general contractors, existing equipment and funding payments, time in business, and the truck itself: age, mileage and price. A one-truck hauler with lighter deposits will find options narrower.
Plan for the winter
In colder states, site work and hauling slow down for part of the year, but truck payments do not. Make sure the payment works in your slowest months, not just your best ones, and apply during the season while your statements show full deposits. Our construction cash flow guide covers retainage and progress billing gaps too.
A worked example
An excavation contractor banking $140,000 a month spends about $90,000 a year hiring trucks. It finds a used tri-axle for $95,000. As an illustration: equipment financing covers most of the price over five years, and $25,000 of working capital covers the down payment, insurance and a set of tires. The test is simple. If the truck payment plus fuel, insurance, upkeep and driver costs comes in under what the company was paying for hired hauling, the truck pays for itself. If it is close, the extra capacity has to earn the difference.
Read next: Construction funding · Equipment financing for contractors · Construction cash flow
Checking what dump truck financing your business qualifies for takes about 60 seconds, uses a soft credit pull only, and costs nothing. There are no broker fees. Start an application or request a callback with the truck you have in mind.
Common questions
Can I finance a used dump truck from a private seller?
Often, yes. Used trucks from dealers and private sellers can both be financed, and the truck's age, mileage and condition shape the term. Very old or high-mileage trucks may be better paid for partly with working capital.
Do I need a down payment for dump truck financing?
It depends on the truck and the file. Some equipment financing covers most or all of the price, while older trucks or newer businesses often need money down. Working capital can cover a down payment if the deposits support it.
Can a new hauling business get dump truck financing?
It is harder. Most funding is decided on the business's own track record, so a company with under a year of deposits will usually have fewer options and may need a larger down payment.