I have been seeing more and more post on how some people do not have access to a truck. As some of you already know, I scrap out of my small Saturn Sl2, which is a pretty tiny car. Is it my most ideal vehicle to use for scrapping, far from it. I have made it work for me most of the time and Im going to tell you new as well as old timers how I have done it.
PROS
First thing I want to cover is, dont feel like you can't haul much or the guys in big trucks will outhaul you every time. There are many advantages to using a car rather than a truck. Here is my list off the top of my head,
1) Gas Mileage- Larger trucks can sometimes see single digits when it comes to miles per gallon. All the trucks that I have owned in the 5 cubic liter range got 18MPG Max on a good day while cruising the highway. A small car such as mine can get as high as 42mpg, although 30mpg is a safer estimate especially around town.
2) Under the Radar - Where I live, the cops always harass scrappers. They see that old pick up truck going down the street and they are instantly on your butt for miles. A car fares quite a bit better and almost always seems to slide right under the radar. I advise no tint on the windows as that does draw some attention.
3) Storage - Scrap is easier to lock up inside your car vs the back of a pick up truck. Most scrap thieves dont expect to find any in a parked car, and normal car thieves dont want to deal with the scrap.
Cons
Now obviously there are some negative qualities to using a car for scrapping out of. Im going to list what I have come across and how I overcame these issues.
1) Space - A car has a lot less room to fit scrap into. Its a tight fit and sometimes you may have to give up on larger items such as washers and dryers.
My Thoughts - Watching other scrappers at the yard as well as my dad, the likeliness that you come across something too big to fit is pretty small. The scrappers I see usually have less than 1000LBs worth of steel in their truck and if I tried I could usually fit that in my car with a little work. You also use much less gas so even if you have to make 2 or 3 trips to the yard to carry as much steel as a larger truck, you make about the same amount of money at the end of the day. You can also focus on Non-Ferrous and Escrap which I usually try doing. If you have a little money you can also purchase a hitch and trailer for most cars.
2) Maintenance - A car is not designed to carry such heavy loads. They have weaker parts which need to be replaced a lot more often if the car is abused. Tie-rods, brakes, CV Axles,struts, etc....
My Thoughts - I drive a lot so I keep up on maintenance anyways. Cars need more attention to details more often in my opinion, especially if your hauling a lot of weight. I have done many dangerous loads in my car and I strongly advise against weighing your car down over the manufacturers limits.
3) Public View - This might not be a limitation of the vehicle, but rather the driver. When I first started scrapping out of my car, I felt like a homeless person or something. People will give you weird looks when you jump out of your car and load a water tank in the truck, or strap a grill on top of your roof.
My Thoughts - I overcame all the bad things I thought about myself and realized "I just made a $20 bill of that". At the end of the day, the main priority is putting food on the table, and don't forget that.
This isnt a complete guide, but I hope to add more tips and advice in the future.
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