Pull Payout poll

Personally, I wish more pulls gave trophies...

You give me a $1000 for a 1st place (the night the moon turns blue) and just to be there I've spent a quarter of it in fuel, hotdogs, cokes, and whatever my boy or wife needed to pacify them for the night. That other 750 isn't gonna last long either...

But, if you have me 100 bucks and a trophy, I'd be back.

Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather set a couple trophies on the edge of the loft in the shop, than get a few bucks that'll be gone a few hooks later.

And anyway, building a pullin truck to make money is probably the definition of throwing money away.
 
I'd take the money everyday day of the week and twice on Sunday over a trophy. I can't pull into the fuel station on the way home from the pull and say "fill'er up!" and hand them a trophy.
 
Agree...the pulling truck is a hobby. The tow rigs fuel is an expense. Im happy when I can get there and back on my winnings.
 
97rada said:
They are not cheap to build but if you run 2/3 maybe 4 events a week you are making money on the investment in a year,
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300k for a new one. 180k for a good used one (hard to find), 20-40k for a junky one that needs 20-40k spent on it to make it halfway decent. 150k just for the parts to build one and a year+ for most people to get one built.
Also takes several years to build your business up to 3-4 events a week.
I took the latter route and am up to about 30 hooks in my 2nd year. Goal is to get to 60, I'm 2-3 years away and probably close to that long from seeing a return.
 
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bdp said:
What would you rather see at a pull for a payout, one big winner take all pot or pay back a bunch of slots for smaller payouts? Say 2000.00 for 1st or split 2000.00 up into 8 slots? What would be more enticing to drive a long ways?
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Obviously as a puller, one would want to see a BIG payout for all top finishers.
As a promotor, offering big payouts would be nice to entice people to come, but also that means you have to work your butt off securing that money.

Overall I think some of it depends on classes.
If you have a one time event with one class (say 2.6) and have a payout of $3,100, that might entice some and bring some heavy hitters, but think of what most average clubs do (they have many classes each event as that is what draws a crowd and gets the venue to invite them back).

Most clubs run multiple classes, so if you have 5 classes (3 less than we normally run), and each class you pay out $3,100, it would mean you would have a total purse payout of $15,500, nevermind sled rental, scales, lazer, fuel, etc. etc. putting you over 16K for the day in expenses.


Try rounding up 16K for each pull a season (that would be $128,000 over an 8 hook season) and you quickly realize why some clubs are lucky to pay out $100 to win.

Now for a one time (or even annual) event, $3100 per class might not be so bad, but you need A LOT of sponsors to do it.

I've seen club's pay ONLY ribbons (and NOTHING else, not even a cheap plastic trophy) for a first place finish, and some that pay $200 to win and pay down to sixth. They both get roughly the same amount of pullers.........

Some depends on geography and competition.
Offer $100 to win in most areas will draw out pullers, but in some areas pullers would laugh at $100......and say it is not worth the time/effort.

It often separates true truck pullers from trophy/money hunters, or those that can afford to pull and not win a dime vs. those who over extend themselves financially and can't afford to hook without the chance of monetary returns.
 
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Cotpc pays top 7.. I believe something like 300-400 to win.down to like 50-75$ for 6th 7th....with 20-40 trucks in the class at 20-25 a hook fee.. we pay our own winnings.. its really not hard to payout a lot.. wait untill 2013 there will be a big pul in Ohio.. 3500 to win pays top 5. 100 entry fee.
 
ParkerFly said:
300k for a new one. 180k for a good used one (hard to find), 20-40k for a junky one that needs 20-40k spent on it to make it halfway decent. 150k just for the parts to build one and a year+ for most people to get one built.
Also takes several years to build your business up to 3-4 events a week.
I took the latter route and am up to about 30 hooks in my 2nd year. Goal is to get to 60, I'm 2-3 years away and probably close to that long from seeing a return.
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Those have went up a lot! I assume most build there own ? Btw what's so expensive on these things?
 
97rada said:
Those have went up a lot! I assume most build there own ? Btw what's so expensive on these things?
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Anymore everything is expensive. The box drivetrain has to have 1710 driveline parts, a pro fab transmission, billet rear end, and non-slip tooth clutch. Plus the valving, miles of hydraulic lines, all the wear plate under the pan. chain roller for the weight box is several grand. 25,000 lbs. of weight is gonna run you close to $2 a lb. by the time you melt the lead and form it into the blocks. it adds up.
 
outlaw99 said:
Cotpc pays top 7.. I believe something like 300-400 to win.down to like 50-75$ for 6th 7th....with 20-40 trucks in the class at 20-25 a hook fee.. we pay our own winnings.. its really not hard to payout a lot.. wait untill 2013 there will be a big pul in Ohio.. 3500 to win pays top 5. 100 entry fee.
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What is the yearly membership fee, hook fee, and roughly how many members?

Reason I ask is you say it's not hard to pay out a lot, but if no outside income (sponsors, promotors, fair moneys, etc.) comes in, it either takes a large chunk from the pullers or a decent chunk from many pullers to make those numbers.

Taking your lowest high figure and paying a graduated payout down to 7th of $50, $300 for 1st, $250 for 2nd, $200 for 3rd, $150 for 4th, $100 for 5th, $75 for 6th, and $50 for 7th, that's a total of $1,125.

Now take your highest figure for hook fee and truck count ($25 and 40 respectively), that is only $1000. If first pays out $400 the discrepancy is more, and if you use your low figures of $20 a hook and 20 entries you end up at $400 which puts you minimally $725 in the red just for the payout in one class for one day.

I'd be willing to bet most clubs would go belly up in a few hooks if payouts were as you described and funded solely by the "pullers". Most don't realize just how much money comes from non-pullers.

Not saying your club isn't self sufficient (pretty damn cool if it is), but most I know that offer more than $50 to win or a plastic trophy rely more on outside sources (sponsor/fairs/promotors) than club members for it's income. Although polling 95% of the pullers in that club, they would most likely say otherwise as they have NO clue.

That said, in order for a club to be "self funded" you need either high membership and hook fees OR have such a large membership base that it carries the weight. Meaning you can't have a class of 7 trucks and pay out to 7 each pull and expect to survive without high fees, but if you have a class of 100 trucks and only pay to 7th then a modest membership fee and modest hook fees (100 trucks paying $25 to hook is $2500....which would be a pretty damn good payout) will cover the costs. That said who has anywhere near that number of trucks pulling in a single class.

Using the example of first paying $300 down to 7th of $50 in graduated steps, you would need 45 trucks at each hook paying $25 to cover the cost of just payouts (you would assume membership fees would pay for sled rental and other things). If you increased hook fees to $30 you would need 37.5 trucks (again not many clubs have those numbers in each class at each pull).
 
Leadfoot said:
What is the yearly membership fee, hook fee, and roughly how many members?

Reason I ask is you say it's not hard to pay out a lot, but if no outside income (sponsors, promotors, fair moneys, etc.) comes in, it either takes a large chunk from the pullers or a decent chunk from many pullers to make those numbers.

Taking your lowest high figure and paying a graduated payout down to 7th of $50, $300 for 1st, $250 for 2nd, $200 for 3rd, $150 for 4th, $100 for 5th, $75 for 6th, and $50 for 7th, that's a total of $1,125.

Now take your highest figure for hook fee and truck count ($25 and 40 respectively), that is only $1000. If first pays out $400 the discrepancy is more, and if you use your low figures of $20 a hook and 20 entries you end up at $400 which puts you minimally $725 in the red just for the payout in one class for one day.

I'd be willing to bet most clubs would go belly up in a few hooks if payouts were as you described and funded solely by the "pullers". Most don't realize just how much money comes from non-pullers.

Not saying your club isn't self sufficient (pretty damn cool if it is), but most I know that offer more than $50 to win or a plastic trophy rely more on outside sources (sponsor/fairs/promotors) than club members for it's income. Although polling 95% of the pullers in that club, they would most likely say otherwise as they have NO clue.

That said, in order for a club to be "self funded" you need either high membership and hook fees OR have such a large membership base that it carries the weight. Meaning you can't have a class of 7 trucks and pay out to 7 each pull and expect to survive without high fees, but if you have a class of 100 trucks and only pay to 7th then a modest membership fee and modest hook fees (100 trucks paying $25 to hook is $2500....which would be a pretty damn good payout) will cover the costs. That said who has anywhere near that number of trucks pulling in a single class.

Using the example of first paying $300 down to 7th of $50 in graduated steps, you would need 45 trucks at each hook paying $25 to cover the cost of just payouts (you would assume membership fees would pay for sled rental and other things). If you increased hook fees to $30 you would need 37.5 trucks (again not many clubs have those numbers in each class at each pull).
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Usually it's the promoters who pay it out. Our local club and any other I've been around charges X amount of dollars per class, with sled rental on top of that. Then its payed back to the pullers. Some clubs may use sponsor money to help with that, but it usually goes to an end of the year points fund. A $20,000 sponsor wouldn't go far towards paying back pullers at each pull...by the time its spread out across several classes and/or a dozen or two pulls, it's pretty thin.. Membership and hook fees usually go towards points fund too, or at least part of it with the rest going to pay stuff like insurance, club expenses (printing rule book, sponsor book, etc.)
 
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ParkerFly said:
Usually it's the promoters who pay it out. Our local club and any other I've been around charges X amount of dollars per class, with sled rental on top of that. Then its payed back to the pullers. Some clubs may use sponsor money to help with that, but it usually goes to an end of the year points fund. A $20,000 sponsor wouldn't go far towards paying back pullers at each pull...by the time its spread out across several classes and/or a dozen or two pulls, it's pretty thin.. Membership and hook fees usually go towards points fund too, or at least part of it with the rest going to pay stuff like insurance, club expenses (printing rule book, sponsor book, etc.)
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Understood, and I agree, but a previous poster made it sound like pullers pay for everything and that it was "really not hard to payout a lot". I'm just wondering how they do it (large number of trucks...50 or more in each class), or if they don't realize exactly where their funding comes from (I'd be willing to bet, most pullers don't.........I didn't until I had to write the checks and do the balance sheets)?
 
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