best questions not asked

If the lever your pulling or pushing is not moving the platform your looking at. STOP!!!

 

Wow, I admire your moxey. Never hauled a car and bought a new 8 car. Well one good thing is you have a new trailer, not one that has been tweaked/bent up.
It is hard to go over all the things you need to know in this small space. One thing to remember, if you move enough vehicles, at some point one is going to get damaged. PIN YOUR DECKS while loading!! ever see a hydraulic line blow on a deck come down? It is faster than you can get out of there.

 

I'm not sure where to begin - so I won't - I'm a lousy typer/texter anyway.

Here's a thought thooo - Why not approach another broker with similar gear and PILES of experience and flat out offer him/her some decent coin to park his/her truck for a few days and give you two a 'crash' course in car haul. Including load/unload, damages (claims/prevention/pictures/inspection reports/rail head damage verification), O/O paperwork, weights, permits (overhangs etc), and finally what he said ^ safety (pin decks, etc)

'Luck

 

Parking lot driver told me the best .....documentation ! documentation, photos and more documentation. Major CYA. Get a digital camera and put the hawk eye on everything before you touch it. Told me you can't get enough and don't forget the time stamp!

I turned down an offer from a major partially because of this reason. ($1000 deductible to driver all claims )


Good luck

 

Read this and figured I would although it's 3 months after.Couple of tips from another car hauler that has had many mistakes and damages -When loading vehicles on the ramps, pull up to the ramp then get out and make sure both sides are even. This we give you a point of reference while driving up the trailer. You can easily get off track with narrow cars like smart cars and wide vehicles like F250s. A few seconds and your in the middle of the trailer or off the sides.-*always stick your head out of the drivers windows to guide yourself up and down the trailer. Using the mirrors might cause you to constantly correct yourself and bump the mirrors. The door might bump or grab the sides of the trailer.-close all mirrors-smooth speed on the ramps and trailer. Some cars are powerful (SS Camaro, Corvette, pickup trucks) and will be spin the wheels while sliding sideways. Under powered cars we constantly get stuck and you'll have to start again and again.-3 points of contact while on the trailer. Most of us have fell off the trailer or know someone who has. And if you slip the vehicle might be damaged.-after locking the ramps/decks tap them all before you drive away to ensure their down and lockedAll I can think of right now. Hopefully this finds someone that it will save. Lol

 

You may be talking about a company deal at $1,000 deductible. If he has his own authority & the $250,000-$350,000 cargo for 8 car set up, minimum deductible is 1%. So first $2500-$3500 is cash out of pocket per claim.
Hauling new cars & exceed the max damage dollar amount the mfg has set in brokerage agreement, you buy the car. Some policies cover this, most do not.

 

It's actually worse than that, at least with Ford. If it's over a thousand dollars in repairs that involve more than bolt-on parts, or require any welding, it goes to auction after it's repaired. So you're on the hook for the repairs and however much they lost by having to sell the unit at auction. You don't even get the chance to buy it, fix it and sell it. The part of the insurance that covers it is called Diminished Value, and LBZ is right that most policies exclude this unless you purchase and additional rider on the policy for just this coverage.

 

vehicles
+1000. Back in my Hadley days, we were allowed to buy the vehicle before it went to auction. All the company vehicles were Cat F's that we bought.