How much can an O/O car hauler make?

**ae31** · 05.13.2012

I have an old friend that I ran into that says you can make 10,000 per momth clean as an owner operator. From florida to texas. Does this sound realistic. He says hes been doing it for two years. What is realistic for a 9 car owner operator? Thanks.

**texan007** · 05.14.2012

If you have the contracts then yes you can make the money......but its tough no doubt. Don't buy the equipment before you have some contracts is my advice!

**SHO-TYME** · 05.14.2012

Remember nothing pays decent coming out of Florida unless you have a contract with someone.

**ae31** · 05.14.2012

Ok thanks for the replies. Ill look into it some more. he says that car hauling is the best gig in trucking right now. What is avg for pay and how do car haulers get paid by the car or by the mile?

**LBZ** · 05.16.2012

Auto transport is too saturated with both equipment & brokers stamping credit cards. Both of which pull rates down.

You can run flatbed for less money in equipment & far more options.

**ae31** · 05.16.2012

Thanks lbz i'll look into that option. are you talking about a dually with a trailer?

**LBZ** · 05.16.2012

Originally Posted by ae31

Thanks lbz i'll look into that option. are you talking about a dually with a trailer?

I started with a dually/flatbed set up, they have their fit & more so in oil field. Trying to find light weight good paying partials became pretty tough on the open market.

Definitely would recommend a class 8 & hooking up with a solid company, whether it be leasing under Landstar or another similar company. There is money in ltl or full load flat bed freight, you just need more capacity than a dually can offer.

As for cars, as someone mentioned, the money is NOT there in the general open market. Brokers can start their business for very little money out of pocket & begin stamping credit cards. Most haven't a clue how the industry works, then add some shady carriers working for nothing & it gets ugly real quick.

**ae31** · 05.17.2012

thanks for your reply. I will look into landstar. So you think flatbed is better than car transport. I will look into that. thanks again

**LBZ** · 05.18.2012

Originally Posted by ae31

thanks for your reply. I will look into landstar. So you think flatbed is better than car transport. I will look into that. thanks again

When you factor in the cost of specialized equipment of 6-7-8-9 car trailers, higher insurance costs with higher cargo limits & higher maintenance costs, most definitely.

Nothing in trucking is guarantee, but currently see carriers switching to other avenues of trucking or getting out completely. More cars are going on rail cutting even more out of the carrier. Used cars prices have been extremely high for the last 18 months which also hurts how much a dealer may be willing to invest. More dealers have been offering to buy cars from the public instead of going through the typical auction/transport/detail/sale.

I have been moving only cars since 08 & like what I do. But if I could switch to something else w/o losing much on what is invested, would jump at it.

**SHO-TYME** · 05.18.2012

Originally Posted by ae31

Ok thanks for the replies. Ill look into it some more. he says that car hauling is the best gig in trucking right now. What is avg for pay and how do car haulers get paid by the car or by the mile?

Your "friend" is full of s%^&. Did your "friend" also tell you how EXPENSIVE auto transport insurance is?

It's a decent gig, but every Tom, Dick, and window licker that has a dually, buys a wedge trailer and thinks they're gonna make it big, but the end up underbidding everyone just to get work and it drives the price down, and then there's the brokers.............