Need Hot shot advice

You need to get the longest trailer you can, at least a 48' DECK, so that'll put you at a 53' overall length with your gooseneck. The MINIMUM you should even consider is a 40' deck. And whatever you do, do not listen or work for that crook Gary in Phelan Ca!!!! You have been warned!!

 

^^Agreed^^

 

The gooseneck eats 8 ft, so that would give you a 43ft deck, but if there's a deck on the goosneck, it would give you more cargo area.

 

I don't know what kinda hot shot forums are out there, but do your research first and find all the different load boards you can get your hands on. Again, stay way from uship and Gary lol.

 

LA101, I'm Gary the guy that SemperFi Services is warning you about. Boo! :laugh: Just for the record I've never worked with SemperFi Services.

As to your question about what size trailer? Whatever style/type trailer you decide purchase be sure that you do not exceed 65' in total truck/trailer length. With there being a bed on your truck you will be classified as a Truck Trailer comination. If you didn't have a truck bed you'd be classified as a tractor trailer combination. You can verify what I'm saying on the Federal Motor Carriers website. Also, be sure that when you purchase a trailer that it has a legal Bridge for the States you'll be operating in. As long as the Bridge is under 40' you should be legal everywhere.

Here's short artical I wrote back in 2007 on how to measure your Bridge.


How do I find out if my trailer is legal?

Easy here's what you do. Take a tape measure and pull it from the center of the rear axle on your trailer to the center of the fifth wheel pin or goose neck hitch at the front of your trailer. If the measurement is 40 foot or less your legal.

What does it mean if my bridge is over 40'?

It means you cannot legally enter any State that has a 40' Bridge law with your trailer. If you get caught in a State that has this law you will be ticketed and most likely be put out of service right where you sit until you make it legal. If you can't make it legal you may need to have the trailer piggy backed from where it sits to the state line.

Whenever you buy or have a trailer built it's important to make sure it has a legal bridge. Whenever you have trailer built by a manufacturer it's very important to get a build sheet from the builder stating exactly what your buying and make sure the bridge measurement is noted on it. We've seen two people order trailers recently that had to long of a bridge. Once your trailers is over the 40' bridge there's really only two ways to fix it. You either have to move the axles forward or cut some of the neck off. Cutting the neck isn't always possible because you may not have enough room between the rear bumper of your truck and the front of the trailer.

We see a lot of used trailer and some new being sold on ebay and other websites that do not meet the Bridge law. So if you buy used make sure you have the seller measure the trailer and get the measurement in writing before you give them any money.

 

How long did you work with Gary? And what did he do that caused you too have a bad experience?

Just curious.

 

La101 you find loads on a Load Board a broker will post it there when they need something moved and they can't find someone to move it. Do a little searching you will find hot shot forums, there are a lot of information covering everything from business to types of trucks and trailers that have been successful for others. Take some time and research the topic. A operator has time and money invested, you want to give yourself every advantage to succeed. One of them being the opportunity to learn from others. Another way to find shippers to ship direct, easer said than done. ( I personally have been doing this since 08 and don't have any, but know people that do, they carry the shipper's product from factory to delivery, and dead head back home ) There is no cookie cutter or exact path to ensure success. It is challenging which ever way you go. Like if you find a very good paying going to a area where the freight is slow you may eat in to your profits so much you realize this was not worth it. Find the information. For me it is a lot of fun.