New Hot Shot in Ohio

still learning, what is a "Hot shot" in trucker world?

 

Here's some neat hotshot trucks for sale: lilbigrig.com

 

Thank You for your service.

Are you planning on going with your own authority and using load boards like (123loadboard)? .................Or, are you planning to lease on to a shipper/broker?

Both have their pro's and cons.

I personally would go my own way and pick my freight. Some brokers/shippers will sit you because they don't like the rates where you are at the moment.. Some times you need to haul for a few cents less to get yourself into region with better rates or loads. You won't have that flexibility with a broker/shipper.

I have a friend that has been doing "Hot Shot" for about 7 years now and he loves it. He was a little shaky starting out with the initial costs and billing, but has been pretty solid since. There are a bunch of us that meet at a local diner. He will be sitting there with us..... whining and screaming about loads and rates while staring at his "load APP" on his Android. Then, next thing you know..... he's jumping up and running out............see ya guys!!!!!

 

There are at least dozen load boards out there. Most all have Android/Iphone apps.........or just regular HTML interface that you can secure a load with. A simple Google search will put you right onto them.

Doesn't hurt to be a "tech geek" in trucking these days. I was dragged kicking and screaming into the Hi-Tech era, but once I understood the benefits, I was all in!

I still run a little side business doing property preservation and home repairs, along with my regular job as a maintenance supervisor. I have the "Squareup" payment" system on my Samsung Galaxy S5 that has increased my business about 50%. When people realize that I take credit cards, they will jump all over having work done right then, instead of waiting. I also have pre-formatted Invoicing templates for on the spot payment, and email it to the customer right then. (Polaris Office) It is a good app for "hot shot" as well. You can generate invoicing, and bills of laden. Polaris works with Excel, and other word processing apps, which enables you to keep all your expenses right on your phone as well. I carry a 49 dollar printer in the truck if the customer wants a hard copy of the invoice. My entire business is on my phone. I back up my files to a SD card weekly via computer. As far as my experience goes, probably not any more than most people on here. I still fart around at a small local truck company once in a while. I still have a lot of exposure with trucking through about a dozen friends in the business locally. They are all in pretty different segments of trucking.....Dump trucks, Expediting, Containers, Hot Shot, Auto carriers, 2 men & a truck, recruiter, and a dispatcher who recruits on the side. We are all associated through business/fishing/golf/boating. Just a great bunch of regular guys and ladies.

 

Actually no, a "Hot Shot" is a truck that runs hot freight (normally oilfield) that needs to be there yesterday.

Most of today's pickups pulling trailers are just transporters.

 

Used to be strictly oil rig parts transporting. But the term has been diluted and often used in other types of transport now days.