Are you new to the trucking industry and want to start off in a lucrative field? Or maybe you’ve been hauling freight for years and want to expand into the auto-hauling business to earn more income. Regardless, you are interested in some current, valid information about OTR auto hauling and other trucking jobs.
What is some essential information you will need to launch a new or expanded career in the auto-hauling industry?
What Are the Qualifications?
You only need to have a high school diploma or a GED to launch a career driving trucks that haul cargo all over North America. But that is only the first leg of the journey you’ve begun in the transportation industry.
According to Indeed.com, a job-seeker website that provides prospective workers with information about skills, qualifications and salaries in their respective industries, some top skills for auto-haulers to have include:
- Good command of the English language
- Experience as a commercial driver
- Experience behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer
Two additional prerequisites for those drivers seeking trucking jobs hauling autos include obtaining both a CDL A license and a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, otherwise known in the industry as a “TWIC card.”
Are CDL A Jobs Worth the Trouble and Extra Scrutiny?
Most truckers who pursue their CDL A licenses are grateful for the additional career doors that open for them after they obtain specialized licenses, e.g., refrigerated trucking jobs and auto-hauling jobs. Taking the plunge entails first obtaining a commercial driver’s learning permit, taking a battery of medical tests, passing skills and knowledge assessments and meeting residency requirements.
Those seeking CDL A jobs like auto hauling and reefer jobs must also pass background checks of their driver’s licenses in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., for the past decade.
Why Auto-Hauling Runs Pay Better than Many Trucking Jobs
You have shared the highway with many of them, traveled beside them in the next lane for miles. As you look at the stacked cars swaying with the wind and the motion of the truck, you likely wondered just how safe that set-up actually was. You might have even intentionally changed lanes to be far away from the danger zone. You wanted plenty of distance between you and the auto hauler truck if the unthinkable happened and one of those chains attached to the automobiles snapped while they were in transit.
Those loads must be securely attached at all points before an auto-hauler trucker ever pulls away from the dealership or factory. The consequences of an auto-hauling trucker losing their load in transit are too catastrophic to even contemplate.
Thus, if a trucker hauling vehicles assumes a much greater risk, the industry is right to reward them with higher pay on their runs.
How the Risks Factor In
All truck drivers, no matter what type of cargo they may be hauling, are responsible for its safety and security during transit and delivery. One type of security threat that auto-hauling truck drivers face is theft.
Generally, truck drivers in the United States are safer than their counterparts overseas and in other parts of North America. But truck hijackings are not just a plotline from The Sopranos. They can and do happen from time to time. If you are hauling a load of valuable, high-end automobiles across the country, you could face an enhanced risk of truck hijacking due to the high-dollar value of your load.
Auto haulers are attractive targets for theft rings because of the high value of the automobiles themselves. Thus, either the independent trucker hauling them or the trucking company employing them (or possibly both) must carry sufficient cargo insurance to cover losses stemming from vandalism and theft.
When it comes to calculating wages for CDL A jobs, the physical risk to auto haulers and the increased costs of insuring the cargo are two factors that must be part of the consideration — and why these truck drivers’ paychecks can have more zeroes in them.
Which Autos Are Being Hauled?
Transporting automobiles from factories to dealerships is a billion-dollar industry. But trucking jobs are just one segment of a journey that can also include sea and rail transit. Auto transport is not just used for brand new automobiles getting hauled around the country on big rigs. Used cars for sale by independent used car dealers and car owners needing private transport for their vehicles also rely on safety-conscious truck drivers to get their automobiles from point A to point B without incident or accident.
The reason why this is such a necessary and thriving industry is actually pretty simple. No auto dealer wants to run up the mileage on a car or truck they plan to sell to consumers. The higher the mileage, the lesser the value of the auto, so it is important to keep it as low as possible. Hence, the need for auto-hauler truck drivers will remain a priority in the transportation industry.
How Are the Autos Secured?
Because safety must be paramount in this type of operation, every automobile gets anchored at four separate locations using strategic tie-down holes built intentionally into the automobile’s frame or its chassis. Chains hook into the holes, then are tightened mechanically according to industry requirements. The chains’ mounting angles extend from each auto to the trailer beneath it. Straps are usually also used when securing vehicles for transport on an auto hauler.
What is the Day-to-Day Life of an Auto Hauler Like?
Any trucker will tell you that there really are no typical days, because anything could happen at any time. These unforeseen events can change the trajectory of not just the day, but of your life and the lives of others in proximity to you on the road and in loading bays and delivery zones.
Auto haulers are exposed to greater risks when loading and unloading cargo than a trucker carrying less precarious loads. Failing to properly secure an auto on the transport trailer can set off a deadly chain reaction at any point during the transit journey. Again, this is something that contributes to the higher rates and wages these CDL A jobs command.
Most big rig tractor-trailers hauling autos have a capacity of a dozen vehicles. The design of the trucks allows for four automobiles to be supported by the tractor. Another eight autos get loaded onto the rig’s double-deck trailer using ramps with hydraulic lifts that get raised and lowered during the loading and unloading process. When carrying larger vehicles like SUVs and pickup trucks, the ramps can tilt for additional space to secure one car’s end under another’s.
It is the responsibility of the auto-hauler driver to load and unload their trucks or to oversee the loading process. The truckers must strategize the loading and placement of the vehicles, as some autos may go to one destination and others to another hundreds of miles away. It might be necessary to back some vehicles onto the transport trailer and drive others on straight ahead. The bigger the vehicle, the higher it sits on the transport trailer.
While this is indeed an incredibly complex operation, an experienced auto hauler with a load of vehicles roughly the same size can do the loading in about an hour and a half. More complex loads going to different destinations and/or having autos of varying sizes can take several hours to securely load onto the transport trailer.
Hours of Service Compliance Must Be Maintained
No matter how complex the loading and unloading process may be on a particular haul, auto-haul truck drivers must always comply with the mandated HOS. To stay compliant, a vehicle-hauling trucker could map out the loading and unloading schematic over coffee and a meal at a truck stop diner while the truck is fueling.
No trucking company wants a truck driver for CDL A jobs who racks up fines for HOS violations. As with all trucking jobs you take on, having good time management skills can only enhance your employability and make your job easier each mile you drive.
Is Auto Hauling a Growth Industry?
Yes, it is. In the past, different automakers insisted that auto haulers only carried their brand of vehicles on each load. But that could result in truck drivers heading out with only half a load sometimes. That is just a waste of costly fuel and time that truckers could put to better use. It is now more common to see different brands of autos being hauled to separate destinations on the backs of semitrailers.
As now-retired Walter Lowe, a former executive with Ford Motor Company, wisely said once, “We don’t compete on the truck. We compete in the showroom.” That and other collaborative approaches bode well for the auto-hauling industry. Automakers are seeking to reduce their carbon footprints by focusing more on environmentally friendly ways to ship their products to eager car-buyers.
Transport networks working cooperatively with factories and dealerships can better coordinate pickups and deliveries with auto haul truck drivers. These collaborative networks employ the latest technologies to communicate with the auto haulers to make their trips more efficient while reducing fuel waste and costs.
Safety, too, is improving in regards to loading and unloading the autos. Some trailers are being redesigned to better accommodate the popular large, high-clearance SUVs. Ramp controls are also becoming more precise, reducing the chances of auto-hauling truckers slipping off of the topmost ramps and getting injured.
Is an Auto-Hauling Job in Your Driving Future?
Just like reefer trucking or reefer jobs, auto-hauling trucking is not for everybody. It requires more training and licensing, a higher degree of precision and the ability to coordinate vehicle placement to maximize your hauling space. Some truckers prefer making easier runs where lumpers can load and unload their cargo for them.
But if you are willing to put in the extra time and effort, auto-hauling trucking jobs might be a lucrative career move for you to make.
Browse a current list of companies looking for drivers for auto-haulers.
