Car Haulers MERGED

Sorry, I do not even remember what I wrote.

 

Where do you work, and how much experience do you need? Maybe I should work there.

I have thought of buying my own rig, but am not sure of the financing. It does seem to me that one can find a 6/7 ez loader a whole lot cheaper than a 9 or 10 car rig. I guess you have to start somewhere. I have found such a rig with a 99 Volvo, around 800K miles, cruise, ac, bunk, pwr windows, 6/7 ez load 10-20 yr old rebuilt trailer. It needs a few new tires, but supposedly everything else is OK. $15,000. Does this seem like a good deal?

What about financing, insurance, plates, fuel tax, authority, all that good stuff. What is that going to cost me to start up?

 

All endorsements? I was wondering about doubles and hazmat. Don't see how a car hauler would need those. Or tanker.

 

10-20yo trailer is old, I would honestly start hitting the other local haulers, you had to meet a few at the auctions you went to.

Isnt there a large auction around atlanta? Go there and get names of companies, and talk to a few drivers to see if they are hiring.


K

 

I talked to alot of folks in Central, Orlando, and Tampa Manheims. Almost everyone I saw. They basically had one of two answers:
I only have 1 truck, and I drive it, or yeah, I have 3 trucks sitting with no work, do you want to buy one?

I have heard of some of the larger companies, but I do not intend to go OTR. 5 Days out is about my max, but home daily or at least every couple of days would be best. Are there any companies out there that hire for local with little experience?

I am thinking of embellishing my experience. I have only hauled cars for 3 months on a 6/7 EZ loader, but I have mostly figured things out. I may not be the fastest guy out there, but I can load and unload 10x faster then when I started. I have never had any damage claims (yes, I have hit a couple of mirrors that would not fold in.)

I have gotten the truck stuck, I have run it out of fuel, and when I first started, I took an onramp a little too fast, and I could swear my trailer tires came off the ground a little. Scared the crap out of me. I am not proud of the stupid things I have done, but I have learned many lessons the hard way. Things I am not likely to repeat.

I have driven in at least 15 states on ice, snow, blinding thunderstorms, any and all weather. I know that is not alot, but it is better than someone out of driving school.

If you count driving school, then I have right at a years experience. But in reality, I have only driven a total of about 6 months between 2 jobs. They do not report to DAC. Ironically, the other 2 jobs I had for about a week do report to DAC. TMC forced me to quit after they discovered I did not like standing on the edge of a 13'6" container on a flatbed. TMC said I did not need to list them as employers, because I had not finished with orientation, so I was not hired. Rosedale hired me, then laid me off a week later. Rosedale asked why I didn't list TMC, and I told them the reason listed above.

I can't list 4 employers in a year and expect anyone to hire me. I am thinking I should shy away from companies that use DAC. I am also thinking of getting someone to be my "reference", that they hired me car hauling right out of school. I know I would learn more in a year of car hauling, but I think I know enough to get by.

I will look at some of the Atlanta auctions. Another question, when I quit, my boss took my Jaxport badge back. Will I have to get fingerprinted and go through the whole process again?

 

You have to watch some of those older trailers, found one a few weeks back where the runners on the bottom were rusting through. Also, some you cannot use wheels straps with the decking.

If you can get on with a pmtg or another co. with obvious positive feedback, check that route as they would be able to teach you alot.

Someone mentioned in another post about some guys quitting above, curious if it was the amount of physical labor or if the co. was slow & the pay was less than expected?

 

Hi, LBZ,...With this company job,...The guys my husband trained with quit because the work was too hard.They were strictly regional & actually got loads at the end of the training.The two guys that quit out of our area might have quit because it was too slow,..not sure.
Sorry about the doubles & triples info.He applied there a few years ago too and I could have sworn they required that then.Either way,..they don't now.

Photolurp@..I did all of the bills and taxes when my husband was an owner/operator.In the early years we used an accountant but he was a waste of money because he didn't know anything about trucking and did a basic formula anyone can use to assess taxes.You just have to remember that your pay has zero taxes taken out.You will pay 15 3/4 Social security taxes on your gross after deductions, plus any federal/state taxes. Tolls, Fuel, Ifta, Heavy road use tax,Liability Ins, Damage Ins.,All Repairs & maintenance...which are expensive and pretty frequent, truck payment, an accountant to do your quarterly taxes,Tractor registration.I'm not sure if I forgot anything.
We got into a lot of debt with my husband owning his own truck...It finally died and he started a lease to own with the company he worked with.That was even worse!
If you don't need medical ins. and it's just about the $, my advice would be to NEVER do a lease to own with a company.Always buy yourself and try to get a better financing rate through your own bank.Also,...VERy Important ....Incorporate! It's a huge p-i-t-a and most people would say too much trouble or unneccessary for and O/O but I sure wish we had.We are still paying off debt from the truck using a credit counseling service.They were business cards but still under our personal credit.If we had incorporated, we could have filed bankruptcy under the business only & kept our personal credit perfect.Also, I hear registration isn't as expensive in other states as it is in NJ.I think o/o's fare better in the south & middle of the country.Load rates are usually about the same nationwide, but it can be more expensive for many things up here in the NE
Get an accountant who understands the trucking business.You can write off a real lot of stuff.
Not trying to discourage you ,..you just have to be aware of all of the costs ahead of time.Like I said,I hear that it can work out better for people who live in other areas because certain costs are cheaper & the cost of living is cheaper so what you really take home after all expenses may work out just fine.Take care!

 

I've was trying to get on with Selland, but they kept feeding me bs about I need to wait. That was a year ago.

 

Hello,

I have to say after talking to folks on the road and looking around this thread and another here was some of the best information I found, particularly about the companies to work as a company driver hauling cars. I kinda wish I had the training already but actually I have the truck ( it almost seems like I would have been better off getting the training as a company guy before owning a truck but I had to learn the business and already have the truck)

I own a truck and have been looking to get into car hauling and I have been OTR for 4 years. i have been looking at the 6 car ez loaders and wondering if you can lease on with someone. Also if there are companies that work with o/o based on a pecentage. I don't mind being OTR and would like to get the most out of my truck before it dies.

I guess I am wondering if someone can break it down very basically for me.

Can you contract as an owner op hauling cars?

Are there brokers that can keep you busy if you invest in the trailer?

can you make it with a wedge and semi combo?

I like the idea and I am not afraid of hard work, I am having a hard time getting a picture of how this niche works for an o/o. The guys I have spoken to on the road seem satisfied ( they all seem to work using central dispatch) but I am worried about handling the field work fine and screwing up on the dispatching end.

Anyway thanks for any info and I will now go back and reread this whole thread

P.S I would like to work out of madison wi since my lady is there but right now I am in the twin cities most of you folks are talking about the east coast, is the geography gonna be a prob. I run out for 3 months at a time right now so I could chase the money but it sure would be nice to stick close to friendly faces and familiar mechanics for a change.

 

Yes you can lease on with a carrier,....Most will probably want you to have a 10 car setup,...But who knows,..

Personally I like the Miller 7 car trailer for a high mount setup,...

Stop by the auctions in the MLPS area and talk to the drivers and look for the owners of the companies and see what you can learn,..

You could always look into United Road,...I'm sure they have freight back and forth from Detroit to the MLPS area,...