Is there still money to be made in car hauling?

@ Mustang Mark 83...My company had lots of trucks that grossed over 400 K per year and lots of us drivers made over 100 K per year + our health and welfare and pension paid..I retired in 2002.when fuel was $1.25 per gallon ..but still keep an eye on the business.....Since deregulation....fly by night rate cutters have destroyed not only the profit but also the quality of drivers because they try to hire professional car haulers for cheap wages and it aint working.....ANYONE can hook up a freight box and blunder from point A to point B....so the cheap wages work in the freight business....Not so in the car hauling world...Lots of carhaulers go broke because of claims resulting from green horn carhaulers....many who use a GPS to find their way....Old timers didn't have the low underpass problems these schoolboys have today....Low rates....$4.00 per gallon fuel and green horn school boy car haulers have destroyed what once was the best job on the highway

 

I think its more the hot shots that swarmed in on the business. Greenhorns def. have more claim rates but the guys that came in with their p/u's and could under cut the legal guys because they didn't have insurance and the overhead is what killed auto transport! I ran a dully and 2/3 car for a while years ago and made a killing, but also paid $750 a month for insurance and had DOT #'s .

Remember when you could load up for florida off the east coast for 800/900 a car?? Man those days were awsome!

 

weren't you a boy hauler at one time?

 

Nope. He wasn't. I'll vouch for him. He was Old Tex before Jesus had his first fishing license.



Matter of fact, I heard a rumor just the other day that one night while he and Henry Ford were playing poker, they invented car hauling on the back of a paper towel !!

SL

 

instead of making stupids remarks obout the old car hauler you two should be thanking him. He was right on the mark

 

Calm down Rambo. OT and I are old forum buddies ( well I hope ). Maybe HE'LL vouch for ME now !

And yes, he totally hit the mark. He usually does in our line of work. His posts on the forums carry alot of weight in my books. They always did .... and he has a whack of cool pictures in his collection to boot.

SL

 

I think you will find that rates have been cut in most segments of this industry. The more you can find a niche' the less likely you will get into the rate cutters. In talking to some owners of car haulers, they are still making money, but rates are not what they were at one time. Car haulers are not cheap. You need to know something about what you are doing. Claims can put you out of business. I have a friend who has run hotshots for several years and did well, but he also has found a niche' within that segment.

Even when I hauled cars, I recall one guy who had 3 car haulers. He always had damage, but had cheap rates. I had one customer that came to me due to me not having damage, even though my rates were higher. The guy would repair the damaged cars, but it was still a hassle for the dealer. I don't think that I ever had a claim with this dealer. Anyone who has hauled cars has had claims. You just need to keep them to a minimum if you want to survive and prosper.

 

I have question why is it so hard to get car trailer ez4 insured I'm having the hardest time getting commercial insurance. Please help!! I have excellent driving record no accident

 

My only guess would be that a trailer like that is considered an entry level trailer, and even though you may not have any accidents I would guess that the insurance companies have see plenty?

 

Maybe 300k gross sounds correct I grossed 340k with my first truck first year 8 car, now I make far less with a 10 car. Partly because I spend a lot more time home because I want transport these #### rate loads.