Is non cdl hotshot worth it?

Discussion in 'Expediter and Hot Shot Trucking Forum' started by Thetrashnoob, Sep 1, 2020.

  1. Brandonpdx

    Brandonpdx Road Train Member

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    That’s a 45’ gooseneck that pickup beds can pull. If you have a cab and chassis or a hauler bed a 53’ deckover like this is better.

    Kann Manufacturing Corporation
     
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  3. Brandonpdx

    Brandonpdx Road Train Member

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    RV’s mostly ship out of Elkhart County Indiana or eastern Oregon. I’m sure there are some factories sprinkled elsewhere but that’s the vast majority of it.

    No need to spend $100k on a truck and trailer. I wouldn’t buy any 2019 or newer Ram anyway because of the CP4 fuel pump. A lightly used 17 or 18 would be better. It’s going to get ran into the ground anyway so a truck that already has 20 or 30,000 miles on it is nothing.
     
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  4. rccarlson22

    rccarlson22 Medium Load Member

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    Is there a fix for this? All I can find is stuff for Duramax’s and Powerstrokes
     
  5. markk

    markk Medium Load Member

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    Do dealers use hotshots to ship out to buyers ?
    We have a lot of dealers here in Ks.

    Will a ram 2500 haul rv or other under cdl loads ?
     
  6. Lite bug

    Lite bug Road Train Member

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    Brando pax is referring to manufacturing companies shipping out of Indiana. Contact the dealers in your area to see if shipping them is possible. Keeping in mind that that is how they have been doing it since forever. You have the capability with your truck to move a lot of them.
     
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  7. markk

    markk Medium Load Member

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    Thanks. I been undecided as to buying a truck and trailer or going with a big truck and hauling other things like I normally do.
    This is a huge decision. I know nothing about a flatbed but seems like it should not be too hard to figure out. Hardest part seems to be figuring out what truck to get. Would rather have gas powered. Diesel would need to get a delete. Used to that. Cascadia ran so much better after the delete.
     
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  8. crocky

    crocky Road Train Member

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    500 mile radius is gonna be rough in most places just depends on the area though. I wouldn't try to do it with freight though.. I'd do something like a single cab 1 ton with no bed and either a Kaufman 42ft flat deck that can carry 2x trucks or 3 small cars or that ultralight 3 car low boy that hotrod trailer sells. (I wouldn't do the wedge though) just the low one. It's made by Bukeye but for some reason, they aren't taking orders right now.

    If you are based in the right area you can 100% make that work with cars but IMO freight is gonna be tuff.. Hell, I do it with a 2 car set up now but I just ditched the non CDL truck to go with a F550 and will likely go to a 3 car.

    Here is the problem though.. The reality is you will probably fail. Not saying this because there isn't work out there but because that's the reality of the trucking biz. It eats people up chews them and spits them out. For every youtube trucker guy, there is 15 other youtube trucker guys that stopped after 3 months. With trucking it worse. For every new driver, there is 150% churn rate. Meaning 1.5 drivers quit for every driver hired that's with OTR not local but just gives you an idea that most people don't last.

    It's not easy to be away from your home and family nor sleep in a pickup truck that doesn't even have a sleeper.

    Anyway for the record how I'd make it work.. for my area CFL I can consistently get $300 cars from Orlando to Mobile, AL or Atlanta GA . That's a 1 day trip if you load all 3 in the same place and drive into the night. Unload all 3 next day reload with $250 cars back to FL.
    Unload on the 3rd day.. $2k for 3 days with dirt-cheap prices.

    The deal is you don't really want to run straight out then straight back in. You want to do a triangle. So this is actually how I run.. I usually run from ORL to LA, MS or AL. Then I make a second run from those states to NC or SC. Then from NC or SC I run back into FL. I do it reversed sometimes as well but usually pays much better to go from ORL to LA than ORL to NC..

    Me personally I won't put a $300 car on my trailer but just showing you that yes it can be done. However the cheaper you go the more consistent you need to be. I personally would rather run a bit further to get more money per car.

    Anyway, you should not look at a 500 mile radius but rather a region.. I mix up my run using mostly the south east. So usually FL, AL, MS, LA, TN, NC, SC for some reason I rarely drop in GA just because it's usually too close for me to get my minimum of $400/car.

    With that said sometimes, I do go further. When the money is right instead of going LA as an example I might run to TX, OK or AR and when I'm going into NC, SC 1st I might take a hop from there to OH rather than down to AL,MS,LA.. I rarely go out over a week and a half at a time. Most times it's 5 to 6 days. IMO you should look more at runs you can do in a time period not just limit yourself to 500 miles.


    Also last thing.. with those youtube dudes.. Keep in mind those guys you see who are popular didn't get there overnight. Don't watch their newest videos go watch their 1st videos. Go watch all the #### they went through to get where they are now. I can tell you for almost all those popular youtube guys in hotshot almost every one of those guys went through a lot of struggles. Then the last thing is just to remember if they are getting 20k views or so on their vids they are now making some money from youtube which will also change the perspective on the vids they put out because that's now a decent income source for them.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2020
  9. crocky

    crocky Road Train Member

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    are those Sheshe clones looks just like a Shipshe trailer
     
  10. Brandonpdx

    Brandonpdx Road Train Member

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    That’s an older Mo Trailer I believe but they all do the same thing. Shipshe is probably the most common brand but there are others. I like that Kann Monster Trailer personally. I believe they are in Iowa.
     
  11. Brandonpdx

    Brandonpdx Road Train Member

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    Generally you lease on with an RV hauling trucking company and most of them are based out of Elkhart County in Indiana. If you have a trailer like that you can haul cars also on for backhauls. You run under their authority and general liability as an owner op, similar to how Landstar works. It’s a lucrative niche if you haul 2 or 3 small ones at a time. Single pull is not so great paying but that’s basically power-only so that’s why people like it. Dealers and manufacturers generally deal with the hauling companies rather than individual guys. It’s a little different than how general freight hotshot works.
     
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