Rookie Car Hauler Seeking Help

bobbi · Feb 13, 2012

G/MAN said: ↑

I will touch on some of your numbers. Most car haulers pay their drivers percentage. I paid mine 25% of the line haul. If you run team you may need to pay 30% and split the pay between the two drivers. Unless you pay them with a 1099 you will need to pay half their social security tax which is about 7.5% of their wage.

You may be able to get an occupational accident policy rather than workers comp. OCC policies run about $140-150 per driver. Workers comp rates can differ from one state to another.

Unless you run the toll roads, you should not have much in the way of toll costs. One trip to Long Island could cost over $100, depending on how you go. That doesn't count the other tolls, such as in Pennsylvania or other states. Since you didn't mention where you will be traveling, I am doing some speculating. Tolls around Chicago are not that expensive.

My fuel taxes usually don't run more than about $25/truck per quarter, depending on where I run and where I buy most of my fuel. If you plan your fuel purchases you can control how much you pay in fuel taxes at the end of the quarter.

You don't wear out chains and straps on a car hauler like you do with a flatbed.

I would expect to allow about $0.05/mile for tires.

Car haulers are about the worst for fuel economy. I would expect no more than 5 mpg, loaded or empty. If you run mountains or heavy winds that could drop. Car haulers catch a lot of wind. With fuel hovering around $4/gallon, that puts your fuel costs up around $0.80/mile or more.

The last time I had insurance for a car hauler I paid about $8,200/year per truck. You should check around for some rates. I had $1 million in liability and $250,000 cargo. Most auctions will likely require $250,000 for a 9-10 car rig. If you will be hauling primarily out of the same area, you may want to check their minimum insurance requirements.

It costs about $65-75 for a truck wash. Car haulers will usually cost more for an in and out wash. That is a small expense when you look at the other costs associated with running a car hauler.

I always carried extra fittings and hoses in case I blew a hose. I have made repairs on a number of occasions. If you blow a hose on a Friday afternoon on on the weekend, you might find it difficult to get someone out to make the repairs. I also kept some extra hydraulic fluid in case I blew a hose.
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hi i have a couple of trucks , when you say you pay 25% of the line haul, do you mean the load? and do driver help cover break downs? This is my story i pay 25% of load, i also pay my drivers as soon as they get back when i giving thousands in 30 days credit to brokers just to keep the truck moving some times. i cover all break downs insurance etc. good trip bad trip the driver still make there money and i shoot them around with good loads all the time non stop but to do that i have to give alot of credit. ANYWAYS questions is am i running this business right since i just started i would like to know. thank you very much.

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