Car hauling with flatbed wrecker?

As for Jerr-Dan advertising it meets DOT requirements, depends on the state, their home state of Pennsylvania allows 45 foot straight trucks, so sure it does there but just across the river in NY it is 40 foot bumper to bumper. I do believe the 4 car carrier is safer than a dually, but it is an apples to oranges comparison. Depending on your customer base you may need a trailer to tow behind it, Ready Auto, Cars Arrive, DAS, and many of the other shipper/load boards restrict you from using a wheel lift/wheels on the ground. If you build it on the right chassis it could be dependable and powerful, I would stay away from the Jerr-Dan bed, their aluminum is too thin and their steel is too heavy, I prefer a Chevron series 14 aluminum deck, unless you are going to do equipment as well as cars then a steel carrier may be the better option. We have had several Chevron decks over the years and they have all held up much better than the Jerr-Dan.

As for the "5 pack" straight trucks, they are the cats meow if you are doing runners, not so good for salvage as you will tear up the truck with the forklift loading and unloading you, but again, most states do not allow overhang as these are not auto transporters by definition, so you would be limited to what ever the length is for straight trucks in the areas you plan on running. New York loves to pick on these trucks, why I don't know, they should be legal as I think they are much better suited for running New York City and other major metropolitan areas vs a stinger or high mount trailer. I would have two or three of these in the fleet if I could legally run them in New York.

Good questions, glad to see someone thinking before jumping in, it likely means you will not be contributing to the race to the bottom we are currently seeing in car haul.

 

You can always consider one of these Landoll trailers. It has 6 winches too.

http://landoll.com/content/index.php/products/trailers/car-trailers-carriers/model-336d/

 

Those are good for salvage, not as good for running vehicles as the aluminum deck makes it hard to drive them on, park and strap down. I ran a 334 and 336 Landoll from 1997-2002 hauling insurance salvage, very good for that. The other problem is vertical clearance, trouble fitting SUV and pickup trucks, but they do have their purpose for sure. I love the wireless remote for the winches, makes loading easy.

 

Are you looking to start a new business here or are you just changing out equipment?

 

Well just know that you are about to enter a business where the rates have already been cut so cheap that the only way to make a living is if the owner is the driver.

Crazy how cheap people will work just so they can stay local

 

If they were such a great idea, wouldn't we be seeing a lot more of them on the road?