New to Car Hauling

My point exactly,but when you have money tied up like this you have to dig out,or hold on until its Better,a bottom of the barrell start up with a old truck is 65k own authority in a real 10 car hauler,most guys sre up in the 125 to 320k range,there in trouble

 

Another problem is average people can go buy a new pickup get a 5000 dollar trailer and think there car haulers ,For alot of these guys they think 1000 a week is good,till things break.i started the same way years ago, but had plenty of capitol to grow. as soon as i learned how it works,destroyed a brand new dually in a year.i realized that wasnt the way ,but i learned the business got a year of insurance out of the way.And was really successfull for 7 years making 120-150 per year working 2 weeks per month, for about 7 years ,i quit for a year 1/2.and got back in. it has been horrible. I keep seeing these people posting i want to get in to car hauling,im trying to save them,if it was really good. id point them to the right path .right now i think its a horrible mistake.the biggest misconception is they arent required to follow big truck rules,they want to short cut,they dont realize that sleeping in a pickup is a horrible situation.More than likley wont make it past their first safety audit,will have multipe dot violations.probably 1 out of 20 will make it.

 

I hope that I don't what too big of a wrench in your plans but I would highly recommend that you get a couple years at least before you start a career in car hauling.

there's a lot to get comfortable when it comes to being a new driver and there's a lot to know when it comes to car hauling I don't recommend that you try to jump over both hurdles at the same time.

 

#### this thread is heart breaking :/ I'm in the OTR class 8 O/O for the past 10 years and I'm dying to move to cars around florida but this guy "Haulingcars"
Makes me think twice.. maybe he could hire me lol he's from florida too no??

 

Man I'm not trying to wreck anyone's plan/dream. That's not where I'm coming from at all. I'm just trying to be 100% honest and truthful, presenting it as it is without sugar coating.

In my lifetime I have had people tell me what they thought I wanted to hear when what I REALLY wanted to hear is the unvarnished reality so I could then make a REAL decision based on REAL information, not some glossed over version of the truth leading me to make poor decisions because of the unrealistic inaccurate information.

Hauling cars for a living is not for everyone. It is a lot more physical work than almost anyone thinks, especially if your loading a traditional 9/10 car rig.

If your serious about moving from what your doing now to hauling cars I would suggest you take at least 2 full days and go to a big auction (if you don't know where one is close to you, give me your location and I'll tell you). Watch guys load the trucks, all the climbing, manual winching, squirming out of doors blocked by trailer superstructure, (or climbing into the back seat to get in or out).

Then of course the brokers, dealers and everything already mentioned.

Something I don't think has been mentioned is the equipment cost. A decent used 3 car wedge is likely to run you $6-8k and that is 3 (three) cars. And old beat up Kaufman 4 or 5 car about $15-18k, want a decent 7 car trailer? Figuer $30-40k

Of course there is cheaper equipment to be had but normally by the time you get done fixing it to the point that it is actually usable your going to spend either a lot of money, time or both. Car trailers take a beating and your constantly having to fix them which often means welding and all that entails.

If a hydraulic line blows the deck slams down to the stop. Unless of course you have a car under the deck, and then the roof of the car becomes the stop. I have personally seen that happen and it ain't pretty, or inexpensive to fix.

Once a month or so I see somebody drive off the side of a ramp or deck leaving at best 1 wheel hanging, sometimes 1/2 the car and occasionally the entire car comes off the trailer.

Again, probably the best best advise I can give you is go find a big auction, spend a couple days and talk to as many different drivers and O/Os as you can. Get someone to let you ride in the pasanger seat as he drives from the ground to the front position on the headrack (the spot over the cab roof) that's an experience not to be missed... LOL.. Better yet see if they will let you drive it up... Be prepared to pay for damages... LOL.

Do that and if you still want to haul cars for a living I'll be happy to do whatever I can to help you keep out of trouble, but to be honest, there are almost certainly other people out there better qualified to help you than me.

 

Thanks for the long reply, I'm from Fort Lauderdale and as you see my trailer is a moving trailer and I promise you that driving into resedential areas and then carry furnitures ip the stairs is I'm sure triple hard work than loading cars LOL.
I'm just saying if the truth is so bad about car hauling why you're in the business.
As for equipment my truck and trailer are paid off and worth together around $70000 and I could easily run an EZ loader with my Volvo but I do need to research more before I do the move into car hauling. Hell im even willing to park and work for a company to gain knowledge and only then try to attack the business

David

 

Yeah, I completely understand driving into neighborhoods. I have done it but no longer. I refuse. Keep in mind the trees that scratch up your trailer, ruin cars. On that issue you have my heartfelt understanding.

I thought you guys had day labor sent out by the shipping company (Mayflower, Bekins...) so you don't have to schlep heavy stuff? OK, so your probably equal to the physical demands. Full agreement there.

Why am I doing it? To dumb to quit I guess.. To be honest I have considered switching to a dry van but I have no idea where those OOs find loads and I hear a LOT of downside from them as well, ( waiting to be loaded/unloaded, loads refused and so forth). Flat bed would be interesting but that is every bit as physical and you really need to understand what your doing to get the load to balance right, be secured properly and so forth. Refer? A whole other set of issues...Lol.

You have many years of trucking behind you so likely you could make the transition to cars without to much trouble. Your main issue would be where to get your freight.

You could easily sell your van and pick up a 7 or 8 car easy load design and probably do OK with a little guidance and some common sense. You already know the trucking business, have your authority and insurance and have a good power unit so many of the huge hurdles for a totally new to trucking person simply do not apply to you. You might call your insurance agent and see how the change of cargo would affect your rates. For a 7/8 car your going to want/need 200-250k cargo. I don't know what you need to haul a truckload of furniture?

That said, were I you I would go to the auction in Davie, FL. that's right next to the Hard Rock and talk to drivers and 0/0s there. They can talk about things like what trailer do you really want, where to get loads and so forth. Follow someone into the auction to find a couple cars so you can see what that's like and the time involvement required. that auction is probably medium size so it gives a reasonable representation.

There will be a big variety of rigs there for you to look at.

Try not to go on auction day. It's to busy and crowded and most guys won't want to take time to talk to you. (I forget what day is auction day there but you can call and they'll be happy to tell you. Google, "Manheim Davie" and you'll get the #.

Give me your trailer, I'll make a killer RV camper out of it... LOL.

 

Thanks for the input I'll start looking into it I'll update you if anything happened I'll keep breaking my back for now LOL.
It would make a great RV villa lol I got many offers from movies producers to buy my trailer but it's a rare piece with the 3 single wheel axles called Big bertha

Thanks again sir!

 

Now that you mention more about your trailer.. There is a place in Orlando that specialises in high end cars using enclosed trailers. They have been at it for years and actually take trailers like yours (or very similar) and they build all the lifts and decks inside to make a real nice enclosed hauler.

You might talk to them, I know they use some leased on OOs and they provide the trailer. It might be they would buy your trailer, or convert it for you and then give you loads. Enclosed is a different deal than open and they may (probably?) want you to have prior car experience...

Good luck no matter what you decide and if I can help just let me know how and I'll do my best...

 

sounds like you really know your ####, and the #### is hard. But again guy asked for the basics in car hauling.
To answer his questions ( from MA) yes you can whatever you want, definitely give a try and see how it goes. Figure it out. No one is going to do the hard work.
You're going to have a lot of physically, clouds and dirt. If you're the type of person who can make it happen, you will win.
Be sure to watch top car haulers and how are they working. Learn, Test, think like a businessman not like a noobie.