Car hauler to flatbed/ heavy haul

One of my best friends, who I hauled cars with at Allied is with Landstar pulling a low profile step deck. He hauls equipment and big ugly things to tarp. He first started with a no tarp ever attitude. He quickly changed to a tarp anything for enough money attitude. Sometimes he shows up for a no tarp load and they want it tarped. He won't let them load it on his trailer until the broker comes up with several hundred dollars. They usually try to bully him in to tarping it for the same rate, but he can and will leave mty and eventually they up the dollars. He is a hard runner, has many direct contacts for his freight, has a wife who is a former dispatcher who books his loads and does very well. He tells me what he makes and most weeks he makes close to what I do. Knowing what I have learned from him, I would do this if I couldn't haul cars and could get his freight. I don't think untill you have developed the direct freight/agent contacts it is as good as carhaul, things take time. I am not planning to switch to it unless things change, but it might work for you.

 

He must be one of a kind because the loads I see out there that need to be tarped don't pay much more than the non tarped loads. It certainly not debatable for the most part either way because someone will do it for the brokers asking price if the load pays good and goes to a place they can easily get out of with another good load. If the load is going to a place no one can get out of without a long dead head then ya he might have some leeway to negotiate the price up some but he may be robbing peter to pay paul by doing that. Flat bedding is not about running hard, it's about running smart.

 

Yes you hit the nail on the head. Run the least miles for the most dollars. He got out of flatbed several years ago for low drop. He also pulls mostly loads that don't hit the load board. I am not going to give up my gig to do it.

 

I started out doing autos. Quickly left and now doing drop deck.

If you stick with mainly machinery and equipment like I do, its really just common sense. There are a few rules that need to be adhered to. But its not hard and much easier than walking the lots looking for your vehicles and strapping down 9 cars out of of the rail yards.

More money... But your out on the road a lot more also. Pick your poison.

Hurst

 

I didn't realize that hauling cars paid so well? I mean, I'm sure everything that you can do better than your competition, has the opportunity to pay well. Your friend tarps when the money is right, former dispatcher wife who books his loads, many direct contacts for his freight, and does very well! Sounds to me like he is at the top of the food chain for step deck work. But, most weeks he only comes close to making what you make?

I'm thinking I need to check out this car hauling gig!

 

I dont know how it is with Landstar. I pull a few loads of theirs from time to time. Other than that I honestly dont know.

What I do know,.. and you will find out soon enough. Its tough to try to find any kind of local driving jobs in Fla and earn a decent wage. Car hauling and Fuel are about the only 2 I know of.

The reason I got out of car hauling was that the rates kept dropping. There just wasnt any money in it unless I wanted to head out OTR and I didnt have the right equipment for that.

I turned to open deck because I had prior RGN experience from years before. Even so,.. there is no money to be made at the level I am looking for while staying inside Fla. Can you make a living? Sure,.. if you dont mind living in the ghetto or in a trailer park and driving a hoopty. Worrying if you'll have enough to cover the expenses if your equipment breaks down,.. much less staying on top of the maintenance required to be safe.

I like nice things. I like owning property. I like taking vacations, going on cruises, building race cars. I've been at it since 2009 and I have not found the money needed to support these things hauling open deck inside the state of Fla.

This is a cut throat business with very thin margins. I found I could make the most money by learning which lanes the brokers who paid the best operated within. Learned how to follow those lanes from one to the other while minimizing dead areas. This required me to stay out a minimum of 2 - 3 weeks. How ever,.. I like to be home for more than 1 - 2 day at a time. I like to take off for 7 - 10 days before heading back out. Gives me enough time to relax and enjoy myself before hitting the road again. So I typically stay out 4 - 6 weeks. This gives me enough of a bank roll to come home and relax for as long as I need and not worry about running low on money. Still having enough to cover my business expenses as well have buy things and live a nice lifestyle.

Everyone is different. What works for me may be unacceptable for you. There are guys who are fine with being home long enough to get a 34 in on the weekends and then head out to run all week again. I dont like living like that.

Being an O/O does not guarantee you the money or home time you may or may not think that comes with it. For some it works well for them and they find the private contracts needed to support the way they like to live. Being home 5 - 6 nights a week etc etc. Chances are,.. those guys do not live in Fla. Or they have found the Holy Grail that I have spent the last 7 yrs searching for.

Do some serious research before committing to buying any equipment. Driving is the easy part. Making a living and trying to have a life at the same time require a good deal of effort.

Hurst