Is Owning An 11 Car Stinger Really Profitable?

It's funny you mention the 80 year old Cassens driver. A buddy of mine talked to him recently and talked highly of him. One reason I bought my rig is because I want to be that 80 year old carhauler one day. Not because I have to financially but because I want to be. I still love driving a rig. Some days I wonder if I am crazy with all the jack ##### on the road, but I still like being a truck driver.

When I was at Allied one of the best drivers at my terminal had a high rail and was 72 years old. He could outload me every single day and I was 46 at the time using a quick loader.

My ideal work schedule in a few years is 3 days a week and I will still be able to make money doing it in my rig. I don't want to be a greeter at Walmart, I want to be a Professional Carhauler.

 

This is long winded, don't try to read it all at once.

I'm 61, still working for Jack Cooper where I choose to bid an 11 car just for the reason I love an engineered marvel even tho quick loaders are so much easier. As an owner/operator I wouldn't own anything but an 11 car. I'll qualify this because of late I've met some small company owners getting excellent rates hauling larger units on Sun Country etc. equipment but that's a specialty niche.
Lease/Purchase plans are so absurd not even worth mentioning. It's like buying a TV from Rent A Center, you get a $1,000 TV after paying $4,000 over 4 yrs and it's yours. Someone's making $, just not you.
I was an O/O for NuCar Carriers for 8 yrs in the 80's out of Wayne, Mich. My last truck I bought there I paid extra for a 2 car headramp. Stingers were not available at the time and 65' was the max. I managed to bid one of the 9 car trailers to hook up to it. At that time all units were chained down, so if you could get your thumb between units or a deck that was close but good to go.
I went into Lordstown and tried to load 11 units 3 times before I figured out how to do it. As Banker has said after that I was making $400 for just the cost in time, that to me is the key to making $ with one truck, your load factor. This assumes whoever you work with has and will give you the extra units. I've been to places that give you a load but won't add to it.
It's alot of work to add units. BUT after you do it you walk around that load like the chicken that just laid a golden egg. Your mindset has to be that you're a carhauler, not a truck driver hauling cars, to enforce this mindset I kept track of the $ from added units, my gravy $.
Some cost figures to consider

• health insurance
• what if you fall off the truck or your back whatever goes out, who makes payments? Could another driver drive your truck ?
• If you want, say a few months off, is another driver available to work your truck?

I'm in the same boat as you, I'm considering pulling the trigger on buying a truck because I still love hauling cars, it's what I do. I'd like to go out having a nice truck with my name on it. My problem is everytime I run the $'s on a spreadsheet, it's the dumbest investment I can think of, put out $200,000 + investment on an asset that has an assured devaluation and then pay interest to do it!
Then again I just bought a 2016 Challenger Hellcat (I'm bragging) in Ohio and drove it 4800 miles to California on every windy road I knew of, it took 3 weeks. Cost of car $65,000, Trip cost $4,200, Cost of driving down the Vegas strip and the Pacific Coast Highway like a teenager...it's in my book, lol. Good investment? Dunno, my son drove it 100 miles and we never left Toledo.

To summarize, MoneyBravo, Jack Cooper lists it's loaded mile rates on their 8 - K SEC file reports at $6 to 7, those I assume are top of the line rates for contract traffic, spot rates I have no idea about. Fuel surcharges account for a significant % of revenue, something to consider on a lease agreement.
Slant 6 mentioned that auto transport is cyclical, BUT contracts are not. If a company looses a contract it just went to zero and some other companies traffic dramatically increased. Your customer base is so limited by OEM people who look at a big picture that doesn't include you, nor do they care.
Personally I don't like doing any exercise that doesn't produce monetary or productive results. If I'm going to run somewhere why end up at the same place? I haul cars because it makes me do things I avoid when I'm not working. If it takes me 3 hours to load, I don't smoke when I load cars, amazing how much that cuts down. Another reason to continue working at carhaul. Mind you, I get enough time in California to go deep sea fishing, gamble in Vegas on a whim. The thing about carhaul is you can afford these things and you're in a different world from any 'truck driver' and no one knows it, you're just a truck driver to anyone who asks what you do. Good to be me.
I'd like to die broke if only I knew when that was. I'm rambling, it's carhaul, we get the best, they get the rest.

 

Key point that we all to often probably take for granted.

As for Fleet Car, do know a guy running his truck with them. He owned his own truck & it was not a lease purchase, just leased on to get the work. Said it was very consistent work & wondered why he had not done it earlier.

 

*Disclaimer* First let me say I am not telling you to buy this truck. However someone who wanted to own a rig and does not have the money to pay in full for a new rig, something similar to this could be a viable option. One downside would be financing on used vehicles could cost you more than a new rig. If you have the cash to pay for it, you could spend the money to convert it to straps and refurb needed items and probably get a lot of life from something like it.

 

The 11 unit hi-rail is a very versatile unit, I ran the CS-13,CS-12 units for 22 years. The only thing that hinders a Hi-rail is commercial units like cab and chassis or dual rear wheeled units. I currently have a new quick loader in the 80ft version and it seems to work ok but I'm already missing my 11 car nextgen set up for its versatility.

 

That is a really good price on a BPS (Boston Port Services) truck. Totally worth the asking price.

 

The day I picked my rig up at Cottrell they were picking a couple of theirs up also. I was shocked when I noticed they were chain trucks. I agree that this is a good price for that rig.

 

I think they only haul Subarus with those. I looked at some of their used trucks several years ago and my impression was that BPS got the majority of the useful life from them. They run lots of shorthaul trips.

 

I know this might hurt some feelings but I have yet to see a rate to the truck that would entice me to purchase even a 120k stinger and put it to work. Much less a new one. Better off being a company driver for a good carrier for 120k/year.

 

I agree with you Terry that "most" people would be way better off as a $120,000 employee with $15,000-$20,000 a year in benefits. I was one of those people for many years, but I would not be one of those people now. The more important reason of me being an owner op is freedom to choose when, where and how much I work. Nearly all of my former employer's who wanted to pay me in the $100,000 range wanted to take most of my time away from my life in exchange for the money. Allied was the lone exception, but they aren't still around or I would still be there with my big red carhauler.

In my particular case even if I borrowed the entire amount, the $120,000 truck would have been paid completely off in a year still paying myself a reasonable salary. I didn't borrow a dime, so I do have an advantage. This advantage I have is called delayed gratification. I delayed many things over the years to have what I currently enjoy.

What you are not factoring in is that people like myself who are roughly 20 years you're senior have had a head start on people your age. I worked 2 full time jobs for nearly 20 years saving and investing like crazy. We are tired of working "for" others and will do what it takes to not work for others again. I work "with" Hansen and Adkins, something I am proud of. Now I am in the coasting mode and while I still want a great income to satisfy my investing needs, I don't have to have it.

The freedom I now have is worth more than $100,000 a year to me. I will not trade it any time soon as I really doubt I will ever be able to be a "good" employee again.