Asked about a holding terminal

Sounds similar to when I was a contract terminal operator for Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS). Your deal actually is better than the one we had with DAS, we had to respond 24/7 within 1 hour notice to meet the OTR carriers, but that wasn't bad since we were a 24/7 towing company and they allowed a $35 after hours gate fee. The troublesome part was doing a clean inspection after dark, and DAS was known for trying to pass off carrier damage onto the terminal operator.

As for video security there are many low priced options to chose from, most with remote internet viewing, garage keepers legal liability is not very expensive but be sure the underwriter knows what type of storage facility you are running as you may need warehousemans coverage instead of or in addition to garage keepers. The toughest part for you will be meeting the release hours unless you have someone nearby that can do the intake and release on your behalf since you are on the road often. If you go this route be sure they know how to properly inspect a vehicle and insist upon a terminal inspection report that will supersede the carriers vehicle inspection report.

I would also make sure you can get the final mile work, meaning the OTR carrier picks up or drops off the vehicle and you get to deliver it directly to the owner when possible, or you are the one picking it up at their home before it leaves for a long haul. We used to get paid real well for doing this with a small rollback carrier, most home owners associations and business parks don't think twice about a small tow truck type vehicle coming in where they would not allow a typical truck and trailer in.

Lastly, look over the terms and conditions carefully, see what the net days to pay are, what conditions they can refuse to pay, and make sure you are not giving up your rights as a warehouseman to file a lien on vehicles in your possession should they go bankrupt or otherwise refuse to pay. We had to do that when DAS went belly up, sucked for the vehicle owners but we got paid for our storage fees. Although I am not sure how Tennessee law looks at this situation, but where I was it was acceptable.

P.S., afterthought, not sure how small your home town is but maybe there is a one or two truck towing operation that would be willing to share the expense of the yard for secure access to storage so that they can get a spot on the police list or something like that. They could even be the ones that managed intake and release on your behalf when you are not there, or maybe a local repo agent that needs secure storage? Just some thoughts for additional revenue if you are going thru with this. Also, car dealerships sometimes need seasonal inventory storage for when the new models roll out and they still have a lot of older inventory on their lot, so maybe some local dealers would rent spaces off you as well.

 

You don't need a rollback, unless you have a lot of high end neighborhoods. We used a combination of our rollbacks and a pickup with a 1 car trailer. DAS wouldn't let us tow anything wheels on the ground which made our 2 car rollbacks with wheel lifts useless, but if we had a double in the same area we would hook the 1 car trailer behind the rollback. If it was a single in a remote place we would just use the Dodge pickup with the 1 car trailer for better fuel economy, also high end owners were usually happier to see a pickup and 1 car trailer then they were to see a rollback! Crazy right?

 

Just for fun I looked up DAS, seems their website is still up and running and my Albuquerque location is still listed as their New Mexico terminal. I really thought the site would be down by now.
Albuquerque, NM | New Mexico Car Transporter | Dependable Auto Shippers