auto hauler information please?

LOL...no way. I work mostly for my banker. I'm independent...one truck, my own authority. Did I sound like a JCT spokesman? I didn't mean to...just laying it out as I have a lot of family & friends on that end of the biz with Allied, JCT and Cassens.

 

I have some regular buyers that have been in the biz as long as I have. They have kept things steady even through the slow downs. We don't broker stuff...we have several independents working together that cover when the customer loads us up.

Just makin' a living.

 

As others have said, car hauling is not easy work and yes a 6 figure salary is not unusual. the larger companys such as cassen, jack cooper have mileage pay that is above any LTL linehaul pay. years back i had relatives that worked for the now gone Anchor Motor Freight on the east coast that hauled for GM. their equipment was junk but the pay made up for it.

 

I am not in anyway trying to discourage you from bettering yourself and making a better living--BUT--IMHO==please listen(read carefully) what you are being told here--and check out that kind of work VERY CLOSELY!
Pulling a Flatbed--and running a parking lot--are quite different--to each his own--but DO NOT confuse the two--As I have said many times b4--I have pulled a reefer almost exclusively my entire life and mostly LTL and Produce and while I wouldn't do anything else if I had a dollar for everyone who tells me I'm nuts I would have retire years ago--BUT IMHO there is nothing tougher than car hauling--One of my long time buddies has done it for almost 30years now--Ice covered rig--YOU have to climb all over--then undo chains--lay out more ice covered ramps--and then back down off that thing--and oh yeah--all this in the right lane of a busy highway in front of a dealer--in morning traffic--God bless em--I know this is kinda worse case scenario--I'm just sayin think about it very hard--There is no question as hard as you have to work skateboarding--you are not being properly compensated--and hearing about those kind of wages would make you think--But really think it through--cause like someone else here said--who has done it a long time--he wishes he never saw one!! There are very good reasons these drivers are compensated the way they are.
Just my $.02

 

Good Morning, 'olhand and Thanks for the experienced chime in. I'm grinning as I read this cause it's all true and ain't nobody lied yet...it's hard and it took many, many years to settle in to where I am now and will be until I decide not to do it anymore or external circumstances dictate a change. I'm exactly like you and the reefer biz...I've rattled a carhauler all my trucking life and it's all I would ever do but I've been told a _illion times how crazy I am for doing what I do...for various reasons. But, I was a kid standing about rim high to a 20" dayton 3 piece rim washing Dad's car hauler and grew up around it, watching my brothers, uncles, cousins, etc all do it...what was I gonna do? It's kept me young in mind and it's made me old in body. I guess that's why it's such a shock to get up in the morning feeling like the "supertrucker" from another thread around here and then walking in front of the mirror and seeing the ol' guy looking back at me. My dog still loves me though.

I've had my fair share of frustration and trouble with this biz...companies going out of business and stiffing me with thousands and thousands of dollars, lying brokers not paying, etc. and that don't even begin to address the basics of this niche and that is how hard it is to do it right.

Yungtrucker, listen to everything you're hearing here thus far. I won't comment on the flatbed similarity because I have never pulled one but I do see what you are saying about operating outside and straps and chains, etc. I'm sure John Deere don't want that shiny new green paint scuffed on their equipment either but in this deal, you'll have 3 fingers (sometimes less) clearance on the hoods/roofs of a $70K Mercedes (or worse) bouncing down the highway...and times that by 10 or 11.

I'll end it by saying as for me...I wouldn't have it any other way. Yep...I still love my job.

 

Hauling cars does pay well, but you will earn every penny. You can earn a good living pulling a flat. Once you get some experience, you should be earning at least $45-50M/year with a flat. I don't understand why you only made $17,000 last year. If you lost a tarp after only spending 10 minutes tarping, then perhaps you have not had enough experience pulling a flat. You cannot take a lot of shortcuts when you pull flats or cars.

You can be out in all types of weather pulling both. Pulling a car hauler requires a lot of dexterity. Most flat bed loads can be secured with 10 chains or straps. A ten car rig will require 40 chains or straps. Some of the new cars require straps rather than chains. You will be driving cars on a moving ramp, often not being able to see very well. Getting out you need to be very careful because you only have a few inches on each side of the car to get your footing. It can be hot in summer, but winters you will fight with ice and snow. There is nothing like trying to load or unload a car on an icy ramp.

Hauling cars requires you to climb up and down the equivalent of a one story building to load the upper deck. One misstep could put you in the hospital or break your neck. You don't get in a big hurry loading cars.

There is a good reason drivers are paid more to haul cars than most other segments of this industry.

 

And that's where the similarity ends. Make no mistake, knowing how to secure a flatbed load is nowhere near the same as securing a vehicle.

You'll have to forgive me for being blunt, but this is a huge indication that you need more training. You can't be lazy in this business, I don't care what you pull. Sure, if there are doors on the back, you can get away with things a little more, but laziness is how a 30,000 lb coil ends up in traffic.
You certainly cannot be lazy hauling cars. Ever. There's a whole lot of climbing involved and, with 4 chains or straps per car, it will work you out, for sure. Add snow and ice and it gets even more interesting. Mixed loads will work you even more when new and you don't know how to load the trailer. When I first started, there was one day I spent 8 hours trying to fit the cars on my truck. In the rain. Please don't fool yourself into thinking that it's all cotton candy and rainbows. I remember when I was still dragging a flatbed (I did that for most of my career) I'd see the car haulers and think, "That's the way to go; drive 'em on, chain 'em down and beat feet. Heh, I learned that that wasn't the case, real quick when I started hauling cars in the mid 90's.