Car haul

I totally agree. I said that to my partner that I'll be driving with. If we got all our loads on a 6 - 8 car hauler from U ship and took all of them at the Book It Now price, which always seemed to be around .35 -.48/mile but sometimes as low as .28/mile, we ??could?? make up to $7000 gross starting at Baltimore and zigzagging all the way to san diego. So, not 2800 miles. More like 4500 miles +. That actually doesn't sound BAD. But look at all the other drivers we'd be screwing over, I said. And how much confidence the car owners/ brokers would have that they could continue screwing the o/o's again and again. We decided we're really only screwing ourselves in the long run and the industry immediately. So we're going with a broker that gets THAT $.55 - .60/ mile so we keep our stability and don't CREATE volatility in our already fragile market.

 

.55 to .60 per car isn't all that much,....I know some guys that get around 1.00 a mile per,.....But they are established,...

Most everything I hauled was around .85 per and I thought that was too little,...

When my customers got slow (a couple closed down there dealerships) I could have tried to stay afloat with cheap freight but closed up,....It wasn't worth it to me to work that hard for so little,..

 

Joe,
Trying to get loads from uship is like trying to find a needle in a haystack there are way to many illegal haulers on there undercutting each other. You are much better off using central dispatch and there are a decent amount of loads in the $0.50+ range plus there is always room to negotiate higher. As transporters I believe it is our responsibility to bring the rates up to a level were you can actually make a decent living no one else is going to do it for you.


When you see a cheap load (car) just remember booking cheap loads (cars) not only hurts yourself but it hurts everyone else in the transportation industry not only in the present but also in the future. The trucking industry will never move forward until transporters stop booking cheap loads. The brokers are not held to any accountability they know this and throw it in our face.

When there is only cheap loads (cars) in the area (usually the area I am delivering to) I deadhead to somewhere that has good paying rates I much rather take a little bit of a hit then screw everyone else in my industry its not worth taking the cheap vehicles because when you do that the brokers are going to continue to post cheap rates.


Walleye
I agree with you that $0.55 per car isn't the best but you still can make a decent income with a full load (8-10 cars) with minimal dead head. The rates I was getting from customers was $0.70 to $1.00 depending on the type of vehicle but that has slowed way down.

I will never haul a car or freight for a cheap rate.

Here is an example how bad the brokers screw us. A car going from socal to Seattle was paying $475 on central dispatch I asked for a quote for the same car going from and to the same place and from the same broker the broker's quote was $1700 making a profit is one thing but making $1225 for barely doing anything is highway robbery.

 

I never used the load boards,...Some friends let me look at them on their lap tops and I wasn't impressed,..But those guys were running all 48,...I was primarily in a 5 state region serving my own customers,...

When I started it was pretty good,...When it got bad, it got real bad!!,....Then I hung it up,...I couldn't afford to try to ride the storm out....

I've rebounded and am working as a ltl city p/d driver now and car haul is only a fond memory,....

 

Hi, I'm thinking about getting into car hauling, I would like to get into a smaller truck and then get a 3-5 car trailer and just run whatever I can find, I have spoke with a couple of brokers and they are telling me that they can keep me a rookie busy and running loaded 95% of the time at .50 a mile per car? If I figure this out it is pretty good money, I'm just wondering because I have not gotten my authority or anything else yet, I can't sign up to the boards yet and I just want to hear it from the drivers and O/O's that are out here running the cars. Thanks.

 

hay trey, I hope that by you saying a smaller truck you mean a one ton or bigger. YOu need the brakes that come with a one ton or bigger to be able to stop. and make sure to get a diesel. a gas uses too much fuel and too much maintenance, oil changes, etc. Try to get a cummins 6 cyl. as these get a mile or two more per gallon AND try to get something with a sleeper berth so you can sleep legally in your truck. You might try looking into a medium duty truck that has a GVWR of 19,500 -26,000 so you'll be able to haul heavier vehicles and you're likelier to get into a sleeper easier

 

Trey, If you decide on going with a one ton dually type truck stay away from the 4wd. I know a few guys trying to make a go with these and are chewing up profits with poor mileage. More importantly being that you are getting started try and get some feedback from others on the brokers your talking to. Its good that your lining up work before you dive in but try to be as sure as possible that you will have something there. Nothing worse than financing equipment and then searching for work. All the math and number crunching you can get help from here on the boards but finding the work that pays is up to you.

 

Hey, Thanks to all of you who have sent me a reply, keep it coming I appreciate the info. I'm as dumb and a green spring branch. I will take all the advise I can get. Thanks. TD

 

I'm sure I'm going to get flamed here :smt074but I would like any advise on getting into the car hauling thing, I have always liked cars and have done tons and I mean tons of non cdl driving I'm ready for a mid-life change of career, Please don't tell me "Auto Trantsport is a hard gig right now buddy" I know it is hard everywhere cooking chili and the waffle hut is down so everything is down, I know it is. I'm hoping to find someone who would slip me in their truck let me buy it on terms and then just keep rolling. Thank You to all of you who post on here on a regular basis, You guys that put the effort out there to send out messages and advise to us rookies. Thanks. TD.

 

To have Cummins and a truck that cn have a sleeper you need a Freightliner FL or M2 . They have a back seat that can be made into a legal sleeper . The Dodge back seats aren't wide enough . This one is for sale for $34,000 with a 50' stepdeck that was bought new in Sept. for $13,000 . Also includes chains , tarps , binders , auto tiedowns , etc. worth over $4,000 .This is a good truck . The owner just got a new contract that requires a Class 8 tractor .