Car Hauling Newb Questions...

Not specifically related to car hauling, but...

I would caution against getting your training from a beverage distributor. Here's why:

Back when I did the driver hiring I would occasionally get applications from beverage guys. After interviewing two of them I never bothered calling any other beverage guys back. The reason being is that around here they're pulling 28' or 32' trailers, and they're pulling them with Allisons.

First guy interviews well and we go out for the road test. When he opens the door he goes, "Oh, I haven't driven a stick in years." I asked him if he ever drove a crashbox. He didn't know what I was talking about. I told him we don't train new drivers on our equipment and thanked him for his time.

Couple years later I get another applicant from the local Pepsi distributor. By this time we had a few autoshifts in the fleet. We went out, but he really stuggled with the 53' trailer. I could tell from the get-go that he wasn't ready for one yet - at least not for the kind of work we did - local P&D. Again, I thanked him for his time and sent him on his way.

Both guys were under thirty, clean cut, all in all, good applicants. It's just that beverage trucks don't really equal "real" trucks; you may have trouble finding work outside of that industry.

 

My neighbor was the truck boss at a local paving outfit that needed a tri axle dump driver years ago..
He weeded thru all the felons, guys with DWI's, and found this guy he thought would be a good fit...They get to the road test and the guy can't shift....He asks "you can't shift, not even a car" ?? The guy answers "no"..
They weren't expecting him to jump in one of the twin sticks just a 13 speed, the guy couldn't do it..

Turns out he was US Express trained..

 

I started hauling trucks the next day I obtained my CDL. I was accompanying friend on first trip and now I am preparing for second trip on my own.

You can find company that will trust you vehicle as far as you were on trip. Mostly Russian emigrant companies are taking risks and trust trucks to newbie drivers. But usually you won't have benefits, like health, pension and stuff. but you can make decent money almost as much as driver of box truck with 5 year experience

 

I was just looking into car hauling. United Road require 6 mo's experience. I know nothing about them or the car hauling industry.

How hard is it anyway?

I have 2 yrs dry van (53') experience, a clean record, can drive stick anything, but I am a very small little ole lady at 5'2" and 100 lbs w/ wet clothes on. Is it physically demanding? Such as heavy lifting?

I currently have a decent job on a dedicated account, the pay is better than avg, but I work 6 days a week, 10 to 14 hr days. I need a life. Car haulers work 5 days/wk. I can do that.

 

FYI,
One of my best Carhaulers was a lady who was in her early 50's, 5'2, about 110 lbs., a grandmother. She used to run up to 5 locals a night. Never cause any damage. Other terminals used her legacy to shame drivers that were to lazy to run more than 1 local a shift. "Grandma" put them to shame. And, to piss off the guy she shared the truck with on the day side, she would tie pink bows all over the trailer.

 

Thank you slant for the encouraging words. I will look into it further.

Pink bows, HA!!!

 

I have some questions as well. I am a new car manager at a local high line dealership and bought a 2011 F-350 duelly to haul the cars we dealer trade. I called progressive. They told me I'd be roughly $6,000 for a year of insurance on 1 million. I'm looking at a double car carrier vs. a 3 car to try and keep my weight below the 26,001 lb limit. Any suggestions from veteran guys that would be willing to help me out. Mistakes you made that I should watch for? The truck only has 58,000 miles and I bought a comprehensive warranty that will go to 148,000 miles. I'm ready to ship just want some wise advice if you have any!

 

"Ok, so I just obtained my CDL and I wanted to ask you folks out there who haul cars a couple questions. How can I go about getting into hauling for a living without any prior driving experience? What kind of cash flow should I expect compared to reefer, dry van, etc in the beginning?"

I would suggest you go get some drive time under your belt greenhorn and keep your CDL record clean. After you have a year or two driving a big truck then try to get into car hauling. I can't imagine any insurance company covering a rookie in a $300,000 car hauler with average loads that cost up to $750,000 or more with no CDL experience.

 

Who are you happy to be hauling for.What type of yearly earning potential is there.