Considering a new career

I've been looking into buying a 3500 dually and a 3 car trailer to get into car hauling.. I have a couple buddies that do it and make a decent living but I don't know much about the industry and don't know what kind of questions to ask. Hopefully someone can lead me down the right path

 

ask you buddies

 

your buddies may fill your brains with pipe dreams.

search the boards here for some of your answers.

remember that this is a job, and as such a BIG responsibility to haul vehicles.

any tiny scratch or dent, and you may be owning it.

you would want to have some money in the bank, like (i believe it is suggested) at least 6 months worth to cover your expenses in the slow times, like when you first start out.

you really should have an accountant, that will take care of the books, and keep you legal with the IRS.

too many things to get into, starting a trucking business.

 

Talk to your buddies that are already doing this. Ask a lot of questions. If you have time, ride with them and get a first hand look at how the business works.
The easiest thing to do is buy a truck and trailer...they're for sale everywhere. There's a reason for that. Keeping the truck moving...at a profit...is the hard part.

 

His buddies probably don't want the competition. Another slice of an already small pie.

 

I've always wondered about the failure rate with these guys that buy a 1-ton dually and a three car trailer and expect to make huge bucks from the start.
I've seen a few come and go just in my little neck of the woods. Sometimes they show up here looking for work but we don't have anything for them.
A year seems about the average length of time they stay in business and then there's a CL ad for their equipment.
I don't think the hotshot business is as easy as they think it is.

 

The load boards for moving cars have been brutal for the last few years. I can't imagine trying to make a go of car hauling without a customer base.

Almost all of them severely overestimate the ability of those small trucks. They just aren't designed to operate at or above GVWR continuously.. and most of them think they're smarter than the rest of us, and refused to listen. There are a few guys who have graduated on to full size equipment, and they'll all tell you that the hot shot was a mistake.

 

I agree . The rates aren’t there, the competition is cut throat and you’ll wear out a New $80k diesel dually in a year or two. DOT also loves to hammer hotshot trucks , especially in NY.
Insurance rates, especially for a new start up hauling cars is also through the roof.
I would learn about the business as a company driver that trains newbies and then if you still want to go on your own , buy a solid tractor and trailer and forget about the dually.

 

Ask your buddy how much he paid in taxes last year. If he didn't pay any. He didn't make any.

 

& that means the bank will not finance dually 2.0 when the 1st one dies. Point to the op, a dually 3 car set up is NOT a long term business plan. If a person likes the thought of having a cool truck in the driveway, then that is all it will be.