How do my numbers look for car hauling? What am i missing or inaccurate on?

Look. I think generally speaking you can find single units that will pay you $0.50/mi as an average. But you see 3 units at that price doesn’t get you to $2. But you’re never going to be fully loaded on every mile, just doesn’t happen like that.

So. I wouldn’t assume more than $0.50/ unit/mi and I wouldn’t figure more than 60% of the time being fully loaded. 20% of your miles with 2 units and 20% of your miles with 1 unit. Based on those calculations you’d be some where around $14,400 gross per month. Maybe you’ll do better, maybe not. Gotta run the miles to know but assume worse case scenarios all the time. Cover the what if’s as much as you can.

 

Observation Kozakvod giving you some sound intel.

 

Couple questions. Open or enclosed trailer? We run enclosed and generally get the higher paying cars because of it. Some other factors to consider up keep and repairs. We have a dually and getting oil changes run between 200-600 dependent on where we go. Trailer has been issue 4 month sold and have had to replace rims, tires, etc. It is so hard finding places to work onto haulers. Roof has been issue after issue..I think we finally got a big enough band aid for it now. Rims put on by builder was ####..we had to buyer higher quality. Tires were ####..had to get 6 ply tires. Its never ending expenses. Long story short...save a lot for repairs. Also account your driver having to do resets. Dually backseat is not good enough for sleeper bearth according to DOT.

 

If if you log off duty, you can sleep on the ground. DOT has a problem with SB if you don’t have one. You have a dually and getting oil changes run $200 to $600, am I reading that right?

 

Yelp!!!

 

Where do I begin? So much bad information in this post.

1) No, you do not have to show motel receipts on demand to motor carrier enforcement, it is none of their business where you spend your off-duty time. There is no regulation that states you must sleep, you can hang out at a Vegas casino gambling for 10 straight hours and it is legal. DUMB, but legal. Now, that said, if your driver tells the officer he slept in a motel he better be able to produce a motel receipt and the time on it better match his log book!

You are correct that the backseat of a pickup truck does not qualify as a sleeper berth, unless it has been modified, however the definition of on-duty time was changed when the 30 minute break was introduced, and because of that it is now legal to take your break in a parked commercial vehicle, even sitting in the driver seat. The FMCSA removed the part of on-duty that included any time spent in a CMV at the controls so that day cab drivers could take their 30 minute break. It specifically says "time spent resting in or on a parked vehicle" (see 395.2 (4)(i). Well, that one little change had unintended consequences that now make it legal to sleep in your pickup truck. That said, I would not want to do it and would demand a motel if I were a hotshot driver.

2)105" wide trailers are not legal, 102" is the maximum legal width and even then some states restrict where you can run them. Example, Pennsylvania does not allow trailers wider than 96" on many state highways unless they are less than 28.5' long. That rule is expected to change soon, but it has not yet and since the OP is running the northeast there is a good chance he will run Pennsylvania.

3) 56 foot trailers are not legal everywhere, most states east of the Mississippi limit you to 53' trailers with many also prohibiting extensions and overhang. Please don't advise someone running in the northeast to get a mid or southwest legal trailer, he will be shut down at his first DOT inspection!

Now, it is not all bad advice. I do agree 100% with gap insurance, if available, and starting with a used truck if possible.

 

I pay $340 for my PM’s for my ISX15, which holds 50 Qts of oil. Can you enlighten me on how you’re paying $200 - $600 for oil changes on a dually? When I had my dually years ago the most I ever paid was $75 at th Dodge house. Your numbers aren’t jiving.

 

When I see someone asking questions trying to glean information here I will try to give advice if I feel I know the right answer. Then I see someone new here giving information that is all over map i think some driver that does know any better. But the more I think about it a new poster trying to lead someone down a rabbit hole. Maybe the guy in the right lane that will not let you pass. Or the guy in the passing lane backing up traffic trying to pass. Heck maybe this post belongs in the rant section.

 

You want to run a professional dispatch service, come on this board advertising as such, so please don't spread misinformation. I have been in car haul for almost 25 years, 14 as a fleet owner and a DOT regulatory specialist/compliance consultant since 2009. I know these regulations inside and out, have many customers that depend on me knowing the rules, including the grey areas. Just because your drivers have gotten away with something does not make it legal, or even right. Many of us on here have the citations from different states to prove you wrong. It often depends on the officer inspecting you and their interpretation of the regulation.

Please point to the DOT regulation that says if you are not the owner of the truck you need to sleep in a hotel, I will wait. DOT officer followed him to a hotel and put him out of service isn't proof, also not likely to happen since the officer would be responsible for any accidents along the way if he let an out of service driver move a commercial vehicle. It is possible that the officer misunderstood the rules, or this happened prior to the change in regulation that allowed resting in a commercial vehicle without a sleeper berth.

As for running a trailer longer than 53' in the eastern states, not legal so he is just lucky he hasn't been caught yet. Taking the pickup box off the truck does nothing to grant you extra trailer length, although in some states it does change your classification from truck-trailer to tractor-trailer. This will allow you to exceed 65' total combination length. Only 6 states allow trailers longer than 53' although some will allow short extensions of up to 18". The six states that allow trailers longer than 53' are AZ,CO,KS,NM,WY, and TX. None of these are east of the Mississippi by the way.

Extensions on 53' trailers are not legal in PA, as well as many other states and neither is overhang. To legally use overhang and/or extensions you have to qualify as an automobile transporter. As of today the only way for a tractor-trailer (including pickup-trailer) combination to qualify as an automobile transporter under Federal regulations is to have a cab rack capable of carrying a motor vehicle on the power. Further, even when qualified as an automobile transporter, many states such as New York will still restrict overhang on 53' trailers. New York specifically allows overhang on trailers less than 53' but only up to a extreme overall length of 53' inclusive of cargo overhang. There is a push to change this requirement, but as of today it has not been done. Read this article in Land Line Magazine, it explains the rules about traditional aka "high-mount" automobile transporters and the request to change the ruling.
OOIDA calls car hauler definitions, requirements 'mindboggling'

You may learn a thing or two by reading the information at this link, it is from the Federal Highway Administration and shows the actual length limits on vehicles for each state. No speculation, no "my drivers run without problems", pure facts. Sure, many states let you run long or their enforcement officers have no idea what to do with some types of combination vehicles, but that does not make it legal.
Federal Size Regulations for Commercial Motor Vehicles - FHWA
Yes, the chart shows some states limited to less than 53' trailers, those are the length limits that apply off of the STAA (National Network or Federal) routes. As for the STAA routes, unless the state has a grandfathered length greater than 53' you can not have a trailer longer than 53'. Some states, but not many, will allow a non-divisible load to overhang by a few feet. This does not apply to cars unless you can qualify as an automobile transporter per 23 CFR 658.5.