New Driver - Where To Get Hotshot Experience?

I have heard a lot about UShip shippers supposedly committing to a carrier but continuing to check for lower rates . They switch carriers without notice .
Meanwhile the original carrier sets up a couple of more shippers on an LTL load . After he picks up from the first shipper he finds out the second shipper cancels . Now he's in a bind .
Several years ago I read an example of this on the Dodge truck owners forum .
A member sold an engine and went to UShip to have it shipped across the country . A couple of days after it was picked up the carrier called saying another shipper had canceled and he would need $300 more to deliver the engine or $100 to bring it back .
The shipper refused to do either . He lost track of the "carrier " and never heard from him again . A few months later he found out the truck and trailer had been impounded at a scale for illegal operation . Everything , including his engine was auctioned off to pay towing and storage fees .

 

Wow I believe it. Uship is a joke.

 

Nope, He is running SC to Washington State. In general terms a hot shot is a pickup truck pulling a trailer. most on uship are running trucks like a f-350 pulling a 24 to 30 enclosed car trailer. Total insurance is running from $4,000 to $8,000, DOT and MC# filling $300 for authority and there is three classes, command, contract and private, To haul cars you have to have 1,000,000 insurance and is a class 9 hazmat that does not require a hazmat place-cards. Most freight is cars on uship and shippers use these transporters because a car hauler can't give door to door and usually pick up at truck stops also drop off at same. This is a big problem because a shipper will choose a car hauler and they will call and tell shipper that they are at a truck stop and if they want their car they must travel to where the truck is. Let's say you win a bid on ebay for a 65 ford and you list it on uship like 65 ford in Atlanta Ga going to Dallas Tx at that point transporters start bidding on that load. It takes a week or so to bid off a run and the shipper will pick the cheapest bid. A car hauler can carry up to 9 cars and can bid .50 per mile and some of these transporters bid lower than the brokers/car haulers. Some confuse LTL, less than load with hot shot. Hot shot started out being ready to run a load quick and you find a lot in the oil fields where a down rig will run 50,000 or so an hour so they need a truck to bring whatever they need in a hurry. This month issue of Land Line or OOIDA reports that North Dakota enforcement crack down on these type of transporters operating as if they were commercial drivers. In three days they gave out over 100 citations and 35 pickup truck drivers ordered out from behind the wheel. Just north of my location they are running down these pickup trucks that blow past the scales and they are impounded. Bad thing about this is if you've picked one of these cheap transporters and he/she does not have authority your car or freight is impounded and you may loose whatever you've shipped. Uship is saying they just run a web site and it's up to the shipper to check to see if transporter has authority. Another case was a man in AZ bought a 35 foot boat in Va. He picked the cheapest bid and the transporter did not have authority or did not permit load and was caught at the first scales he blew past, the driver claimed it was his boat and he was going to some lake but tag on trailer was not in his name so they started checking. Boat was impounded after they found proof in his truck this was a commercial load. This was a $80,000 boat now in impound and the guy in AZ thought this transporter was a good deal but it almost cost him his boat and trailer. Most shippers think these guys are commercial trucking companies and some profiles claim they are. My son didn't run any trips for them because if you bid a run you've got to wait a week or so before you know if you've won the bid. Back haul the same thing, you never know if you are able to get a back haul and it's not worth waiting on because there are those that snipe the load at the last min. We still have the rig because we do a lot of hauling for NASCAR. There are about 30 race teams here in Mooresville, NC and there is a lot of hauling for these teams. Cars are built in one location and painted at another location, A lot of teams lease engines so there is another movement. The Daytona race we had a haul for one team that needed an engine so it was loaded it in our pickup and we had it there in less than 9 hours. Our family is a farming and trucking family so there is someone ready when needed by NASCAR. We found one company that gets loads for these type trucks and trailers be it flat bed or enclosed car trailer, I'll look up that company and send you a PM. There is to much waiting trying to get these type loads and if you've got a 53 foot trailer you must have a tractor and if you have authority there are a lot of companies that are looking for these trucks to pull their trailers. We just put on a lease driver to run a contract with JB Hunt, this past week he ran 3200 miles and with his drops he made around $4,900 and out of that he had truck expenses so how much he put in his pocket I'm not sure. He runs the same trip every week so that's the good part of having contract authority. Another good part is no brokers to mess with. Hope this helps

 

One deal with uship is anything under $700.00 uship will collect $700.00 and when load is delivered transporter call uship for a load number and the transporter gets paid or if the transporter finds a better deal he cancels the load and the shipper is out 700 bucks and has a problem getting his money back. The load is rebid and it may be the same thing again. Uship is not a broker just a website and they clearly tell you after the fact. uShip is not into transportation and they say they are not a freight forward or brokers so they claim they only act as a venue where shippers and transporters meet and enter into an agreement, they claim they don't get involved in the transaction between the shippers and transporters and have no control over the legal aspects of the shippers transaction or the transporters authority and it is up to the shipper to make sure the transporters has proper authority and insurance, they also tell you they don't qualify and or validate the shipper or the transporter but you've got to pay then cash and they pass it along to the transporter when job is finished. They claim they are just a clearinghouse. If the load is over 700 bucks they require the full amount and a fee for being a website. Most shippers don't know how to check these things out or where to go and then some guy pulls up pulling a homemade trailer with an old dodge and you've already paid some or all of the shipping cost then you've got another problem, telling him you are not going to ship anything with him so here you are already paid a fee and in most cases paid 1/2 the shipping cost and a lot ship it anyway and it's like you said in your post, your freight stands a good chance of getting impounded and you may loose your money and freight. I just don't see how they get away with this maybe they should have a warning on their page that tells the shipper the transporter they choose may not have authority. It's easy for us to check these transporters out but then again we know what to do, I feel sorry for those that loose their money and or freight. This gives trucking a black eye another is some spend a lot of money getting a rig plus authority only to find out they can't feed their family or make truck payments.

 

Not going to happen if shipper does his homework. A carrier can list his equipment specs with photos in his profile. If a shipper doesn't take the time to check out the carrier, well then their a idiot!

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

Profiles don't show all information needed in my opinion but shippers look at the good deal they think they are getting and that's only a guess. You and I know but one could only guess why.......

 

Any shipper using a "carrier" from UShip is an idiot .

 

Wow there Cher,
If your total weight is 10000 lbs or under and only performing INTRASTATE you don't need anything except your dot physical, drivers license and insurance. If your under 10000 lbs and Performing INTERSTATE for hire you need a DOT physical and log book, and if your over 26001lbs GVWR you need your Authority. Which means you have to abide by CDL regulations. Stopping at weigh stations and following the required hours. Plus the vehicle has to be equipped with sleeper accommodation or if asked the driver must show hotel receipts. The penalties are very steep for offenders and getting steeper. Programs like U Ship are the reason Hot Shots have a bad rap with DOT.

Starting July? next year your DOT physical will be on computer, so any stop enforcement will be able bring up your medical!!!

 

Hi guys. I've been kicking this idea around for a few years. With my current job, I think this postion would be best for me. I have a k2500 suburban. Do you think that would be a good start rig or should I buy a dually? I have a class A but from what I read, I don't need that class license. What else do I need? Thanks much.