Hi Everyone, I am an aspiring new business owner/operator in the hotshot field that will be utilizing a heavy duty pickup/trailer combination. I've been thinking about making the career change for a few months now, taking baby steps so that I can research every aspect of this new endeavor for myself.
I have several years operations experience doing a little bit of everything for a large transportation company but got tired of sitting behind a desk all the time taking orders from "the man". The idea of being a long haul driver has always been appealing to me, since a kid, but ever since I learned about hotshoting it felt more my style.
So far I have achieved the following:
-Researched the prices of pickups (Going for a 2013+ Ram 3500 Cummins with Aisin transmission)
-Researched the price of trailers (Big Tex gooseneck 30+ feet)
-Obtained insurance coverage quotes
-Established my business with the state (Oregon)
-Completed my DOT exam
-Completed the DMV hazmat endorsement
-In the process of liquidating some assets to have some emergency funds saved up
Tomorrow I will be taking my general knowledge test to obtain my Class A CDL learners permit so that I can haul over 26,000 lbs. (After successfully completing the DMV drive test).
The reason I joined this group is because I'd really like to pick the brains of people that haul in the Pacific Northwest. I intend to drive to all corners of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, B.C, and god forbidding, California. *WITHOUT a dispatcher*
If anybody would be willing to connect and help a noobie out I'd be more than happy to compensate them for their time. Sorry for the long post, as you can see I'm a little excited about getting started with this.
New Hotshoter - PNW
Discussion in 'Expediter and Hot Shot Trucking Forum' started by Trident39, Jan 21, 2019.
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I'm in the same boat as you. In the budding stages of hitting the road. I have been doing research for a couple months now too.
I stumbled upon this forum about a week ago. The best thread I've found so far is:
So you want to hot-shot? (Will be updated/edited frequently)
It took a couple hours but it was well worth it. I read through the entirety of the thread....4ish years worth of conversation between the seasoned veterans and other new arrivals like us.
It is invaluable to say the least. There are sections where it is just jibber jabber between people. Still not bad to read through!Yelsew and flatbedcarrier Thank this. -
Thanks! I'll definitely check that out. I'm also a member on a Facebook hotshot group and some of the posts on there can be super depressing, humbling and straight out of this planet. There's a lot of variance in the kind of work you can find based on location. A lot of the threads where guys are struggling to stay located tend to have a theme in which they are generally located in cow field Kansas or Iowa.
I'll keep an eye out for @flatbedcarrier and hope to connect soon. -
Also, dunno if you know this, there is a 65 foot law for just about every state that I have seen. I just got a 2018 Ram 3500 long box and I was going to go with a 40 foot trailer but I was over at 65 feet, 10 inches. Now granted, the chances of them pulling out a tape measure is probably slim but I didn't want to take that chance. So, I found Anderson made a 38 footer so I went with it =-) -
flatbedcarrier Thanks this.
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Lite bug Thanks this.
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Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds
Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.
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