New to trucking and car hauling, I need some advise!

If he cant get in at the company he wants hes prob gonna have to do some work in the industry and prove his worthiness. I did the opposite , hauled cars now im making more money hauling other things in a "real" truck doing what i love. its about the drive for me. Not the cargo.

 

What we are trying to say is that if you cant do car hauling then the trucking industry is prob the only way in. Being best in the class wont mean much either. The end result is you get your cdl, their wont be anymore points or gold stars on yours if you finish first. Ik what your thinking, if they see a score then they will hire you. As for going to transport cars and have experience. Most car hauling companies i know require OTR because thats what youll be doing in a car carrier. And on that matter your best bet would be getting in with a large company. Even though you would have atteneded a school still doesnt make experience. Look into how many companies hire non experience grads. How many Local companies. And then research. How many car carriers require OTR experience. You seem very determined so i know you will make it but if you want to do a real car hauling job (not mom and pops operation) then your gonna have to earn your keep. Anybody can go to trucking school, not many people can make it as an Otr driver. I know a few right now got their cdl, landed jobs and hated it. These companies want people who they know arent gonna quit or mess up. It would be easy if they would stick us on a test and that got us the job but no they want this and that. Fustrating I know all my college money that i worked for got me in the door. I HAD to buy a truck and become an owner op because noone wanted to hire a non experience driver so i know what you want. You never know what the next 3 years are gonna bring so id research a backup plan. Your said car carrier company above might stop hiring to those specifications you never can tell. Like mentioned in a previous post your going to be about 25 before you land a good car carrier job if you cant get this one.

 

Well said.

Also...

Freebird... The carhaul industry is very cyclical. Especially for the companies hauling new product. They live and die with what the economy and the automakers do. It is just now starting to rebound from the economy bust of 2008. I can remember back around 1991, 92 it was dead also. A lot of parked rigs and drivers on layoff. Then 1993 to 2001 was extremely busy. Assembly plants were on 3 shifts cranking out the now popular SUV's. Railroads were short on bi-level railcars to move them. The finished product was not moving out fast enough by rail. The vehicles were moving out of the plants to railheads on trucks, that's how busy it was. Fleet Car was making tons of dough hauling Ford Explorers out of St. Louis assembly to the west coast.

 

Too bad it isnt that way now

 

Yup thats the spirit lol.

 

You can also think about possibly working for a tow company. I started when I was 20 towing cars and picking up cars on a rollback at repo yards and dealers to take to the auction. Basically I worked my way up through the ranks hauling cars on a rollback then up to a 4 car rollback then eventually a full blown car hauler. It would be a good way for you to learn to handle autos and deal with dealers etc. One thing is it will lightly scratch your itch until you become of age to go all out. Good luck.

 

Well in MD years ago no but I can't say for sure these days. Normally if you stay under 26000 lbs you don't need a CDL. I'm not sure how the laws are in OH though.