RAT/ Ready Auto Transportation

Yeah - no kiddin' eh ? ....... And speaking of that, how DID we used to haul Roman Chariots ?? Soft tie or chain ? .... or raw hide ?

 

Hold your calls, we have a winner.

 

Quick side note for Slay. They obviously do not miss much either. See what I mean about learning...

 

Ready was one of the best companies I dealt with when I was hauling cars, and I'm surprised they did not at least pay you a few extra bucks for your trouble. A few years ago I booked a dodge cummins dually with ready from an auction, when I went to pick it up the batteries were completely dead and one of the batteries was melted by the positive post. It would not jump start so I ended up taking out both batteries and putting my winch battery on the primary and hooking up my jumper pack were the 2nd battery was in order to get it started and put it on my trailer. I called Ready and told them I had to mess with the truck for a few hours to get it started and they gave me an extra $150.00 for having to get the truck running. That truck was not listed as an Inop so i'm sure that's why they payed up. But like the other guys have said I stopped hauling inops just because you never really know what your going to get. I say stay away from inops unless you have a roll back.

 

You are correct my friend, and these are some of the reasons I quit hauling cars. I just got tired of all the BS.

 

Wow, that sucks. The worst inop unload I had was a guy with a forklift that looked like it was 40 years old and the piece of #### stalled out five times when he was trying to lift the SUV off my trailer. He also just about dropped it on my trailer three times when trying to lift it up. I quit hauling vehicles out of IAA and Copart after that BS.

 

Ready did not do you wrong, I'm sorry you feel that way. It is common knowledge that inop vehicles do not run, if you needed extra money to haul it you needed to get that up front. The dispatcher has no clue if it will roll and continue to roll, and it did roll onto the truck. You agreed to move a non-running vehicle, it is not their fault you were not prepared. The bigger issue however is haulers that are not prepared then expect the broker to eat it when they incur extra expenses. There are problems all day, you figure out how to deal with them and move on, carry the right equipment and these are only minor inconveniences.

 

If the rates were still worth the hassle, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. However, like I said in my 'retirement' post sometime ago, the race to the bottom has only sped up. One thing I'll say about unionized car haul, back when the membership was over 50,000 (broker and co. driver) strong in North America, is that the pay wasn't bad, because the rates were controlled. Even if you weren't unionized, the rates and compensation were predictable. Unionized car haul is down to what ? 6000 now ? Likely less. I'm all for free enterprise and strong competition, but it's back fired for car haul. The reason I went back to freight as a broker instead of car haul was about $300,000 ( that's a new rig with head rack, trailer, and set up costs ). And for what ? Granted, I know broker buddies who are doing well, but they'll be the first to tell you they used to do better. For those of you still unionized, trust no one. Watch your own back. The unions are making their money on the factory floors and the freight docks and freight driver seats now ( IE UPS ). Car haul has become a nuisance to them.

Slay, your frustration is well placed. But if you're going to stick with it, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Learn or burn. Good luck to you, and I mean that warmly. There is tremendous experience here in this little sub-forum. Use it wisely. Stan, Brad, Hammer, and all the rest WILL NOT steer you down a dead end street with a low canopy .... the help and advice is here .... ask nicely ...... and be ready to pass that on to the next new guy/gal. That's all we ask.

Cheers

'Out

 

I am going to point out a few misconceptions that you have shared with us. Don't take offense, as I have seen this quite a bit from guys that buy themselves a dually and a trailer and say they are in the trucking business. #1, you are a business owner of a Service Business. The only product you have to "sell" is your good service. If you want to nickel and dime and be paid for everything you do you are on the wrong end. You need to be working for a union outfit where you can demand to be compensated for ALL you do.
#2, when you accept a move, be it CD, RAT, Carsarrive, etc. They are YOUR CUSTOMER! Customers should be treated with respect. In life, sometimes #### happens. The car ran when you loaded it, now it doesn't, suck it up and unload it. Some hitches in this business are part of the job. You went to p/u a vehicle and it was behind 2, so you left it? You'd never move a pair of rollerskates for me again, much less a vehicle.

I think you may want to think about losing the attitude if you want to succeed in business. Going the extra mile is how a lot of the carhaul businesses that were around at the end of 2008 were able to survive the bad economy and still be in business in 2015.