Starting out need help with Insurance question

Hi I was planning on having 5,000 $ set aside just for the 1st month back up and hopefully that won't get used and run into the following months this all makes me think I should just forget the idea of duelly and 3 car trailer and get myself a 4 car wrecker rollback? Seems more efficient

 

In that area I would think that would be a good idea. Would save a ton in tolls as they go by # of axles

 

Great info brother, thanks for the help. I'll wait a little longer than to get it started, I'll see you guys out there soon. Thanks for all the help happy holidays everyone.

 

A four car carrier can be useful, it also opens you up to non running and salvage vehicles with much more ease than on a wedge trailer, however, NY limits straight trucks to an overall length (bumper to bumper) of 40 foot and specifically prohibits any front overhang off the cab carrier on a 4 car although they allow 3 foot of rear overhang off the bed. What this means is you need to have a bed no longer than 28 foot to stay legal, which they do check, especially around the Newburgh area (which has 3 major auctions). The 28 foot bed limits what will fit on the deck, you may have trouble lifting your tow vehicle or getting the deck cars to not touch bumpers (no problem with salvage, big problem with good cars). A four car would be a class b cdl with air brake and tow truck endorsement, real simple to learn how to use and maneuverable. We have one in our fleet, for what it is it is indispensable, but there is no one size fits all solution for a single truck operator. Lastly, keep in mind with the rollback many vehicles are all wheel drive today, meaning it is getting harder to find a towable vehicle to complete your load, and you can't tow a vehicle with drive wheels on the ground without risking damage.

 

Sha83, Did you call OOIDA?

 

Don't waste your time with OOIDA, their insurance programs do not cover true independent car haul operations, I have been down that road with them. They will not cover the vehicle unless you pick it up and drop it off without temporarily storing it anywhere (won't even let you unload it in transit to reconfigure the load), they don't cover driving it out to your truck (which is quite common on personal owned vehicles), nor do they cover inop/salvage vehicles leaving your only option to haul new or off lease units which limits your customer base. Their insurance programs are geared mostly to leased operators who get most of their coverage from the motor carrier with authority, they have really bad coverages for the true independent unless you are hauling general dry van freight.

Don't get me wrong, OOIDA has their place in trucking (I used to be a member), but they really do not support car haul operations. In fact, they lobbied against our industry request to increase size and weight limits on car haulers. We won the length increase in the new highway bill but it is pretty much useless without the weight increase since most stingers are already running at or above 80,000 pounds without the larger loads.

 

If I was going to buy a piece of equipment and run around local, I'd get a Cottrell 10 wheeler 5 pack. You can put all kinds of combinations on that baby.

 

Great advice except he is located in New York and they restrict straight trucks to 40 foot bumper to bumper. With the 5 pack they do not allow any front or rear overhang in New York, only a "tow truck" style car carrier (must be equipped with a winch and have a sliding deck that reaches the ground for loading to qualify) is allowed overhang beyond the 40 foot, and then they are only allowed 3 foot to the rear, no front which makes loading 5 units nearly impossible. If they would allow 5 packs in NY I would replace my entire fleet with them, much better suited for the local p&d work I do.

Many operate the Cotrell 5 pack, but they face fines when caught and the fine can range from $150 to $1,500 per offence. I don't want to take that risk and won't recommend a new guy just starting out do so either, it is hard enough learning how to haul cars without being worried about DOT enforcement all the time.

 

Hi Brian thanks again for all the knowledge, you have been very helpful for sure, also bringing up rules and regulations I hadn't even thought of. Since I'm planning on going with the 4 car flatbed now it's going to take a little longer to accumulate the funds to get it started, but would you mind if I messaged you in the near future with any questions I have? Happy holidays.

 

Sure thing Sha83 and Happy Holidays to you as well.