Why do hotshot drivers use pickup trucks instead of class 8 trucks?

Is there a benefit to doing that? Id imagine it would be pretty stressful on a pickup to constantly pull all that weight and would wear the brakes down fast. Im thinking about maybe doing hotshot trucking, I currently drive a tractor trailer

 

No Cdl

 

I thought you need a class A for it because its a combination vehicle

 

That would be a restricted A license. No air brake endorsement.

Easier to get, written test, road test with a pickup and small trailer, done.

Most are Owner/ops.

We have a lot of hot shot pickups driving around here.

I worked for a hot shot company for a year and a half before going class 8.

Everything is half size to move smaller freight locally.

I do find that Class 8 trucks are far longer lasting and not much more in cost to fix than pickups.

I did brakes on a sterling tandem drive truck. $1,600 for drums, pads and seals.

Pickups cost the same to replace calipers, pads and rotors.

Class 8 18 speed tranny rebuild, $4,500-$5,000.

Pickups are $3,000-$7,000 and they only last 100,000-200,000 miles while class 8 can go 500,000 to over a million miles without a rebuild.

Pickups depreciate a lot more, brand new to junk in 5 years. Even if the body keeps up, they start needing a lot of repairs.

Fuel economy wise, for example...

All four of us, a class 8 and three pickups delivered to the same area and we all live locally to each other.

I hauled 2 12x20 horse shelters on our 53 foot stepdeck with a day cab short frame sterling that has a 330 hp M11 Cummins and super 10 transmission. Empty weight is 39,000lbs. Two horse shelters are about 3,500 lbs each.

The sterling gets between 6-7 us mpg on fuel.

A 2015 Ford F450 pulling a 35 foot trailer with the same 12x20 3,500 lb shelter on got 6.2 us mpg. The pickup and trailer only weighs around 18,000 lbs I think.

The shelter is light weight but a giant sail pushing wind.

The two Ram 3500’s did around 8.7 us mpg with same trailer each.

So, smaller lighter loads, the pickups are cheaper to do local deliveries around here than class 8.

Class 8 pay better to drivers that work for a company.

Hot shot pickups is limited to a owner op in most places unless they pay enough and provide enough work to have more drivers.

Also some use this as a start to work their way to owning a class 8.

As for me in a class 8 truck, the pickups and trailers keeps the MTO busy and I don’t get bothered much.

 

Depends on tare & air brake. I don't know what the exact specs are for cdl and non-cdl.
Don't buy a pickup until you get all the details.

 

No.
It's only needed if over 26K lbs total and for a class A pulling a trailer over 10k lbs. That's the weight, or weight rating. Whichever is more. California requires a CDL on any vehicle pulling a trailer over 10k, doesn't matter combined weight.
There are 2-3 car setups that can get under that on weight rating. I have serious doubts they are actually under that loaded though.

 

Is there a detailed definition on sleeper for hotshots?

 

Just the standard sleeper requirements defined in FMCSA.
It's located at Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR)
There is nothing special for "hotshot" vs. semi, it's simply sleeper berth vs. off duty. If one has a legal sleeper they can log sleeper and do the 8/2 split. If not, it's all off duty.
That's really the only use for having a legal sleeper.

Here is a place that does / sells conversion kits.
Woodhouse

 

That's a reasonable price. Thanks for the info.

 

How do they sleep in a less than 6 foot wide pickup truck? I can't see the freight paying all that good either from brokers too