Anyone Hauling Cars?

[R C Cola]

Logs - Off Duty

M Meir

Off Duty is the only way you can log legally if you do not have a D. O. T. approved sleeper. Also important, if an Officer asks you where you slept last night, it is a trick question. Only correct answer is - At a friends house in "City"

or the " real bed equivalant ". And no you do not have to tell him your girlfriends name. Some of the DOT guys such as WY-Cheyenne port of entry

think it is fun to trip you up, and then write you up. R C

 

[Oasis-3]

Hired/Non Owned

Patrick

Hired/Non Owned is the dealed Hired you to drive/deliver a vehicle Non Owned by you.



I have my wife and step son on this policy because they help me pull cars and this way they are covered by my insurance policy also.



Cliff

 

[R C Cola]

Patriot - Part time is tough due to the cost of set-up especially insurance requirements.

I did it for a while for "friends" hauling "under the table". Rebuilders and bodyshops that rebuild or buy for parts often have to pay 75/cents/car/mile or better to move wrecks. A 2 car is often used and will make some money but 98% of the time you will be empty in

one direction. Maybe some others have ideas for part time. Can't say that I would reccomend RV's. R C

 

[Brian19692]

DBABBITT. I'm not haulling any more. I ran for about a year and a half. I quit about 2 years ago so some of the details are alittle fuzzy. If I remeber right per mile was around . 85 a mile. I was empty or hauling one alot. I would try to run about 1000 mile runs. I was very happy with Central Dispatch. Always had alot of loads posted. Only had problems with one broker through them. Personally I wouldn't do it again with a 53' 3 car. I did door to door and got into ALOT of places i shouldn't have. And your not being to nosy. Glad to help anyway I can.

 

[DBabbitt]

DBABBITT. I'm not haulling any more. I ran for about a year and a half. I quit about 2 years ago so some of the details are alittle fuzzy. If I remeber right per mile was around . 85 a mile. I was empty or hauling one alot. I would try to run about 1000 mile runs. I was very happy with Central Dispatch. Always had alot of loads posted. Only had problems with one broker through them. Personally I wouldn't do it again with a 53' 3 car. I did door to door and got into ALOT of places i shouldn't have. And your not being to nosy. Glad to help anyway I can.

Brian19692, hey thanks for the info. Why are you no longer hauling cars?

 

[Brian19692]

DBabbitt, I was busting my butt just to break even every month. Decided it wasn't worth it anymore. Felt like I was working 24/7 just to pay the bills. Plus it was very stressful. I was getting my loads, driving, and doing billing. It seemed like I got pulled into the scales alot. I think it was because I was running under 26K and they wanted to make sure everything was legal. Also, everytime I went through AZ or NM I had to buy a trip permit. Seemed like it was about $100 each time.

 

[ThompsonS]

Intresting thread,



I used to be an Owner/Operator years ago with an 18 wheeler or 3, but got tired of the hassle vs reward.

Just not enough cash to be worth it.



I ran into a guy the other day that I guess is a broker with his own DOT #, he said with a 3-car trailer and a a F-350 or 550 he could have the rig gross $20K a month running the southeast.



he reccomended paying the driver 17% of gross

said for an addl fee, he would provide the driver.



he rattled off some numbers:

$1000 a month for ins

$1000 a month for truck payment

$5000 a month for the driver

$4000 a month for fuel



seems like theres about $10K a month left over after I pay all the expenses,

thats a lot o cash, I figured he was blowing smoke.



do these #'s sound out of line?



Nothing for maint, but for my big rig, I kept 10% of the gross aside for maint, and that worked out about right.



I fugured it would be just as cheap to buy a cabover with 400K on it than a one ton, I paid $20K for my last cabover a few years ago.

I used cabovers since they sold for about half price of a conventional.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

240k gross with a 3 car trailer seems a little high. Also 4000 for fuel / 2. 5$/gallon = 1600 gallons * 12 = ~20,000 miles a month! Wow. That is haulin butt.

 

[kah68]

You know if its down the the nitty gritty, I don't know why you guys wouldn't buy a used single axle tractor. My 97 FLD had a 330 h. p. M-11, 9 speed road ranger, Air Ride, Air Cab, Air seat, 180 gallon fuel tanks and gets 10-11 MPG pulling modest loads. If you have to abide by the commercial rules why not buy a truck that will do it all. This truck was a low miler and cost me $ 19000. 00 CDN, and its a million mile truck. I just don't see how you can run a small dodge as cheap as one of these. I have two small 4x4 dodges cause we get into areas that need 4wd but I would rather be putting all my miles on the freightliner.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

Reason for me is I do not have a CDL... Keeping it under 26000 lbs. Also saves me from other random hassles like IFTA and IRPA and drug testing. Just more money and time spent. I also have no where to park a tractor. I barely barely barely fit my dually in the driveway and am not allowed to park it on the street. I could park it where I park my trailer but then would have to have another vehicle just to go back and forth from the yard. Eventually I would like to move where I can park my trailer (all 48 feet of it) at my house so I go straight from home to my loads.



11 MPG is pretty good... I expect only a few MPG better than that. I imagine maintenance on a big truck is about the same or even cheaper, and you don't have to maintain it nearly as often.

 

[kah68]

I see, I didn't realize keeping it under 26000 exempted you from CDL and the other issues. Here is Canada , any commercial vehicle alone or combined with a trailer exceeding 4500 kg's or 10000 pounds is required to run the same rules and regs as a full on highway tractor. Thats why I was making my case for the tractor. One thing I do know for sure, tires last longer, parts are easier to find and often cheaper ( in terms of price and life span ) and can often be bought used , and my new 05' Dodge gets a lousy 8. 5-12 MPG towing. Couple that with the fact that I paid $45,000. 00 CDN ( hard to find the spec. I need in a used truck ) and the tractor becomes very attractive, other than it won't even think of going the places the little 4WD Dodge goes with ease.

 

[ThompsonS]

Need to talk further with the guy, and see it on his P&L statement, he gave a sample week:



Atlanta to Orlando $900 450 miles

Orlando to Houston $2000 980 miles

Houston to Orlando $2200 980 miles

Orlando to Atlanta $900 450 miles



GRoss $5550 3000 miles

-fuel $ 850 10mpg@$2. 80/gal

- driver@17% of gross $1200

- ins $200

- truck pay $200



net $3100



need to save back at least 10% for truck maint



but this seems like a cash cow to me.



Sounds too good to be true.



the numbers just seem too high, if there was this much money to be made hauling cars, with someone else doing the driving everyone in the country would be doing just that.



Or at least this guy wouldnt be looking to add on MY truck, He would be adding on HIS truck.



He dindn't mention any motel bills or what % slice he wants off the top for brokering the load, Im sure there are other things he didnt mention too.



Can you guys think of any?



Other than the fact that Id have to lay out about $10K

in down payments, and 60 days fuel/truck payment/ins, and driver pay before I saw a dime come in.



I could get a decent cabover international 9700 with around 600K miles for between $8K & $15K and a 3 or 4 car trailer for $4-8K.





Laying out that kind of cash I could buy a rental house, but Id be doing good to clear $250 a month.





What questions should I ask the guy in a face to face meeting?

240k gross with a 3 car trailer seems a little high. Also 4000 for fuel / 2. 5$/gallon = 1600 gallons * 12 = ~20,000 miles a month! Wow. That is haulin butt.

 

[Mundgyver]

I would want to see a year or two of records. 1 month, yea ok, but how about a years worth or better yet 2. I know that when you buy a brick and mortar turnkey bussiness, you will usually be shown the last 5 years of record.



I know there are people making money, but look close, that is a whole lot of long hours behind the wheel

 

[PatrickCampbell]

What exactly is the situation here? He is the broker and you are going to do what? hire on a truck or drive yourself? Is this guy a broker or a transporter ? This is how much he makes or what is he going to pay you?



I think it is a little unrealistic for him to be PAYING this amount because that means he is making even more... And this is for a 3 car trailer?



If he is getting almost $2/mile I would say he is getting these loads directly from businesses not through a broker. $1. 85/mile is a good average rate for regiona/long haul and if he can get that going back and forth both ways he is doing well. But to me this seems unrealistic. 95% loaded miles...

 

[MMeier]

Something here doesn't sound quite right. .

 

[R C Cola]

What it sounds like ?

Remember the old saying, especially if money is changing hands ! ! !

IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, then its B&%# S@#$ !!

I just spoke with a driver owner this a. m. who is on a run training a driver he just hired. He will lease me on, or hires drivers to drive his trucks. Pay range per/car per/mile is a spread of . 71 cents to $ 1. 10 and he averages 85% w/3 cars loaded, 5% empty to pickup, 10% loaded with one or 2 cars. He considers those good averages, he says some of the companys don't do quite that good of average. R C

 

[ThompsonS]

What this guy told you sounds pretty close to what I am being told, if my math is right.



Seems like this is better money than trailer trucking.



Did this guy say how many miles they avg in a week/month? & what he is paying the drivers?

17-20% of gross is what Ive heard from more than one person.





I struggled to clear $1500 a week with a big rig,

I find it intresting that a 3 car trailer would clear triple that.

Of course the big rig got 4. 5 mpg running a 250 mile radius of the home terminal in traffic. the same rig pulling a 3 car trailer would probably get 10 mpg.



But this guy was trying to convince me that you could pick up 3 cars in Atlanta drive to Orlando and deliver them in one day. that would be a 18 hr day at least, if all 3 cars got picked up and delivered at 6 separate locations, you'd blow one hour per car on each end, minimum.



Which is barely logable,, if you lie and say you drove 5 hours and rested 4 hours, since you cant work more than 10 hrs without 8 hrs rest time.



You never know, sometimes the money is where you least expect it.

I never thought owning a trailer park was a cash cow, but I've met guys that are making a fortune with 'em.

Remember the old saying, especially if money is changing hands ! ! !

IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, then its B&%# S@#$ !!

I just spoke with a driver owner this a. m. who is on a run training a driver he just hired. He will lease me on, or hires drivers to drive his trucks. Pay range per/car per/mile is a spread of . 71 cents to $ 1. 10 and he averages 85% w/3 cars loaded, 5% empty to pickup, 10% loaded with one or 2 cars. He considers those good averages, he says some of the companys don't do quite that good of average. R C

 

[ThompsonS]

I talked with the guy, he said his drivers often loaded 3 cars in atlanta and drove to Dallas in one day,



I asked him how he managed to log that legally and he started hemming hawing and mumbleing.



I also asked him how much his insurance was, and he gave me some vauge answer.

EVERY owner operator knows within a few bucks how much he's paying for ins, cause it usually more than his house payment.



He showed me a pic of his black Crewcab 1 ton & 3 car trailer, and it didnt have any writing on it at all,



I thinks he does not have any ICC MC # or commercial insurance. , nor use logbooks.



Probably only accepts COD loads, then the IRS wouldnt even know about it.



He kept on and on about how much money he was making, logged onto his banks website to show me he had deposited $30K this month, and pulled $7K in cash out of his pocket, but when I asked to see his drivers logbooks, he left the room and brought back some logbooks of his from when he was working at a trailer trucking co 18 months ago.



So I'm calling BS on this deal.



Although Im guessing it would be very low chance of him getting caught, IF he ever got nabbed he could just claim he was taking cars that belonged to a friend, to an auction in X city, for free.

If the DOT couldnt prove he was hauling for hire, he's got little to worry about.





How's the DOT ever gonna prove him any different? trace the VIN of the cars, attempt to phone the owner & ask if they are paying & how much?



If he stays under 26000 lbs he got little to worry about.



Was interesting to play around on the centraldispatch site though.



If I got back into trucking I think being able to pick and choose the loads, prices, and destination would be better than haveing to take whatever the dispatcher shoved at you.





Im thinking this would be a great way to tour the USA sort of semi retired,



Get a flat floor cabover international with a long frame and single axle, build a camper on the back with maybe an inflateable boot between the cab and camper, and a enclosed 2 car trailer, or this rig and find a wrecked motorhome with triple slideouts and bolt it on the back of the tractor where the car rack is



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...65707&sspagename=ADME:B:WNA:US:112&sasel=&id=



and get paid to drive to Alaska, stay till the money runs low, then find some good paying freight back, then toYosemite for a while... ... .

 

[MMeier]

His time will come, trust me !

 

[PatrickCampbell]

I wish I depositted 30,000 this month and had 7k in my pocket!



Thompson how did you get to login to Central Dispatch... through this guys account? I have always wanted to check out what the rates are like on there. Also I thought that you had to have an MC# to get on there?