delivering coal from PA to NY, info on fair $, legality

[DZink24]

i was asked by a friend the other day if i'd be willing to go from our town (rochester, ny) to brookville PA to pick up 2 pallets (approx. 3100lbs) of cooking charcoal for a town-wide BBQ festival in august. a quick check of mapquest shows an approximate round trip distance of 450 miles. i have access to a flatbed 18' car hauler, but the issue i have is about the legality of crossing state lines (i don't have USDOT # on my 2500). i do have a class A CDL, i drive commercially (local LTL transport), so i am in possession of a DOT medical card. i guess the thing i am worried about is running into one of the infamous checkpoints, and geting into trouble (improper insurance, no DOT #, ect) for doing a favor.



what is the going rate these days for hot shotting?



any tips, expirience or ideas would be appreciated

 

[HBarlow]

i was asked by a friend the other day if i'd be willing to go from our town (rochester, ny) to brookville PA to pick up 2 pallets (approx. 3100lbs) of cooking charcoal for a town-wide BBQ festival in august. a quick check of mapquest shows an approximate round trip distance of 450 miles. i have access to a flatbed 18' car hauler, but the issue i have is about the legality of crossing state lines (i don't have USDOT # on my 2500). i do have a class A CDL, i drive commercially (local LTL transport), so i am in possession of a DOT medical card. i guess the thing i am worried about is running into one of the infamous checkpoints, and geting into trouble (improper insurance, no DOT #, ect) for doing a favor.

what is the going rate these days for hot shotting?

any tips, expirience or ideas would be appreciated

If you have in your possession the receipt for the charcoal that shows you are the purchaser/owner of the product you will be engaged in personal travel, not commercial, and shouldn't be subject to DOT issues other than the normal weight, licensing, and equipment requirements.

It might be helpful if you were carrying a copy of your town's flyer announcing the BBQ event so you could honestly explain to anyone who asked that you are a civic minded good citizen of your town, doing a favor for your town by transporting the cooking charcoal at no charge.

I would guess a hotshotter would be getting a little over $1/loaded mile, perhaps less for such a small load.

Could you load the charcoal in your pickup bed and avoid pulling a trailer?

 

[DZink24]

thanks for the reply harvey. all very good points, the friend would be going with me, and i'd make sure he had the reciept with him. i'll have to get the actual amount needed, he originally said 2 pallets, i havent measured yet, but with the short box, it would be a very tight squeeze, even with the tailgate down. i'm thinking of asking him to contact a common carrier just for the heck of it, because even if i only charge . 50/mi. , he'd be looking at almost $225, i'm curious to see what a carrier would charge. i'm not looking to make a ton of money on this deal, but i dont want to end up taking a bath, either. if fuel is gonna be in the $3. 50 range or more this summer, $225 essentially breaks even, after i give the owner of the trailer a slice of the pie also.

again, thanks a bunch!

 

[jgillott]

We often travel in PA and NY with loads for our farm like big pallets of potting soil, fruit, plants etc. , on trailers and/or in the bed of our trucks. I have been questioned several times when we have been stopped. Since everything is ag related, and the trucks, trailer, and paperwork for the load has always been in my name, there has never been a question about being commercial, DOT #'s etc.

 

[GaryOwen]

I went to uship.com and did some checking. Uship has a price estimator and it came up with $315 for 3100 lbs from Brookville to Rochester. You have to remember that for most shippers this would be a LTL load and they would also be trying to pick something up in the Rochester area for their next leg of their trip. Your costs would be higher since you are dead heading to pick up the load. Hope this helps.

 

[NIsaacs]

At 3100 lbs, you can haul that in your pickup. Just off load the bags from the pallets, then it should fit. However, I think charcoal is kind of light so you still might have too much bulk for a short bed. You probably won't have a forklift on delivery anyway and will need to hand unload.



Nick

 

[HBarlow]

I think the IRS is currently using approximately $0. 50/mile to calculate operating costs. If you're not charging at least $0. 50/mile you will be making a charitable contribution to your town. If you are pulling your own trailer your cost will be higher.

A buck a mile is fair to both parties but not a big profit for you.

 

[Skydiver]

The only BIG problem I see, is explaining to your insurance carrier IF you have a claim. Make no mention of money. I would defininatly put it in the bed and tarp it if rain is evident.

 

[DZink24]

all good replies and ideas. these are some good points ill have to bring up when the time arrives. i'm not even sure yet why the charcoal is in PA, there's a thousand places between here and there that sell it. unless it is a special flavored brand that isn't availiable anywhere else. now that i think of it NIssacs, 3100 lbs is a heck of a lot of coal, seeing how it is fairly light per cubic foot. hopefully if it is on pallets, the DPW can send a bucket tractor with forks to off load. next issue will be securing it to a flatbed with no sides, just tie downs. time to borrow a few rolls of stretch wrap from work...

 

[steved]

First, charcoal is not coal... two completely different things.



Second, if its loaded onto a unmarked (non-commercial) trailer being towed by a unmarked (non-commercial) truck, they will probably never even ask. I would load the material, and tarp it, and drive... if they care to know, you're having a big family get together and roasting a pig!



I've towed a lot of stuff into and out of PA, and never had as much as a glance.