Hotshotters

[JoshPeters]

Ok guys..... I have a touch of a delema. Last week I lost my job. So now I'm looking at some possibilities. I have spent quite a bit of time on the road driving. Many road trips growing up and when I was in Tech School I was running from Chicago to North of Minneapolis every couple of weeks. I enjoy driving, and of course enjoy my CTD.



I guess I have a few questions... . feel free to PM me if you would like to keep these a bit more "inside the industry. "



Do you recommend having both a Gooseneck and a 5th Wheel set up in the truck?



Do you do many bumper pull trailers?



I will need more appropriate tires, would you suggest making the step to 19. 5's?



How do you start? Obviously get DOT approved, and start your own buisiness. Who would you contact to get off the ground?



Do you set your own rates, or do the Dealer/Manu set the prices?



When you are on the road, I know you have to follow the DOT log book rule, where do you sleep? Camper? Truck?



Any advise would be greatly appreciated. I have a few things on the table, this being one of them. In HS I had thought about being an OTR driver, but found that I would have to wait till I was 21 to get my OTR license. So I made the choice of Auto/Diesel Technician.



Thanks guys... . Sorry for the long post.



Josh

 

[JPope]

Sorry to hear about the job situation Josh, seems to be a lot of that going around up there!

How I ended up down here and weekend commuting a lot! though hopefully that will be ending soon!



Is hotshotting something you want to get into (from previous threads seems like it could get expensive, especially with insurance costs) or are you just looking for a break until the right thing appears?



Good Luck!!!!!!

 

[JoshPeters]

Well if a person can make a good living Driving, I would consider it. That's what I'm trying to find out. If something else was to come along, I may take that. I do have a couple of possibilties right now, but I'm trying to make an informed decision. I have been told there is good money to be made in this line of work, if your willing to spend some time on the road.



Josh

 

[BLNRAY]

take a look at www.horizontransport.com

 

[JoshPeters]

Thanx, it's a nice web page, but there are no links, or numbers to call!?



I'll have to try to look them up.



Josh

 

[CSnyder]

Josh, we haven't met yet but I hear alot of good things about you... hope we meet soon. I would say you have a real good chance of getting car hauls since you live in a car buyers hub in the metro area. I have a dealer named Albertson's Auto Sales in Spillville IA with me on www.findcars.com and he has a 2 car and a 3 car hauler for sale cheap. I have personally pulled the 3 car hauler with my truck when it was stock and it pulls like a dream loaded up. I would bet if you made flyers up and put them on dealers cars at the auto auctions you would get lots of work and getting into hotshotting cars is fairly cheap. Or if you could get your hands on a 36' or longer gooseneck flatbed I could get you loads out of Saint Cloud and Litchfield going to Madison with farm equipment for me. I could also set you up with some dealers in my area for hauling their cars back here. Feel free to call me at 563-419-0252 days. Chris

 

[DPhillips]

Do a search in this forum. A couple of months ago several people talked about Hot Shottin here and provided a lot of good information about it. Good luck.

 

[KBalzuweit]

Horizon won't take you, they are 2000 or newer truck. You can get into hauling campers at little to no cost. Most companies pay the med exam and drug test. Your truck needs to have a brake controller, class 3 hitch, fifth wheel hitch, weight dist hitch, dot insp. sticker, and a few other little things. I pull for classic and am pretty happy. . here is there web site http://www.driveforclassictransport.com/ just make sure you are pulling at the full time rate. Thats pulling only Jayco product out of Middlebury IN. Hope I have helped, if you need anything PM me. Karl

 

[JoshPeters]

I appreciate the info. From what I've read on Searches and the like it can be a tough industry. There are only 2 things on that list I don't have, and that's the DOT inspection sticker, and the Weight Dist Hitch.



Josh

 

[dberry]

I don't know if you have a CDL or not but you will probably need one, depending on the route you chose.

 

[MMeier]

Just remember, these places do not pay when you are not hooked up to something! And some times you WILL go a long ways before you hook up to anything. No hook, no pay ! :{

 

[R C Cola]

Hot Shot ? ? ?

You might want to check out my previous threads on Hot Shot freight. The only exception I know of is if you live in Texas close to a terminal and do Oil Field Hot Shot it pays very well and they overload their trucks a lot!

Other parts of the country, personally I am switching to pulling R V's.

A 50' wedge for cars can pay pretty good and there are always cars to move no matter where you are. Most of the guys I have talked to make between $ 1. 40 to 1. 85 per mile with almost no deadhead miles. I will be selling my trailer this month since I am making the switch and will not need it. Best of luck R C

 

[EB]

I do oilfield hotshot and it does pay very well. You can get overloaded if you let them do it to you. The company I am leased on with will not allow more than 15k to be loaded on a G/N trailer. More than that and they get a bigger truck. I'm leased on with a company and don't have to worry about insurance, bill collection, or finding work. With the oilfield the way it is, we don't have to look to hard to find work.

 

[JoshPeters]

Lots of very good points to consider guys. The 1st I'm leaving for North Carolina to help move my best friends G-ma to MN. I'm driving a little Subaru down, but on the way back I'll be running a rented 26 or 28 foot box truck. I think this will give me a pretty good idea if I want to spend alot of time on the road.



As with any job I'm seeing upsides and down sides. So far it seems to be, if you run campers, you may end up with a lot of deadhead miles. If you are running frieght or equipment you may be sitting a while waiting for a load. If you run cars on your own, you will need the insurance to cover it, but it pays well.



Josh

 

[bmoeller]

OTRPU pulls for Bennett. RV Transport list



I see mostly Bennett and Hoosier RV haulers running through here. Almost ALL deadhead rolling east.



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