How to get into the HotShot business?

[DBabbitt]

I have a 2004. 5 3500 QC Dually and have been wondering about the hotshot business. Was wondering if anyone could answer some general questions:



1. Do you need DOT or MC numbers?

2. What types of insurance do you need?

3. What types of loads pay the best? Auto transport, RV's, Trailers, other?

4. Is it better to lease on with a broker or go independent?

5. How do you find loads if you are independent?

6. What are the standard hours of operation for logs?

7. How much can a HotShotter expect to make per year?



Any help would be appreciated. Dan.

 

[KBalzuweit]

I haul campers and am leased to Classic. They supply all permits, cargo insurance, liability insurance while hooked to a trailer. Your logs are the same as big trucks, you log both ways and are dead heading back all the time. Right now we are getting 1. 13 a mile. Miles paid are based on PC Miler and you get paid for loaded miles.



As far as money it just depends on how hard you run and how often you want to go home.



Do the math and see if you can make it work for you, the industry has a very large turnover. Many people get in and can't run the miles or just do not like life on the road (sleeping in a p/u, showering at truck stops, etc... )



PM me in I can be any help.



Karl

 

[DHorton]

DBabbitt, this is a pretty good website for getting the info you are looking for (www.hotshothauling.com), but as in all things, get with your state's Motor Carrier Compliance Office to get the legal aspects worked out. As for which commodity pays the most, it really depends on you. Make your business plan, then stick with it. In a months time, if it is not working, then make subtle changes until you get it perfected. The absolute must in all of this is to have the operating cash ON HAND, to sustain you for a minimum of 60 days, but preferrably 150 or more would give you more ability to make changes, correct mistakes and repair any issues that arise. Some commodities take 30 to 60 days to get your payment from customer. So you need operating cash to carry you until you get the checks rolling in. We haul general freight and enjoy it, make a decent living and answer only to our customers. No leasing, no begging, just straight up working for myself at what I love.

 

[EB]

To DHorton, your advice about hotshothauling.com is good. You don't have to have your own company. There are good companies out there that pay good and give you plenty of miles, I work for one.



To KBalzuweit, you are paid $1. 13 a mile and you deadhead back all the time? I have one question, WHY??? That works out to $. 565 per mile not counting food, lodging ect. You must have some magic formula for making that work, I can't see it. Looks like you are just wearing out your truck for someone else. If that is what you want to do, fine, but look around, there are places that pay a lot more than that. You can pull things other than campers. Just my opinion.

 

[CSnyder]

EB, I believe Karl makes it work by running his tail off. I just read my local paper that the city approved taxi drivers to charge 1. 50 start up and 1. 70 a mile. In my opinion that is great money for nothing more than paying fuel and a cheap lease. I should see if my truck qualifies as a taxi?

Karl, I know of a company local to me that is hiring hotshotters if you are interested. Sounds like they pay 1. 75 loaded with lots of midwest miles pulling light loads on your flatbed.



Chris

 

[EB]

Running your tail off and making a lot of gross income is not what I call making money. If you aren't making enough to pay replacement cost on your truck, which will be worth very little in 4 or 5 yrs. , then you haven't made any money. You still have to pay taxes, tires, oil changes repairs, food and lodging. With what fuel costs now, all Karl is doing is making whoever he is hauling for smile. Believe me, they are getting a lot more for the delivery than that.



My lowest rate is $1. 98 a mile, one way, and that is on anything over 250 miles. The rate for a 100 mile trip is $2. 82 a mile, one way, a 50 mile trip, it's $4. 26 a mile. Most of my runs are 150 miles or less. There are places you can work and things you can haul that pay a lot more than what Karl is hauling for. It doesn't matter how much you "work your tail off", if you are doing it at a low rate, you are still not really making money. I haul about 80-90k miles a year and make quite a bit more than $100k doing it.



Go to www.hotshothauling.com, there are rants about the companys that have people hauling campers for them. Those companies are making a killing on guys that want to see some of the country and get paid for it. If that is what you want to do, fine. In a few years you will have a worn out truck and nothing to show for it.



Just my opinion.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

Good info EB.



I am looking into hauling cars and trying to figure out what I should charge. I live 10 miles from New York City where there are thousands of car dealerships around. I was thinking a 3 car hauler to/from auctions would be a good business. I also hope to be able to charge $2. 50 a mile and I needed a little bit of re-affirmation that I am not thinking wrong that that is too much. $1/mile is not enough. $2 still seems a little low. One thing to consider with the other guy is that they pay his insurance/tags/etc. Insurance for me will run $12K a year. Any other going into it tips will be helpful.

 

[DHayden]

I don't know what cars pay now but the guys I talked to before said that cars are too cheap. Peaple haul them for next to nothing as back hauls. JMO maybe someone who runs them will let you know.

 

[NIsaacs]

Hot shot trucking is tough. If you can, try and get a somewhat local haul with one or more companys. Living on the road can get expensive, looking/waiting for loads, bad weather and cheap loads. A flat bed trailer is more versatile vs, say a car hauler. One thing I always run into was the weight was either too light or too heavy. A main haul for one person is a back haul for some one else, so the rate is low. Keep in mind a three car hauler is heavy, if your dually is 8,000 lbs and trailer is 6,000 lbs, you are at 14,000 lbs empty. Add one full size pickup, 7,000 lbs and two small cars at about another 7,000 lbs and you are at 28,000 lbs gross. You also need to try and keep three vehicles on your trailer, cut that back to two and you lose 30 percent of your revenue.



Try and get hauls that are machine loaded or load themselves. Hand loaded freight or tarped loads take lots of time and labor. Also look at the value of the freight itself. Its hard to justify $500. 00 for freight if the load is only worth $1,000. 00. Time sensitive, light loads, dedicated runs, and local hauling is all good.





"NICK"

 

[EB]

I know nothing about hauling cars, or what the going rate is for them. I don't believe it is very high, but I have heard that you can usually stay loaded hauling them, very little dead head miles. That being said, I see a lot of them pulling empty wedge trailers down the road.



I haul nothing but oilfield equiptment, going to and from oil rigs from service companies. Could be anything from pipes to BOP's or speciality tools. It pays pretty good and because of the short hauls, I usually am home at night. I stay as busy as I want.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

I will have to do some research. There might not even be a market for it at all here in NJ.



I definitely do not want to be on the road, unless it were relatively close and going back and forth to the same place.



I drove "over the road" in my Dodge for a year and it was fun but I didn't do very well. Lots of deadhead miles and lonely and sleeping in the cab of the truck getting woken up getting harassed by people at truck stops begging for money. Driving from California back to NJ with no load is pretty frustrating too. And now I am getting married soon... I tried getting her to sleep in the back seat of the truck 1 night and she didn't appreciate it much I don't want to leave her home alone. I wouldn't mind something like hauling to Florida and back where I am never more than 1 day from home. Ideally, I would like to haul to/from local car auctions for dealerships. To the auction for the new dealers who get trade ins, from the auction from used dealers for resale. I was thinking I would hit up an auction on my own one time and try to talk to some of the haulers to see if they might fill me in. My biggest concern is getting revenue coming in as soon as I turn on that $1000/month insurance.

 

[GShail]

The Auto Transport business is quite varied as to the rate per loaded mile depending on many factors. Most cars go at a bulk rate (that's why you see 9 to 13 car haulers), some go at an expedited rate, and others go for what I like to call the, "off the beaten path rate. " A seven hundred mile trip say from S. California to say Texas is not going to pay as much money as a 700 mile trip from S. California to Utah. The S. California to Texas route (Interstate 10) sees a lot more traffic, hence a higher supply of Auto transporters and a lower demand for price. Another factor is the time to get the shipment from point A to B. Obviously a 700 mile expedited run (1-3 days) is going to command a higher dollar amount than a no guarantee of delivery run (7-10 days). A few other money influencing factors can include the price of the cars (more expensive vehicles require higher amount of cargo insurance) you get more money hauling Vettes & Porshces than you do hauling Toyotas, older cars etc. You get more money hauling enlcosed vehicles than you do open trailer. Inoperable vehicles command a higher price than do operable vehicles. Corporate moves generally pay much higher than Joe off the e-bay. Inclement weather & specific locale can also be a tremendous influence in the price of the vehicles being shipped. Some areas are visited not at all by the bulk transporters, especially when it is winter.



My current trip is from S. California into Bozeman , MT. (yes there might be snow on the road) will gross $2675. 00 for what is approximately an 1,100 mile trip & that works out to about $2. 42 per mile. My return trip (S. Montana to S. California) will earn a little more ( $2795. 00 or $2. 54 per mile)





Round trip $ 5,470 dollars gross minus 440 gallons of fuel @ $3. 00 per gallon = $1320. 00, minus insurance $846. 00 per month, minus monthly cost of truck, minus maintanence, minus food, minus time away from home, minus a hundred other things still equals a pretty lucrative operation IF you can pull off 4 round trips like the one described above per month.



Pulling cars to and from the Auctions is possible, but probably not very lucrative because there are so many companies competing for the Auction hauls.



It pays to specialize, my specialty is off the beaten path in Utah, Idaho, Montana & Wyoming. One guy I know does quite well hauling enclosed, another handles exclusively inoperable classic cars.



I never run deadheaded except for occassional 100 to 200 mile stints on the "off the beaten path" runs.



This business takes A LOT of cash flow for fuel, maintenance, food, & the unexpected.



A second truck is almost a must because if you have a major brakdown you need to use the backup truck to keep the cash flowing otherwise you will get eaten alive by downtime.



There are many licensing, State and DOT type issues.

There are tax issues.

There are legal issues.

There are butt pucker factor issues because it's snowing & some dimwit just cut you off. :-laf



It all adds up to yes you can do it but look long and hard before you leap so that you will be prepared for success.



PM me if you have questions and I will try to help.

 

[Turboman]

Sounds like them two old cowboys that got into the hay haulig business; Pete says, "Jim, ifn we buy this hay for $1 a bale and sell it for $1 a bale, well the only way we gonna make any money is we gotta get a bigger truck"!

 

[PatrickCampbell]

funny you should say that i was just looking at Medium duty trucks

 

[GShail]

Whatever you say Turboman, I just know I can't argue with all of the CASH I am putting in my pocket. This job has given me MORE TIME at home with MORE MONEY to feed my family than any other enterprise I have personally been involved in. The biggest plus is that the only "MAN" I have to answer to is myself. I hate working for "the MAN". Ya know wat I mean, man? I don't think all of these $100 bills in my pocket are imaginary. Don't let your pre-conceived notions fool you. Yes, there are a ton of people who go into this (HOTSHOTING) without scouting out the pitfalls, and most assuredly they do run aground and go out of business. My feeling is that these people never really had a VIABLE business plan where they are figuring out all of the many details that go into being successful. It really takes some thinking & planning & pre-selling of yourself to have loads ready the day you are legal to do transports. Pulling trailers one way and dead heading back is a sure way to failure. Pulling a full load each way in the car business is quite lucrative if you can put one or more of the following ingredients together. 1. Have a full load each way (most important). 2. Work a good traffic corridor. (lesser supply of bulk Auto Transporters) 3. Run a time critical run. (Expedited pays 1/3 more) 4. Haul corporate moves. 5. Haul higher dollar vehicles. 6. Keep reasonable weights on your trailer. 7. Be competent handling your vehicle and trailer in a variety of traffic and weather conditions (also most important)

 

[Turboman]

GShail, I was refering to some of these guys who think it's all gravy and easy money to just take a pickup and start garthering up the money. One thing I have learned is that it's cheaper to stay home than to work your butt off for cost. It sounds like you've done your homework and know what your doing and if it's working for you I'm glad, no insult or disrespect intended.

 

[GShail]

No offense taken Turboman. Some of these guys (people running partials or deadheading 1,000 miles) I just have to shake my head at because of their naivete. My main point is that this kind of enterprise needs to be well thought out. And while I have a lot of it figured, I KNOW I still have plenty to learn.

 

[KBalzuweit]

I guess I must be an idiot, I dead head back all the time, and last week I left on Monday at 7am and was home on Friday in time to pick up my kids from school and after fuel, maint, truck, and on the road expenses I only had $1809. 57 left in profit. Oh well it works for me . Got the same loads next week and had the same the week before too.

 

[GShail]

Deadheaded 1,000 miles and made $1809. 57? WOW! What is your cargo?

 

[GShail]

Taking off today from Orem, UT to San Diego, CA. 3 down, 3 back, roundtrip around 1,500 miles. 150 Gallons of fuel $451. 50 Goodies for the trip $50. New NASCAR hat from the Flying J $20. Home with the wife and kids by Thursday and four days off, PRICELESS. For everything else there's Mastercard.