[Darin Younce]

Thanks Orange, Gman, You are right in that I must find out if I can even get inured. The guy I talked to yesterday said he would consider my two
years hauling cars as a dealer experience. He said he could write cargo
and property but not primary liability because he was not licensed in KY.
A little later in the conversation he said he might have an agent that could
write in KY and would call back . I also looked at progressive and their internet site says they help new drivers as well. I am looking into
the hot shot set up for sure and am going to make dang sure I can get ins before spending one cent on a truck. BTW the agent I spoke to said that Ins on a big truck somestimes is cheaper because people use the one tons for personal use and park a big truck when home. I see his point
but I would still think the opposite, anyway that is for the truck its self I am sure.

[mike3fan]

If you go with the hot shot deal,I would get the Dodge Ram,the Ford's are cheaper but I have heard quite a few stories of transmission problems witht the Fords.

My Dad just bought a brand new Ram 3/4 ton with the new Cummins and when I pull my RV trailer I get around 11mpg and about 18-19mpg without.

[Darin Younce]

I talked to Prudential ins today and they quoted me a little over 2400.00
for ins . This seems low and I asked her if she was sure and she said yes. This is for Gen lib, vehicle, trailer and cargo ( suppose to be all I need to be O/O in a ton truck.With this I am limited to 300 mi with a gooseneck or 5th wheel but unlimited with a bumper pull trailer . Weird huh! Also this is with 100 grand on cargo which is the highest they go. According to her these rates and not because I am a newbie but is their limits for KY. She also said that these limits were going up perhaps before the end of the year soI may be able to go farther with Goose Neck, 5th Whl and may get higher carge if needed. One more thing she said that I am allowed to venture beyond my limit 4 times a year ( over 300 miles) but only a week at a time, LOOK OUT BARRETT -JACKSON.

[GMAN]

That does seem a little low for cargo and liability, but it is for a 1 ton truck. The cargo may be alright since you cannot haul more than 3 or 4 cars with most of the hotshot trailers. If it were a 10 car hauler I doubt if the 100,000 would be sufficient. So, what now? Have you put together your game plan?

[Darin Younce]

Well, it all boils down to if I get theLocal Job hauling flyash. I am sort of
torn between the car hauling and the local job. The local job is a steady income at around 42 grand a year but 12 hr days starting at 330 am and is probably a deadend job except for an occiasional raise . The car haul business which has been on my mind actually for about 6 years is really what I believe will give me a better future if I really work it right. If I do not get the local job tomorrow I will get all the info I need to get my own authority asap. Next week I will travel to Leesville SC to visit my Mom and Sis ( if I am not hauling flyash) and talk to Jimmy Rawls ( owner Rawls auto auction) to get all the tips I can get and possibly go to the auction and start looking for a truck and trailer . I wont count on there being a trailer at the auction but as I said before sometimes there is and
I can also check with some of the dealers to see if anyone has one for sale. I have seen a couple on ebay that were priced decent and I could go that route for a trailer but I stand a better chance of getting a deal on a truck at the auction. Also I will visit the local auctions. One is about 70 or miles away and one is about 45 miles away . There are some others
within 100 to 300 miles and will need to contact those as well . If I do get authority, truck, trailer ins and whatever else I then will probably join up with a good load board . I also need to check with the car rental businesses and all of the car Dealers in town. Owensboro which is 12 miles away has a ton of car dealers . I know a lot of them already have
their own car transport but you never know if they may need an additional car or two or three moved. I have not come up with pricing but
I will call a few transporters and get an idea what to charge to be competitive. Anyway I probably have forgotten to mention several things and honestly don't know everything to plan on as of yet but will continue to research and get advise and soforth till I am 100% ready to roll.

[Darin Younce]

Well, no call on the local job so I am really getting serious about this car haul business. I am a bit concerned about the 300 mile limit . I could go with a bumper tow and an enclosed trailer but that would limit me to two cars but I believe an inclosed load would probably be a higher rate
in most cases and as the ins person I spoke to said there was no limit with a bumper pull. Now I just need to know where to start, Authority, ins or what? I guess a call to the DOT here in Kentucky will get me going or should I look into one of these companies that do everything for a fee.

[GMAN]

There is no need to pay someone to get your authority for you when you can do it yourself. You can go to the Federal website and do everything on line. It costs $300 for the filing fee. You will need to have registered agents in every state in which you do business. If you are a member of OODIA, they will do that for you at no charge. There are services which will do it for an annual fee. The first place to start is your insurance. You cannot get authority without proper insurance. It is difficult to make money hauling 2 cars unless you can get into some very specialized cars. If you get a wedge or other car trailer where you can haul at least 3 cars you may be able to do alright. You could start with auction cars. Those don't always pay great, but would help you get started. Many of the auction cars don't go all that far. The farther you travel with a hot shot the less profitable they seem to be, at least with cars. A 10 car hauler can haul more and charge less for the same unit and still be profitable. There is no reason for someone to pay more for a hot shot to haul their cars. I am not saying that you need to get a wedge, but you should think about getting a trailer that will accommodate more vehicles. Without getting into some sort of specialized area of hauling you really need to be able to haul 3-4 vehicles to be very profitable. Another thing to keep in mind is deadhead. Car haulers typically do more deadheading than most other types of freight.

[Darin Younce]

Thanks GMAN , I agree on the 2 car versus 3 or 4 but was thinking of the bumper clause the ins company told me about. It is not entirely impossible to pull 3 with a flat bed truck and a two car trailer but 3 is still
a small load . Auctions are less profit , dealers are usually
close by and won't pay much . I may call the ins and get another quote for a 6 to 7 setup , I believe with that many I may do ok but I am sure the ins will be quite a bit higher than what was quoted for the ton truck and the 300 mile limit may be the killer . Progressive was the ins company that gave me the quote and said that it is a KY thing with their ins company, not me being a newbie so maybe another company will allow me to go further but I am somewhat doubtful .

[jegzus]

Darin, try looking into leasing on with Rumble Auto transport or Fleetcar... My uncle is with Fleetcar and he does very well with a 7 car trailer.

[Darin Younce]

Do you think they would let a noob lease on? I Probably already know the answer! Thanks for the info. Darin