[Aviator]

Originally Posted by Bigmon

I've never seen car pullers in S. Cal. Maybe that's why the auctions in S. Cal never win service awards.

Don't forget about when a car goes to arbitration and has to be sent out of the auction to a 3rd party and the auction still shows the car on the lot.

Wha???

[knightwolf71477]

When cars are in arbitration there is usaully something wrong with them. Yea, car pullers are something like lumpers, but a word of caution on them is to make sure that are affilated with the auction in someway. That way if they mess something goes wrong they are still responible.

If I am going riding around in the car I am usually going to pull my own cars. When I use the car pullers I have them take the cars and put them out of the way and then I pull them up to the truck.

Now I am not going to say that we cheat on the logs and I am also not going to say that we don't. It is your call as to what you do with your logs.

But it is not that bad once you get the hang of the job it is a great job. Just pace yourself and do not kill yourself sweating the small stuff. You will have damages and all sorts of crazy stuff happen to you while doing this.

Also I have been hauling cars for about 2 1/2 years.

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by Aviator

Wow, i didn't realize it would be such a hassle to find cars. So, you find your first car, then you drive around to find all the rest? Is that just to make sure you got all of your cars? Do you get guys to drive them up to the truck for you, or do you do that?

It can sometimes be difficult or time consuming to find cars. Other times they are where they should be and it is easy to find them. You usually have a list of cars and vin numbers that you are supposed to pick up. The driver of the truck is the one who loads and unloads his own truck. Allied Systems, which is or was the largest of the car hauling carrier's used to have people who would sometimes load cars for their drivers. Most of the time everyone is responsible for loading and securing their own cars.

There are some drivers who don't lock up their cars. I always locked up my cars because of theft. I have known of some drivers who picked up vehicles and arrived only to find radios and other things inside the vehicles missing. Guess who got to pay for the loss? Right, the driver. Anytime there is a theft of cargo or damage, the driver is the first to come under suspecion. And that is any type of cargo. When I hauled cars we used a sheet to check cars for damage. If we found a scratch, dent or any other type of damage, it was noted on the sheet and signed off by the shipper or auction. If not, and you arrived with damage, you are responsible for repairs. :sad:

[Aviator]

All right, thanks guys. I start Monday!

[feederfred]

Congratulations, used to work for Hadley's before I went with UPS years ago. It is very hard work, but you can and will make money. I saw that you were applying to FXI. I worked for them out of the LA flour mills part time. They are not a very good employer, particularly on the line haul. Low pay, never home and the mills/bakeries can be a royal pain. Bennies were lousy and the dispatchers were stone liars !! Even in California FXI cannot get driver's to work for them. If you like backing in to "Jose's Tortilla Plant" and blowing off a load (and blowing the top off his baghouse) you'd really like FXI. Flour backs up in the hose's and you always are heavy. Good luck with the car biz...

[Aviator]

Wow, I didn't know that about FXI, thanks. Man I'd love to get line haul with UPS. I used to be a ramp rat for FedEx for a couple of years not too long ago. And I always heard the UPS line guys do very well.

When you say it's very hard work, how so. To be honest it sounds like the hardest part of the job is attaching chains? I'm sure that's not it at all, but what are some things that make it so hard?

I'm 27, and until today I worked for Pepsi. Where I drove a transport truck trailer with lift gate and I would work all the stores. And I used a two wheeler, (hand cart) to move most of the pop into Convenience stores then stock them. So I'm in pretty good shape. And I'm 5'7". Which I think that can work to your advantage as a car hauler. Hopefully I should be ready for the workload.

[Bigmon]

Good luck Aviator,

The chains are already attached to the trailer. (at least they should be)You just hook them to the car and tighten them. It's not really hard, but after 10 cars you'll feel like you worked out. Just pace yourself.

I'm seeing a lot more people using straps over the wheels instead of chains. Some manufacturers don't want you using chains.

This should all be covered in your training. Some of the auctions are 20-30 acres. It's a lot quicker to drive around and find your cars than walking.

[ronjon619]

And one more thing... His pay tops out at 25% If I remember right. But... he pays you 23%, the extra 2% goes into a savings in case you screw up a good car. if you don't screw up any cars, you get the 2% back every year. Does anybody else do that?

No. I don't know of any company car haulers that pay for their claims. Most companies just let you go if you have too many claims.
You being a company driver for him should not be responsible for any damages. That comes with the territory for the owner of the truck. I would find another company to work for. Your gonna have damages and he takes 2% of your pay and holds it to see if you have any claims? That's no good. Auction cars are all messed up.

[Aviator]

It's a bonus i guess. I don't plan to get it really. I hope to not screw any cars up. But like you say I'm sure it happens. I have to go to work for him now. My last day at Pepsi was Friday. :lol: There's another auto hauler co here that I hear is a good co. So if this one doesn't work out I might look into them. He says a lot of companys have a bonus program for drivers if they don't screw up cars, but the whole 2% of my top pay back for it is bs. :?

[Ian Williams]

I just talked to a Car Hauler today who was delivering to the Chrysler/Jeep dealer in Reno where I live.

I always thought that they were light compared to other segments of trucking. He said that he can actually be overweight with heavy cars like Jaguars or Range Rovers.

He started out as a company driver and was making ~$90K year before going O/O, he said that he was grossing ~$300k.

Seems like one of the few segments of OTR that pays well.