Auto Transport
 

I have the opportunity to be an auto transport driver here in my hometown of Great Falls, MT. The co. is called Big Sky Auto Transport.

I've never done auto transport, and to be honest, it looks hard as hell. The owner made the deal sound really good, almost too good to be true good. It pays on percentage. 21% at first, (after my $600 week training pay for a month at least), and then 23% later on. He said the average loads are worth 5k to 6k. So that's around $1500 a trip. Which takes a week usually. I will primarily run to So Cal, (which sucks imho), and Arizona and Nevada. Does anybody here haul auto's, and could you please give me some insight into this career.

Thanks!

I dont know anything about car hauling,but I have seen some sweet trucks hauling cars. Lots of lights. Man,some of those car haulers got more lights than cow haulers. Ive seen some 379s used for hauling cars,and the're low riders lol.(Im assuming that they lower those trucks..?..).Id hate to pay for the straights when they have to bend them and stuff so they can fit around that "thing" thats on top of the cab.

That doesnt sound to bad of a run. Well,I guess it is a good stretch if youre from Montana. I think most car haulers,like boat haulers run from coast to coast. Literally :shock:

All of his trucks were out. So I wasn't able to see them. He said they're always busy as hell. He started with one truck ten years ago, now he has six. One of them is brand new, and on order.I'll get the older one I'm sure, but oh well.

Another thing he said is that I have to bring some tools on board in case I have any "small" repairs on the road I can repair myself. All the trucks have back up belts and hoses I guess. I've changed many belts and hoses and what not on four wheelers before. But never on a big rig. Not much harder I'm sure. Just think it's a little odd to have to be a light duty mech also. I'm sure most of the old boys had to be mechanics all the time back in the day though. :lol:

And the co. has paid health insurance after 6 month probation period.

If you
 

If you are not scared of a little work car hauling pays better money than most other areas of trucking. I am a car hauler and what you are saying that this guy is saying is about right. Also he is willing to pay you for training, there are very few companies that pay you for training. There are even a few companies that charge you for the training on car hauling. But I am doing about what this guy says he is paying. I make a good living at this, only diffence is that I am home pretty much everynight. I hope this helps if you have any questions you can pm me and I will answer them as best I can for you.

Re: If you
 

Thanks knightwolf! I might have to send you a PM once in a while...

I do have a couple questions already though. :lol:

How do you typically load, trucks on top I guess? How high do you get with trucks on top? And what's the worst, and best parts of the job.

Thanks.

i recommend bavarian motor transport
 

i worked for them for 8 months a while ago... drivers make 70- 90000 a year.. make top dollar once you complete training at the greer, sc bmw plant.. i made 1300 a week running 5 days. 2 weeks after being on my own, i ran into one of my classmates, he showed me a 1800 check.great trainers, good co bennies, the only reason i left is i was running out of the jersey city, nj yard, starting in boston, going down to load every morning, and deliver cars on the way back to boston. 14 hour days, couldn't max out money by working 6 days.. had second thoughts after leaving, could have easily gotten runs to michigan every week, stay out for 4 days, i was used to being home daily as i was along time freighthauler... best of luck on your search...

Re: i recommend bavarian motor transport
 

:shock: Damn 70 - 90 a year. I remember him saying his top guy was at 75k last year. Then he said that didn't include his salvage jobs were he was paid cash. I guess the company didn't have to claim that money. Which sounds a little fishy to me. He said I'll do salvage cars to the Mexican border once in a while. How the heck do you load up salvage cars into those rigs???

salvage cars..
 

i wouldn't want to get involved in that.. it sounds too bottom of the barrel.. there's too much money to be made in new cars.. bavarian also hauls auction cars from time to time.. there's no money in junk cars.here's the website..www.pmtghome.com

Yeah I don't like the sound of salvage cars myself. But he said it's pretty rare. Sounds like they haul new and used cars primarily. There's not a lot of choices for companies to work for up here.

I've got it narrowed down to this auto transport company. Food Express Inc. (FXI) Who said I was the next guy they will hire, anywhere form 2-4 months. That was six months ago. :roll: The others are Knight transportation, and Dick Irving Inc.

FXI hauls flour in pneumatic tank trailers. And Dirk Irvin hauls fertilizer in pneumatic tank trailers.

not sure what you mean by salvage. I moved cars for about a year for this outfit www.kinneytowing.com (sorry if the link is not allowed please remove if it's a problem.) Drove the 9 car stinger. Moved mostly new used to from auctions/dealers. We did from time to time pick up Rep's and some banged up car's going to/from auctions/dealers. Any truck with a head rack(what we called the *thing* above the cab) is a *low rider*. The truck needs to be as short as possible to allow for height.Hauling cars means watching your height. Hauling cars you almost always max out your 13.6" height. Some times you'll luck out and won't have to. If you get a load of say ford focus's(you'd be lucky :lol: ) you'll notice your hie hgt won't max out. Lot's of people like to squish their decks real tight. I've always used my allowed height(and taken some extra:D ) Dint'' want to risk a car getting lose and jumping in to the top deck. You'll learn what routes you can take in your local area with your height at different levels. There were a few in my area were I could run with my height at 14.6"+ in some instances. You'll also learn quickly in most areas that 13.6" means 13.6"!!!! :shock: Moving cars is where I've made the most money in trucking. I ran local and was able to clear most weeks(not all :D ) 1k+. But would work 12 +hours a day nearly 5 days a week. It is hard work till you get the hang of it. Then it just becomes a war with the weather. You'll hate working the trailer in the rain... depending on where you live you'll have to deal with the snow(nothing worse than trying to hook a chain under a car when it's 5 degrees outside with soaking wet hands :shock: . During the heat you'll sweat your whowhatit's off. But if your only running one load a week it will be cake. Load up.. head out... arrive... unload... hopefully reload back. I would move 18 to 27 cars a day. 2-3 loads!!! There is a bit of an art to it. You'll learn what vehicle will fit where. Just keep an open mind, open eye, and be willing to accept input from anyone who has been in that section of the biz.

Loading salvage cars isn't too bad if you have the right equipment. The trailers with 2 decks, 4 cars above & 4 below, flat & smooth floors is the best way. If you are loading somewhere like an insurance sale a forklift or rollback will set a car on the back and you use a winch to pull it forward. It can be tricky and you will have to use some creativity dealing with wheels turned, locked up or missing. The upper deck drops down with hydraulics to load it. I have seen trucks pulling trailers set up for rolling cars take all day to get loaded since there is no winch and more obstacles. Securing damaged parts from flying off while going down the road is another concern. How to secure a car will become 2nd nature after a while, which type of hook for which type of car, how tight so you don't damage the suspension or have the roof bounce up into the overhead rack, not to mention a chain coming loose, they do get real shiny once they've been drug down the highway a little while. :wink: Driving a car onto the trailer and squeezing out the door with less than a 12" opening takes some practice too.

Serbyy, and Happyhookin, thanks for the info. i really appreciate it. I go to work in two weeks. The owner is really happy to get me on board.

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?

And the owner and dispatchers drive on drivers time off/vacations. :shock:

Car trailers and car haul setup's are more costly than a typical tractor and van or flatbed.. tie that in with all the chrome and 100's of lights... they have to get paid some how :D

Anybody?

Man, I'm still having a hard time deciding if I should do this... I'm worried about going down SW all the time. Isn't it like 115 degrees this time of year? I guess I'll just load one car, then go in my truck to cool off, then repeat. :lol:

And How hard is it guys? I hear it's a really hard job.

It'd hot as hell down here. What sucks about loading cars from auctions is:

Finding the car, jumping it if it won't start, the windows are normally up so it's real hot and dicking around with security. A lot of cars and parts get stolen.

However, the pay is good.

It'd be nice if the cars were lined up next to your truck and ready to go.
I'm not sure if any companies will do that for you.

Car hauling
 

It is really hot down here in HOuston, TX, but if you make sure you carry water and Gatorade. You will sweat alot if you drink enough of it but there can be no such thing as too much water when you get hot. I found the best thing to do down here is go find your top row of cars and load them and then go get the bottom row, during that time you should cold down enough to finish loading. Also what I do is wear a tank top or sleeveless shirt under my Dickie's shirt and seem to me to help keep me cool when the breeze is blowing.

There are people who work at some auctions who do nothing but find your cars and bring them to you. I don't remember anyone in Houston who did that when I hauled cars. When the weather is hot, I always tried to load as early in the morning as possible to avoid some of the heat.

GMAN they have customer service at the Houston auctions, but at the Dallas A/A they have car pullers that charge like $3-4/car. Now working for the company I work for I get paid 9.50/car, so I can pay them and still put money in my pocket.

What I do when there are car puller at the auction is I go with them for the first couple cars and get them pulled so I can started working on the top deck while they get the bottom deck pulled for me. Also it gives me the chance to make sure that they are inspecting the car correctly before they bring them out. Once the car get outside the gate the auction is no longer responilbe for the damages on the cars.

That is a good idea, Knightwolf. That is one reason I used to prefer pulling my cars in daylight hours. It is usually easier to inspect them. It would probably be worth it to have them pull the cars for you, even if you paid them the entire fee, just for the time savings. I remember one time picking up at an auction South of Minneapolis. There was a lot of snow on the ground and the temperature was about 40 below with the wind whipping around. Man was it cold. It seemed that none of my cars were where they were supposed to be and you couldn't read most of the numbers on the parking spots due to the snow. They had some pullers working that lot. They were familiar with the lot and knew where most of the cars should be located. I didn't have them pull my cars, but they were helpful in finding them. 8)

I usually get them to pull my cars because at the auctions down here if you don't get the cars the day of the sale, the auctions moves the cars to the back lots. It can get to being a real pain in the backside trying to find cars that are not where they are suppose to be.

Then the other problem I have at the auctions is that it seems to me that some of the drivers that go to the auctions just jump in the first car that they find to go and find their cars and then just leave the car where ever they feel like it. That just burns me up, we are all there trying to find cars why make it hard on another driver to find his. The way I do it is I get the car puller or customer service to find my first car and then I go around and find the rest of mine with a car that I am going to be hauling anyway.

How Long does/can it take to load your rig? It sounds to me that if you have to find them all plus load them, it could take several hours. And that's not counting any dead batteries, or other vehicle problems huh? :?

Unloading must be a little easier right?

On the average if you are getting a full truckload at the auctions, then it can take about 3-4 hours. That is if you don't have any real problem children as I like to call them. As in you go around for 45 minutes looking for one car, but you will learn little tricks and secrets as time goes by. I can usually have my cars found and on the truck in about 2.5.

Wow, I see my first solo months to be crazy. I wonder if guys cheat on the logbooks for loading time? Like putting down 3 hours to load, when it really took six. And how long have you been car hauling? What's your recommendations for a long career in it? It sounds overwhelming right now though. The main thing is I never want to get in a hurry and overlook a chain or something.

That reminds me of an auction where I picked up. I don't recall exactly where it was, but it was a large auction. I found all my vehicles but two. I finally found one and after a lot of looking found it hidden beside a truck way in back. Apparently, both vehicles were used by others to find their cars. You can waste a lot of time looking for these cars. I love it when they are where they are supposed to be. :D

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?

Are Auto Haulers at risk more from robbers and such?

And is there a name for auto haulers, slang I guess? :lol:

Yea I use my first car to find my others, so I know where they are and then I will use customer service to take me back to my other cars. I will use the car pullers if I am feeling lazy or if I am in a hurry. The car pullers tend to know how the auctions move the cars around, and some of them also write down a list of cars and where they are.

Now I can not say that we are at anymore risk than other drivers to robbers. Now what I do to help prevent people from stealing my cars or anything out of them I tend to lock them up and take the keys in the truck with me.

Now the slang for us car haulers rolling down the road is portable parking lots.

All right, thanks knightwolf.

So, car pullers are like lumpers?

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???

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.

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:

All right, thanks guys. I start Monday! :D

car hauling....(and FXI)
 

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...

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.

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.

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.

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. :?

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.