Any Car Haulers With Advice? Would Like Your Words Of Wisdom!

Lady in my class says her husband hauls cars and they've cleared 15k a month at times. She also says its very hard work and not for everyone. Weight distribution seems to be one of the bigger concerns as well as being able to climb in and out of car windows.

Any updates on your car hauling?

I've read that maintaining weight distribution between tandems and drive tires is tricky and a constant battle as you load and unload different vehicles, not to mention the high center of gravity .

That's about all I can offer !

I was reading about weights on line. Had not considered the high center of gravity, good point. They seem to be willing to put up two two months training into new drivers though. Thanks for your input. If anyone wants to know how things go I'll post from time to time, but don't want to ramble if other drivers are not interested. Going to jump into it with 110% and see how it pans out.

Well, I start Monday hauling cars. The money "sounds" good, starting at 23%, we will see. They felt I should only need a week or so of training based on my experience, but I made it clear that I would not go solo if I did not feel safe/capable. They seemed to be fine with that and said they would rather take 3-8 weeks if that was what was needed. ($2500/month training pay) If any one cares I'll keep positing about hauling cars, the pay difference, hours worked, etc. These people have three more new trucks coming, are in line with Oregon DOT , and look to be a solid company.

An

Hello Vinny - welcome to our forum!

We haven't heard from Bill in a long time. We do have at least one current member that I know of who is hauling cars. Hopefully "JuiceBox" will see this and respond to you. Do you have questions about hauling cars? Maybe you are already hauling cars? What's your interest in this topic?

Vinny , a company to possibly keep in mind is Carvana, depending on where you’re located. One of my best friends has been with them for a little over 4 years now and really enjoys it, plus he’s home every night. He told me they’re entertaining the idea of starting up a small otr fleet with sleeper trucks but doesn’t know when that will happen.

So Im in CDL school right now... I was working for a car dealer in logistics and we were constantly recieving our new vehicles from haulers, whether a big company or hot shot drivers and I spent about 6 months picking their brains about what they do. I managed to develop a relationship with a few of them and they all work for the same company, whom I wont name because it seems noone else does it.

They all tell me that they absolutely love car hauling. They all told me its hard work, and that its not for everyone... but not to shy away from it if it interests me. They all tell me they make REALLY GOOD money on a regular basis and they are home every night for dinner with their families. Even being regional , Ive been shown pay statements making 2000 on the low end and as high as 3500 on the extreme high.... and thats PER WEEK. One of the drivers told me this. "Im 35, I make $160k a year car hauling and Im home daily with my family. I have a 500k home, and brand new truck, and I take 3 vacations a year with my family. I wouldnt trade this for anything." These companies pay well per mile, but they also offer pay for every vehicle you unload, and they give bonuses as well!

Im lined up to start with this company out of school because they hire new drivers. I was made aware that new drivers are given a smaller truck and dont make as much money at first. However, the people they've referred in the past have made 70/80k their first years because they take longer to load and unload as they are still learning. Thats still great money first year considering youre home every day 95% of the time.

Ill update you guys once I have my own experience, but as of now everyones stories add up and all match. Those drivers do say this... "Some drivers make 50k a year, some make 200k a year. Its all about how well of a system you create for yourself and how much hustle you got. Sometimes your dispatcher is connected to your success or lack there of as well. You wanna be lazy and go home after making $150 a day? Go ahead, they wont bother you but you wont make real money... but if you wake up early and put in the work to figure this out you can make a really great living while still being a dad and partner for your family." So Im in... whats the worst that can happen?

There are 2 kind of fear... the kind that protects you and the kind that holds you back.

So Im in CDL school right now... I was working for a car dealer in logistics and we were constantly recieving our new vehicles from haulers, whether a big company or hot shot drivers and I spent about 6 months picking their brains about what they do. I managed to develop a relationship with a few of them and they all work for the same company, whom I wont name because it seems noone else does it.

They all tell me that they absolutely love car hauling. They all told me its hard work, and that its not for everyone... but not to shy away from it if it interests me. They all tell me they make REALLY GOOD money on a regular basis and they are home every night for dinner with their families. Even being regional , Ive been shown pay statements making 2000 on the low end and as high as 3500 on the extreme high.... and thats PER WEEK. One of the drivers told me this. "Im 35, I make $160k a year car hauling and Im home daily with my family. I have a 500k home, and brand new truck, and I take 3 vacations a year with my family. I wouldnt trade this for anything." These companies pay well per mile, but they also offer pay for every vehicle you unload, and they give bonuses as well!

Im lined up to start with this company out of school because they hire new drivers. I was made aware that new drivers are given a smaller truck and dont make as much money at first. However, the people they've referred in the past have made 70/80k their first years because they take longer to load and unload as they are still learning. Thats still great money first year considering youre home every day 95% of the time.

Ill update you guys once I have my own experience, but as of now everyones stories add up and all match. Those drivers do say this... "Some drivers make 50k a year, some make 200k a year. Its all about how well of a system you create for yourself and how much hustle you got. Sometimes your dispatcher is connected to your success or lack there of as well. You wanna be lazy and go home after making $150 a day? Go ahead, they wont bother you but you wont make real money... but if you wake up early and put in the work to figure this out you can make a really great living while still being a dad and partner for your family." So Im in... whats the worst that can happen?

There are 2 kind of fear... the kind that protects you and the kind that holds you back.

Howdy, Mike Ortiz ~ and welcome to the forum!!

Your last (second to) sentence...re: worst that can happen, is the loss of a CDLA, perhaps for life.

Car / vehicular hauling is quite specialized. Is your upcoming job a full class 8 hauler, or more on the hotshot spectrum? Keep in mind, the drivers that are sharing their #'s with you may indeed have some 'miles' under their belts...to have the overall EXPERIENCE of driving a CMV.

Erroll V. on here did a car hauling stint for a decent amount of time.. (or similar; truck piggybacking) and a few others have, too. Look it up, in our search and see what we have to share, there! The few others I know of active in here .. Juice Box !! Sure had some good stuff in this thread..Juice Box's Car Haul Update thread~

Wish you well, man. Most folks do better getting some OTR under their belt before going with ANY specialized; but I sure hope this works for ya!

Any idea where you'll be running? New England is tough stuff, man. Getting some good time/miles under your belt without accident/incident sure could be tough! Don't "Toot your horn too soon!" lest you get kicked out of the band.

Best to ya, though...Share as you can; welcome to TT !

~ Anne & Tom ~

ps: If your initial plans after school fall through ~ ~ Apply For Truck Driving Jobs.

You need to learn how to drive a truck before attempting that. Bridges, overpasses, extremely low clearance for a very heavy trailer, tight backing situations, then there's the liability that's all on you for the tiniest scratch or damage. Bet they didn't tell you all the details.

More to hauling freight than the paycheck.