Poke Holes In My Plan, Please

I have a better idea. Send me the $150k you'll spend in startup costs and I'll tell you how I spent the money. I'll even throw in a few photos.

Sorry but you really do not have a plan. Spending 100k plus on a truck and seeing what loads you can find is not a plan.

If it was really as easy as you think dont you think more people would be doing it?

Realistically you will need to being in the neighborhood of 250k plus for the year and will be lucky to clear 60-70k for yourself. In order to bring in that kind of money you will need to spend most of your time on the road, which puts a ton of wear and tear on your equipment leading to increased maintenance costs and severely depleting assets. The truck you paid 90k for a year ago now has over 200k miles and is basically worth half what you paid and that will diminish by the mile.

Since you asked (twice) here's a hole.

Most hotshots are individuals looking to make their own money in a way that suits them. So, if one of these H/S operators has a system that makes "piles" of money, others will come in and under bid. This will continue till the final into-the-pocket revenue gets down to 2-3%. This is what the big truck common carriers make: 2-3% of revenue is their net profit.

It sounds like you really want to make a go of it, so best of luck! An alternative is to sign in as a company driver (you can get company sponsored training easy) and get just about as much into your pocket for maybe 1/3 the effort and none of your own savings (that you may burn through as you get established as an H/S operator.)

So choose your poison, and get Expediting!

There was even a (non) reality TV show about hot shot trucking a while ago. In the episodes they would get a weird load either locations or the cargo itself (huge Teddy bear or something) and it would follow 5 or so drivers, showing them under bidding each other until one could tolerate operating at that price and would "win" it.

These people really loved the life and that was why they were still there. Try the company route for a year, worse come to worse you quit after a few months deciding it's not for you and all you owe is a measly 5k or so but till get the CDL.

Auggie 69 posted

Hey, all-

I currently have no CDL and no experience hauling freight, and I want to go from zero to own-authority hot shot trucker this year. I need some help determing whether I'm being smart or stupid about this. My motivation is that I need a career change, I like to drive, and I like to make money. So here's the plan:

1) Get a CDL. I understand you can hotshot without one, but that most of the money is in >26,001# GVWR hauling. Guess I'm going to trucking school just to drive a dually 2) Get a rig. Right now I'm thinking an F450 with a 40' gooseneck. Take CDL exam and pass 3) Get authority. Sounds like it's just paperwork. I've already got a corporation (I own an RV park) based in CA. Bring on the fees. 4) Get insurance. I'm expecting to pay around $2k per month as a new driver (41 y.o., clean record) 5) Find a broker or dispatch service that will give me work. This sounds like maybe the biggest challenge I'll face starting out. 6) Hit the road. With my insurance being super high, I'll need to do a lot of miles to pay the bills. $2k per week gross income sounds achievable based on what I've read and that's the goal. 7) Adjust. Once I get some stick time, I expect more loads will be available and insurance rates will drop. Tweak the business accordingly.

My timeline for this is 4 months, zero to hero.

So, what am I missing? There's always something. Got any other advice?

I appreciate your time.

As an aside, anecdotal evidence says that everytime DOT runs their hit operations they ALWAYS target the pickups with the goosenecks.

I strongly concur whenever I have rolled through a DOT check point I've only seen Box Trucks and "Hot Shotters" pulled in for inspection by the DOT cops of course it's still anecdotal but that's just what I have observed. If there isn't much in the way of regulations that covers the "Hot Shot" industry now give the government time and they will come up with something.

My friend quit prime inc when to do hotshot.he been for 6 months 120k debt.now he broke doing chapter 7 bankruptcy and waiting to be approved to come back to prime inc insurance is 2400 a month and he already been driving for 2 years CDL

My friend quit prime inc when to do hotshot.he been for 6 months 120k debt.now he broke doing chapter 7 bankruptcy and waiting to be approved to come back to prime inc insurance is 2400 a month and he already been driving for 2 years CDL

Brutal

I have a better idea. Send me the $150k you'll spend in startup costs and I'll tell you how I spent the money. I'll even throw in a few photos.

Or, send me $90,000 and I'll set you up in a used, custom 2003 Coranado with 625 hp, twin turbos, lots of chrome, super singles , and a freshened motor with a bunch of Pittsburgh Power goodies on it.

For $5,000 extra, I'll deliver it after the check clears.

I have a better idea. Send me the $150k you'll spend in startup costs and I'll tell you how I spent the money. I'll even throw in a few photos.

Or, send me $90,000 and I'll set you up in a used, custom 2003 Coranado with 625 hp, twin turbos, lots of chrome, super singles , and a freshened motor with a bunch of Pittsburgh Power goodies on it.

For $5,000 extra, I'll deliver it after the check clears.

For all those extras, you should have gotten rid of the twin turbo, swapped the intake and exhaust and put one large turbo. They run better, make more power and less problematic.

I haven't had any problems with it, of course that was only about seven months driving before I had my transplant and parked it. Pittsburgh recommended the upgrades that are on it.

I topped The Grapevine at 64 mph with 45,000 in the box in 11th gear and still had room to go.