Car Haulers?

I am starting a new trucking career. When my wife and I travel we like to observe all the trucks and wonder about the job. One of the topics has been ‘What do you want to haul for a living?’ We saw some car haulers recently and imagined what that would be like. Anyone experienced car haulers here that can comment on this type of cargo? What’s the job like hauling cars? Do you enjoy it? What carriers haul cars? How do you go about getting that gig?

It's a niche. I've looked into it - talking to drivers who haul cars. Not for me.

The two biggest things with car hauling are the low trailer height and damages. You can easily get high centered on a railroad track or other high point in the road and be STUCK! That could mean calls to a tow truck, the railroad, local law enforcement and others to get free.

Damages are several degrees more serious than they are in a dry van. Your cargo is exposed. Hitting a bird can destroy a windshield. A passing pickup without mudflaps can throw up a piece of gravel that can chip paint or crack glass. Now, even if you get the cargo safely to your destination that doesn't mean you're done. The minimum wage earner who washes the cars on the dealer's lot may go hot rodding with a car after you've delivered it. If they damage the car they know they'll be fired if their employer finds out so they claim, "It came that way off the truck". You'll be four states away and get notified by your safety department or insurance that there was a damage claim for a vehicle you delivered. It's basically your word against the lot attendant so you'll need to take multiple pictures of every car as you take them off the truck to protect yourself. You can't just show the car being safely off your truck, you need recognizable landmarks or one of the dealer's signs in the pictures to prove is was in one piece at the destination.

Car carriers vary by location. You don't have your location in your profile so I can't tell you who hauls cars in your area. Here are some ads for Portland, OR and Lithia Springs, GA to give you and idea what they're looking for:

CDL A Driver - Car Hauler (Portland) Toyota

Class A CDL Commercial Truck Driver

The CarMax link will let you check other locations.

How do you get a job as a car hauler? Apply.

My mother, father, and great grandfather were all car haulers.

You'll be driving cars onto the trailers, making sure you do so safely and without damaging the vehicle.

Space can be extremely tight, as you may pull a car up next to a beam on a trailer so you only have a few inches to open the door. So have to contort and twist your way out the door, almost crawling upward because there's hardly any room between the door and the trailer. So you have to be physically agile... especially when you start pulling cars onto the second level. Don't wanna lose your step and fall to the ground below! The ledge on the second level to move around is rather narrow. Gotta hang onto the cars.

A basic understanding of math is helpful, since different cars weigh different things and you may end up having to play a version of car Tetris in order to get them on the axles right. If not you'll overload an axle/tandem and DOT could eat your lunch.

From what I understand, car haulers make pretty good money compared to other types of truckers.

I'm not a car hauler, so I'm not an expert, however I did grow up talking to car haulers and watching them work.

When I get my CDL , I think I'll stick to dry van. I don't like heights and that upper deck on car haulers concerns me 😂