Ignore flair said it needed one to post. 9 car stinger driver sick and tired of working for a company making a quarter of what I should be making. I don’t need to learn the job or equipment but what do I need for a 3 car hauler? Can I use a F350? And do I just need mc or dot. Please no comments about business being slow and fuel prices.
Have Cdl class a
Not new to hauling, but new to a cdl. My business is purchasing a larger trailer so I'm in the process of the getting everything settled.
Here's my problem. The trailers I use are owned by my business, but the truck I use is my personal family truck. I don't have my business name on it for privacy reasons, and on top of it, I pay for the truck personally. I don't want to slap ugly dot numbers on my personal truck. Has anyone successfully applied large clear DOT #s to their trailer instead, without issues from authorities? In my opinion, my DOT # should only matter when I'm hauling over the 26,001lb limit. I will happily put giant lettering on my trailer.
My current trailers do no exceed the 26,001lb limit. I will only have this one new trailer that does.
Note: My truck is an aluminum body, so I can't use a removable magnetic sign.
Good morning everyone just had a quick question and I appreciate everyone’s help a ton in advance,
I’m 25 years old and i have managed to save a good chunk of change. I’m currently a woodworker and build/refinish custom furniture for a small company out of Maryland. I’ve been thinking of hotshotting for the past 5 years and I’m about ready to pull the trigger on a new truck and trailer. I just got my class a cdl. I started thinking about it when I talked to the uship shippers who ship our furniture and they always have told me there bringing in 5-8k a week. I then researched and thought of hotshotting because 1- I don’t like dealing with customers and 2- I heard you need reviews and all that shit doing uship. I also have my first baby boy due here in 3 weeks so I’d like to make some more money.
My question would be 1- is there somewhere I can go to even know where to start? What loads to bid on? What apps to use? Say it’s my first day, I have all my paperwork, my truck, my trailer, where do I even know how to get loads?
Also, I’m looking at new trucks right now (slightly used just to get that discount) but right now I’m looking at the 2024-2025 ram 3500s with the high output and aisin, is this what yall would go with?
And lastly, is it possible to maybe find a mentor? Or someone that could help me out without having to go work for someone else? I don’t mind working for someone else but my pay would be worse than what I make now and I wouldn’t want to do that for an entire year
Does this look like normal flex or is something seriously off? 25ft equipment trailer
I recently financed a 2024 Ram 2500 to do hotshot trucking (general freight). After contacting different carriers to work under their company USDOT, they tried adding me, my truck & 40ft trailer under their commercial insurance policy which is very basic, $1M liability and $100K Cargo. mostly through progressive.
The quotes are coming out insane rangine from $20,000 - $30,000 for 6 months. the owners on these carriers are paying around 6-8k for 6 months premium knowing they add their truck plus a 40ft trailers so why tf am i getting this huge number???
Allstate and Geico are no better. Im about to go crazy man, I got the truck, trailer and done all the paperworks to get on the road legally and now I'm stuck on the insurance part....
Can someone help me find a way to get lower insurance quotes. Who are yall insured by and how much is your premium? what truck do you drive? could it be the type of vehicle and finance status? I really dony know anymore. Im aiming for the lowest coverage as well which is coming up with crazy with crazy quotes.
any help would be appreciated to get me on the road ASAP.
Texas state. operate interstate. i might as well just aim for intrastate and do auto hauling if it gets me cheaper insurance.
Do y’all mainly go by RPM or are y’all factoring in deadhead, fuel, time, maintenance, etc too?
Curious what everybody’s using.
I’ve been working around drivers and load boards for a while, and I keep seeing the same problem—people constantly refreshing to catch decent-paying loads before they disappear.
I’m building something that would automatically send you a text when a load matches your:
So instead of searching, it comes to you.
Before I go too far with it, I wanted to ask:
Would you actually use something like this?
If not, what would make it worth using?
Trying to build something that actually helps, not just another tool.
I see a bunch on maps, but its always hit or miss when calling for trailer repairs. So if anyone knows who to call in this area, listed below, please let me know as most everything is closed already so I can't call till tomorrow and would like to be able to get right to the right place and not waste time haha. Thank you
I'm at the loves parked for the night in tonkawa, Oklahoma off highway 35 north. Im headed north to 70 west for Colorado Springs. Got a crack in the weld of my rear most outside passenger side trailer wheel. Pretty dang sure this would be an unsafe driving condition haha. So hoping to be close to someone but looks like everything is in Wichita. Which leads to my next question.
Would you drive the roughly 75 miles there for repair or call a mobile guy?
I would throw my spare on but the one provided by a previous repair shop is apparently the wrong bolt pattern (lesson learned, double check before leaving places...)
Honestly curious, what part of staying audit-ready gives you the biggest headache?
For me it feels like there’s always something that can slip through the cracks. DQ files, IFTA, inspections, renewals, permits… it never really stops.
Do you guys have a system that actually keeps everything organized, or is it mostly just trying to stay ahead of it before something turns into a problem?
I (f23) currently work seasonal. My job has openings all the time in my district/region and my boyfriends coworker put in a good word for me to get a full time/year round position. My seasonal job told both of them that they didn't want to hire me over someone else because I look small and they're worried I wouldn't be able to lift heavy things. For my job I have to prove at the doctor's office I'm able to walk around with a 50lb box, lift, set down, all that jazz. I can understand that I'm 5'3 and fairly small, but I used to be a marine, I didn't choose to be short.
I don't want to outright say what my job is because I'm already being voted against for my size I guess. But it is in trucking, I have my CDL A and I get paid like a lot of money at my job over the winter. What do I do? I like my job but it feels like an uphill battle.
We got forklift service on either end. What’s the best way to connect direct to a hotshot team needing work?
Currently in Abilene, Texas (live in Florida) looking for a new company to work with. Interested in driving through the south and through most of midwest.
Previous company is not consistent enough with finding loads for me and I find myself waiting 1-2 days between loads but they are also not willing to allow me to dispatch through a third party I have had immense success with.
Need a company who will either let me dispatch through my third party OR is consistent enough and willing to work with my preferred lanes—I’m not picky, but I know how my equipment has to run for all of us to be successful. Would really like to get outta Texas and get moving ASAP.
Are fuel cards a smart idea and if so what are the best?
Hey all! Looking for input on GPS preference, do y'all prefer Google Maps or Apple Maps? Or is anyone using another dedicated GPS outside of your phone?
i quit my trucking job and got another one immediately, luckily they were both in illinois so as i turned my old one in i got in my new one and as i was turning the old one in my boss offered me 27% of gross income per week and i was making 50cpm here and my new job was gonna pay me 75cpm and i took the 27% and im wondering if i made the right decision?
Commodity is 18 golf carts on crates, around 30,000 lbs total, planned for a 53’ dry van.
Main thing I’m trying to figure out:
Would most carriers be comfortable loading this in a standard dry van, or would you rather see this on a flatbed/step deck depending on crate dimensions?
Also curious what kind of transit time you’d realistically expect on this lane right now with current market conditions.
Appreciate any genuine carrier feedback.
I just got an offer to do 4 to 5 moves a week for a asphalt company, but it would only be skid steers, mini excavators, and a small roller. How much do you all charge or how much is a decent starting rate per machine I’m in North North Carolina.