kelownadiesel

hey guys,me and a friend are looking to start a hauling business on the side.Is there a site where some regulations are posted?Maily it will be hauling 5th wheel campers and then later our own gooseneck trailer full of lumber /building supplies.Does one need a special liscence or anything.Im betting that you will have to have special insurance and keep various safety equipment and a logbook .Anyone doing this ?

RickG

I can't tell you about Canadian regulations for hauling authority although I drive into Canada weekly . Do you have any truckstops nearby ? There should be RV haulers parked at them for the night , especially at a Flying J . The RV haulers I see making real money are set up to pull more than 1 trailer at a time . They almost always deadhead back to the U.S. and save fuel by loading 1 truck on another's trailer . These trucks were at the Flying J in London . They all have a hydraulic fifth wheel at the rear so they can pull a fifth wheel behind the trailer they have loaded . You would need a CDL with doubles endorsement to pull more than 1 trailer . You would not need a CDL in the U.S. to pull 1 trailer if your combined weight stayed under 26,000 lbs. I don't know about Canada on that .

rc4510

I have just started hauling rv and dont see how the numbers add up to make any money?The fuel cost alone eats up 50% or more of gross.I am only set up for one trailer.I would also like to hear from guys who have been doing it long term to see what they are doing to increase the bottom line.You do have to keep up w/log book as well as you have to have a sleeper on the truck as its not legal to sleep in the truck,even a mega cab is not classified as a legal sleeper so you cant have your off duty time in it.Insurance is also high at least w/the company I am hauling for(out of sask).Add in the truck maintence and repairs,tires,meals ect??It would be an enjoyable way to live if you can make a living.hope some long time guys answer back.Richard

GMScott

Been at it for 7 years in the USA with my own authority. When your fuel costs go above 50% you're not making any money. You're working for expenses and your truck. When I started, fuel costs were about 30% and you could make a couple bucks. My primary business was transporting new units from the factories to the dealers. At one time I had 6 other independents signed on with me, but they cost me more in aggravation, accidents and just plain stupidity. One manufacturer closed up shop owing me $10,000.00 - still haven't seen a penny of that yet, despite paying out alot of money to lawyers to try and recapture anything. Dropped all of my independents and have been trying to go it alone. Had to expand to include transporting personal units and don't even get me started on how many times I've been ripped by private owners. Between fuel, truck payments and the required commercial insurance I can't even afford health insurance for myself. Now I'm just hanging on with fuel soaring around $4.00/gal. The big decision for me is to either continue working for everybody else (fuel man, insurance man, truck payment man) or find a way out without losing everything I've worked my butt off for over the last 7 years, running over 150k miles a year which equals NO personal life and missing out seeing my daughter grow from a pre-teen to a young lady cause Daddy's spent pretty much the last 7 years "On the road" a slave to this business. Pretty sad. I've got a 1 year old truck with 120k miles on it and 3 more years of payments. Wanna buy an existing business??

kelownadiesel

sorry to hear ,Im not in it to make a huge buck ,I have another job that pays considerably well infact.Its basically a way to pay less income tax.I pay upwards or 25-30k a year to the government,something I want to discontinue.Besides I have the truck already and am still paying for it.One can use a personal business to write pretty much anything off if done correctly.

GMScott

With commercial liability insurance running about $1,300.00/month with no claims/incidents I can't see how anyone can do this part-time. I've had a bunch of people who want to try and do it under my authority. I provide cargo insurance @ $425.00/month with my transporter tags, they have to have their own commercial liability for $1,000,000.00 which the manufacturers require. When I had independents, I would pay them a much better rate than most of the other carriers because they needed to have their own liability insurance. The bigger carriers provide it for their independents as they have fleet insurance which I'm not eligible for. Of course the carriers pay for that insurance by taking it out the rate they give their independents. Just one big circle-jerk with everyone making money except the poor slob that's doing all the WORK!!

RickG

If you have your own authority why restrict yourself to RV's ? A stepdeck trailer would pay for itself in no time . I know several hotshotters doing very well . Aren't you adding a fuel surcharge to the rate ? RV transport companies supposedly have a fuel surcharge but they don't give the contractors enough of it . At today's fuel prices the fuel surcharge alone should be over $.40 a mile .

Clayten

I hate to say this but you could probably make more profit collecting bottles out of the road side ditch.

GMScott

Don't restrict myself to just RV's, but it is my primary business. My dealers are pretty spoiled with the service I provide them. To get their business and to make a name for myself I had to cater to their needs. Now they expect that kind of service, so whatever else I get has to be around their schedule. Tow just about whatever I can. Thought about getting a trailer but that's just more expense, insurance & maintenence. I have a buddy who lends me his trailer when I get jobs for cars, bikes or golf carts. Then I wind up spending more time looking for a return trip, running those extra wheels & weight and all, but I have to be careful AND available to my primary rv dealer's schedule too. I got caught a couple times out too far and had to pay to store and later retrieve the trailer so I could get the dealer's unit in to them on time. I work on a flat rate system with the rv's, based on loaded & deadhead miles. Most of the other carriers only pay/charge for loaded miles. Got two rate increases already this year due to fuel prices.
Everyone just keeps passing the expenses down to the consumer. Eventually, the consumers won't be able to afford anything and we're all gonna go down the toilet. The rv industry is just surviving as is. Luckily, I have a few good rv dealers that keep me pretty busy as long as they can stay competitive.

RickG

Just curious . How can the manufacturers pass the costs on when there are already so many units on the dealers' lots that had lower shipping charges ?

haulin-rv

Ditch the single pull crap. Either multiple units on a trailer, cars, or freight. If it's got to go as a single let them find someone else.

I did singles for a long time and switched a couple years ago to cars, best thing I ever did. Now I drive half the miles and make more money!

Oh and I actually spend time at home too.

buster92

How do so many of the rv haulers get away with not having a sleeper? Don't tell me they motel it! I see lots of rv haulers up the hiway by my place, and not many of them actually have a sleeper.

haulin-rv

As I said in the other post they are doing something that is technically illegal and that can get you a fine and be put out of service.

Scotty

I know of at least two Haul and tow rigs that former RV haulers cannot get rid of. Even they have packed it in. So many of these rigs get repo'd its crazy.
Collect the bottles. JMHO

I understand the folks that are kind of stuck once they are in it. Been there and done that. Still owed 9800.00 for my last few trips there were duds...damaged rigs, unverified loads...too bad so sad is what ya get from a dispatch when they screw up.

Collect the bottles.

Did I mention collect the bottles?