Over the last year or so a few local farmers have repeatedly asked me if I would be willing to haul cattle for them w/ my truck and trailer locally--not crossing state lines. Up until about mid-November I was too busy shoeing horses and making plenty of money doing it to be interested. Since the beginning of this December work has really slowed down due to the winter season and the economy. Ive started telling these guys when I run into them on an almost daily basis that if they need to move any cattle to please give me a call. I wouldnt be willing to purchase any special insurance since this would be very part time and very local. How should I charge these guys?
THanks in advance for any replies,
Drew

 

Here we go again...........

 

Please dont reply to my question w/ a smart remark---Ive seen how a response like this can steer a thread in a direction that would be unproductive for me. I realize that my type of question has been discussed on this site many times before. However I thought it was unique enough to warrant a new thread since the cargo would be livestock (all owned by good friends), fuel prices are much lower and the routes were all in-state and short. I just want suggestions for coming up w/ fair prices for a few family friends--this type of thing is done all the time in this country.
Thanks, Drew

 

I'd say it depends how far, time, and how much fuel used. At least pay yourself $20 an hour plus fuel. If it's really local and your only using $10 in fuel and it's less than an hour of your time I'd say $30-$50...idono the economy is different everywhere. Over an hour do the $20 an hour thing, maybe pay yourself by the mile or by the fuel+$2 a gal? It really depends how good of friends they are.

-Dustin-

 

Find out what other cattle haulers are charging and charge just a little bit less. If you plan on snagging work that other licensed haulers may be vying for, its a good idea not to undercut them too bad as that will get them ticked off and looking into your affairs, i.e. authority and insurance and someone will rat you out.

Or better yet, make the CUSTOMER come up with the first number. I never give the first number when I am selling something, be it services or goods or time. Just say "Whats the job worth to ya?". They might overshoot, you graciously accept and then you got more than you bargained for. Most likely, they'll lowball you and you work from there but it provides a place to get started.

Make sure you are not working for free or at a loss. And don't start your truck for less than $30 in your pocket (profit), even if its a 3 blocks over job. You cant get a tow truck to even come out and give you a jump for that, so don't offer to come out and haul something for less.

 

Its not a smart a.. comment its a reality. HAULING FOR PROFIT WITHOUT THE CORRECT INSURANCE AND LEGALIZATION is both stupid and illegal (of course). The fact is if an accident happens or you get caught you you financial future will be hit hard.

More and more illegals are getting caught, I see them all the time in scale houses or pulled over. I guess there are more and more law abiding citizens turning them in.

 

And it ILLEGAL. Guess the next question will be do I have to pay taxes on it?

 

Haulin RV is right, he's not giving a smart remark. 3 threads below this there's the same question asked befor yours. It happens at least once a week

If you want real answers call your State Patrol or lookup FMCSA web site, then you'll find out about insurance, legality and you will have a better idea what to charge.
Talk to an insurance agent then you'll see why they charge so much to haul

 

He said he was staying within the state . FMCSA regulations don't apply . He should check with his state to see if intrastate authority is required .
As for slightly undercutting prices , that's bad advice . What if things are slow and haulers have rates at the bare minimum to survive ? Are you willing to haul for less than that ? The haulers that survived do so by providing exceptional service . You need a spreadsheet and figure all your costs then the profit you need to make it worthwhile . If it's more than the going rate forget the whole deal .

 

Not arguing with the above comments at all.

I think that if you are doing 2 small loads a month, then you would not be hurting the local economy. Especially if they are pasture to pasture/pen to pen loads between 2 counties.

On the same note as the posts above, if you start doing it weekly, 2-3 loads, you'll want to look into what you need to legally do it, because if you get in a wreck, they can sue you, and possibly the people whose cattle you are hauling. With the proper insurance, this does not usually happen.

Figure your fuel cost per mile loaded, how many miles you get on an oil change/tranny change/diff change, divide that per mile, and that's your base price (what it takes you to run the truck per mile.) Then, figure what your time is worth an hour to drive your truck. Your minimum price should be no less than 50 bucks, even if it's only 5 miles from pick up to delivery. You have to figure in you driving to pick up, and after you drop off.

If it's good friends of yours, and you are doing them a one time favor, just charge how much fuel is used, and a case of beer or dinner at Applebee's or something.

HTH...

 

Besides all the LEGAL questions, Who pays for one of the animals that goes down and dies while in your care?

That alone would scare me $$$$$$

 

This is my opinion on this...remeber i am a country bumpkin. I have hauled hay and cattle locally, typically for friends, not as a primary job. Conversation usally started like this.

"I have to take so many head to market, i'm gonna need an extra truck, do you mind helping me out."

Ok fill my tank after we are done and a 50 to 100 dollar bill and walla done deal. Alright so for me when i was back home making 130-200 a day as a hired hand, i usally lost money for that day if id'd be working at my normal job. However this would be a sat/sun or slow day type thing.

You have to remeber for me atleast it was a 70 mile trip one way to the sale yard and then back. And i am way out there not on your normal route...so what typical hired everyday hauler is even going to be interested, i am not stealing work from them.

Samething for hauling hay locally. At least from where i am from i have never seen a Hot shot company type truck, out there hiring out. They would starve from the lack of work. Getting to some po-dunk town to haul two loads of hay 30 miles would cost so much it wouldnt be worth it.

So i would be planning on charging, and i would see what they thought it was worth first, but something along the lines of fuel plus some what ever you think your time is worth.

I understand the concept that the actual haulers dont like people hauling stuff long distance and neither would i, if i was in that line of work, but it sounds like a local thing, like it was for me, where you already new the people. So i dont see the problem, but thats this country bump-kins thinking may not be even close to right.

 

I never thought about the insurance side of things until i started reading all of these posts like this one. Cant help you there. I would ask the person your doing it for. OH...And alot of times it was fuel and dinner or beer.

 

The mention of undercutting cracks me up. So many of the USA RV hauling companies do that on a regular basis...and the driver is the one that gets hit. Too bad some of the old boys that want to pay for something to do wouldn't just say no to hauling for next to nothing. Then theres the folks out there with the misunderstanding from their company that they are actually insured and they are not. Glad theres a vigil group on here pointing out the do's and don'ts and glad folks are asking. Just hope that everyone plays fair, and takes care of their own butt too. We had a guy here that got tired of paying over a grand a month to be properly insured and to have the correct authority...he went with Star...and now he thinks he can run on a local private plate and travel North America...with his MN Transporter plate for a trailer plate outside the state of MN. Sooner or later the guy is gonna wonder why he listened to them.

Scotty

 

The answer to that is no, as well. Farmers work on the cash system. Cash = no taxes. Yes, I am fully aware that the government feels it is entitled to a portion of everything you make. I disagree.

I pay north of $10K in taxes every year, that's more than enough contribution for one person to make and as far as I am concerned, the government lost the authority to tax me when it started handing out free money to every multi-million dollar corporation that decided it wanted some and when it started wasting money right and left.

Sometimes, the ends do justify the means. While I am not religious, there is that saying that if 10% is good enough for god, its good enough for the IRS. Yet the IRS seems to manage to take about half. And some laws should be broken.

Well, RV haulin' is cut throat as is cars. I don't waste my time with either anymore, too many people who will haul for under $1 a mile and I wont put anything in my truck (whether its the Dodge or a rental) for less than $2 a mile. If I am going to haul something, its gonna be regular freight. There is still some money to be made there for the wildcat and not as much competition.

I rarely haul for anyone for profit anymore, mostly because there are so few jobs for wildcats that are profitable. Most wildcat jobs are money losers, setup so that people think they are making money because they are getting paid than fuel + motel 6 on the bad side of town, but when you figure in wear, tear and maintenance and the eventual replacement of your iron, you are way in the hole.

I have a source for scrap paper that gives me about 100 tons every month or so, and at $125-$150/ton, that puts several thousand dollars into my pockets yearly, so I am happy with just doing that. Its less risk and its easy work. The drive from OK -> TN is a nice one and its relatively free of bears and chicken coops if you take the right routes so the risk is almost nil.