Are hot shot drivers still a thing ?

[fastfredracing]

Man, I dont know if I want to grind out this 50 hour a week shop thing for the next 15 years .
Id love to find an income stream, that is a little less structured, and maybe a tad easier on my body , It would also be nice to escape a life of constantly dealing with the public .
I just signed up on a freight broker forum, seems like its pretty easy to get loads, Ill have to look into commercial auto insurance . I already have a dually, and car hauler, Id have no problem buying an enclosed trailer if needed
I don't want to close the shop, It would just be nice to not have to be there all day , every day 52 weeks a year, just beating the hell out of my body for 25 dollar state inspections
Anybody ever have a go at it ?

[look 171]

Fred, you know if you don't close that shop, people will continue to come and you will still be busy no matter. When will you work at the shop? Two, three days a week? You know this is going to back up and then you are back in the same boat plus your driver gig. It will kill you faster.

[VINMAN]

Ive been looking into doing it it also. I have two duallys, so just need to pick up a goose neck or an enclosed trailer. Talked to a bunch of guys that do it. Its not bad, you can make good coin if you plan your loads and trips right. But you do get stopped A LOT by troopers, because so many drivers are half azzed legit, and have a ton of violations.
I would just do east coast stuff mainly if I was to do it. Not so much cross country.

[speeder]

Hot shot and auto transporting are two different things...do you guys know the difference?

[cabmandone]

Oh yeah they're a thing and they're being paid well right now. Trucking rates are up. If you don't mind being away from home it's pretty good money based on what the guys I've talked to have said. When looking at insurance make sure you get cargo insurance. You can have commercial coverage that doesn't cover cargo. There are a lot of guys running "hotshot" that don't run cargo insurance which is why I had a really difficult time getting my UTV shipped from VT to OH a few months ago. A lot of guys said they'd take the load but when I asked for proof of cargo insurance almost none had the proper coverage. If you can get by with that, GREAT, you'll be more profitable... right up until you damage someone's property while hauling it and have to pay out of pocket.

I thought about going hotshot since my equipment buying is non existent but then again, I like being home every night and if you do hotshot the legal way, you should be running electronic logs. If you're running legal it's tough to get home every night unless you don't mind dead heading back which cuts into your income.

Have I ever mentioned I hate Uship?

[greglepore]

Easier on your body? In some ways, yeah, but sitting for 10 hours a day consistently behind the wheel for days on end is awful for your body.
You need dot reg, pay commercial road taxes, insurance etc to be legal.
Not sure what the income stream is like after you factor in maintenance expenses.

[Norm K]

Hotshots have long been big in the O&G industry which should, with oil in the mid-sixty-dollar-per-barrel range, be going gangbusters. For most of the country, unfortunately, it isn't.

I'm not up on PA geography, so I don't know in what part of the state Valencia is located, but compared to other plays, the Marcellus is doing quite well and might offer an opportunity to build what you're looking for. There's always somebody who needs a few joints of pipe, or a critical valve or fitting ... pronto! ... and they don't mind paying to get it.

_

[unclebilly]

Yup, not as commonly used as before but hotshots are still a thing.

We usually tried to use a ‘broken wing guy’ (injured employee on modified duties) to do our hotshots whenever possible. It was cheaper to pay him to drive around in a company pickup than to pay him to ride the couch at home.

[David]

We use them daily to get components from our machine shop to coating/grinding shops and the like plus components coming and going to local plants from the shop. We use a large logistics company to handle all shipping and they use several small hot shot companies they call on for us. Gotta have good insurance since components can be rather pricy. We had a driver lose a 3,500 lb turbine wheel off a truck a few years ago. Luckily, no body got hurt and we were able to find a good used replacement wheel for much less than new price. We changed how these wheels are transported after the incident.

[1990C4S]

I think there are hundreds of better ways to take a break from your daily grind, but if you have the equipment already and it interests you, give a try.

I think you will find it quickly becomes mind numbing, boring, and marginally profitable.

Why not hire somebody to help you do the heavy lifting in your shop? Even part time.

[911 Rod]

Do you need the money that bad?
Take the afternoon off, go home, and chill.

[recycled sixtie]

A good comment above about taking the afternoon off and chilling out. Having said that can you find an employee to work for you? Perhaps you do already?

My local indy shop owner has retired after thirty years in business and he sold to an employee who worked for him for seven years. I will continue to give the latter as much business as possible.

I get the impression that you are working by yourself. Perhaps you need a plan for the future that would incorporate selling? In the meantime trying something else part time to give you a break.

Cheers, Guy

[URY914]

My wife knows a women from her HS that her and her husband were HS drivers. They are now divorced.

[Zeke]

I think bring on a strictly commissioned mechanic to do specific jobs just so the doors stay open is a good idea. You can plan your workload around what you really want. What you can't do is take on every job that comes in. You'll have to start a waiting list to cull the herd.

Hard thing to do since you've established yourself and many people rely on your services.

[vash]

what is a hot-shot driver? I have no clue

[slow&rusty]

We use hot shot drivers all the time to deliver equipment and piping from a fabrication facility to our job site.

These guys make good money.

Typical Hot Shot driver set-up:

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by vash

what is a hot-shot driver? I have no clue

That would be two of us.

[David]

Hot shot drivers carry stuff from one place to another usually in the same city but sometimes a hundred miles or more. Just like shipping but it gets there in an hour or two.

Vehicle would be a pickup, stake bed, or 1-ton pick up with a trailer, although if it's really small it might be a car.

[vash]

Originally Posted by David

Hot shot drivers carry stuff from one place to another usually in the same city but sometimes a hundred miles or more. Just like shipping but it gets there in an hour or two.

Vehicle would be a pickup, stake bed, or 1-ton pick up with a trailer, although if it's really small it might be a car.

like Uber for cargo? any idea how they got the title?

[Tobra]

I should put my wife to work driving. I swear she could back a trailer up Lombard Street


It is uncanny