Any Car Haulers With Advice? Would Like Your Words Of Wisdom!

Was about to pull the trigger with Knight Trucking and got a call from a local car hauler. Good company, sound financials, and been around for a while. Pay is crazy good for a driver only on the road for 2 1/2 years. (23%) I want to do this right, safe, and long term. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Bill

I've gotta tell ya - I don't really know the first thing about it other than talking to guys that have done it over the years. I never heard anything I thought would discourage me from doing it. Like any job it has its good and bad. The pay I've always heard was good. The bad was typical stuff like the ramps get slick in the winter, you have load and unload the cars yourself (I don't know if all companies require this or not), and little things like that.

I'd say see if you can speak in person with a few of their drivers. Maybe go to a terminal or a fuel stop they use and get a few opinions. I don't know of anyone here at TruckingTruth that mentioned hauling cars before so you might not find out a lot here. But talking to their drivers in person would surely be what I would set out to do if I was in your position. I'd want to find out all I could directly from the people doing it.

I've read that maintaining weight distribution between tandems and drive tires is tricky and a constant battle as you load and unload different vehicles, not to mention the high center of gravity .

That's about all I can offer !

I've gotta tell ya - I don't really know the first thing about it other than talking to guys that have done it over the years. I never heard anything I thought would discourage me from doing it. Like any job it has its good and bad. The pay I've always heard was good. The bad was typical stuff like the ramps get slick in the winter, you have load and unload the cars yourself (I don't know if all companies require this or not), and little things like that.

I'd say see if you can speak in person with a few of their drivers. Maybe go to a terminal or a fuel stop they use and get a few opinions. I don't know of anyone here at TruckingTruth that mentioned hauling cars before so you might not find out a lot here. But talking to their drivers in person would surely be what I would set out to do if I was in your position. I'd want to find out all I could directly from the people doing it.

Yep, I plan to go to Jubitz in Portland to ask around. Thanks!

I've read that maintaining weight distribution between tandems and drive tires is tricky and a constant battle as you load and unload different vehicles, not to mention the high center of gravity .

That's about all I can offer !

I was reading about weights on line. Had not considered the high center of gravity, good point. They seem to be willing to put up two two months training into new drivers though. Thanks for your input. If anyone wants to know how things go I'll post from time to time, but don't want to ramble if other drivers are not interested. Going to jump into it with 110% and see how it pans out.

I've read that maintaining weight distribution between tandems and drive tires is tricky and a constant battle as you load and unload different vehicles, not to mention the high center of gravity .

That's about all I can offer !

I was reading about weights on line. Had not considered the high center of gravity, good point. They seem to be willing to put up two two months training into new drivers though. Thanks for your input. If anyone wants to know how things go I'll post from time to time, but don't want to ramble if other drivers are not interested. Going to jump into it with 110% and see how it pans out.

Well, I start Monday hauling cars. The money "sounds" good, starting at 23%, we will see. They felt I should only need a week or so of training based on my experience, but I made it clear that I would not go solo if I did not feel safe/capable. They seemed to be fine with that and said they would rather take 3-8 weeks if that was what was needed. ($2500/month training pay) If any one cares I'll keep positing about hauling cars, the pay difference, hours worked, etc. These people have three more new trucks coming, are in line with Oregon DOT , and look to be a solid company.

I've read that maintaining weight distribution between tandems and drive tires is tricky and a constant battle as you load and unload different vehicles, not to mention the high center of gravity .

That's about all I can offer !

I was reading about weights on line. Had not considered the high center of gravity, good point. They seem to be willing to put up two two months training into new drivers though. Thanks for your input. If anyone wants to know how things go I'll post from time to time, but don't want to ramble if other drivers are not interested. Going to jump into it with 110% and see how it pans out.

Well, I start Monday hauling cars. The money "sounds" good, starting at 23%, we will see. They felt I should only need a week or so of training based on my experience, but I made it clear that I would not go solo if I did not feel safe/capable. They seemed to be fine with that and said they would rather take 3-8 weeks if that was what was needed. ($2500/month training pay) If any one cares I'll keep positing about hauling cars, the pay difference, hours worked, etc. These people have three more new trucks coming, are in line with Oregon DOT , and look to be a solid company.

That's a jaw-dropping training pay! Good luck man!

Yeah, I'd love to hear how it goes. I've spoken with some car haulers over the years but just a few short casual conversations. I never got into the details of what they go through day in and day out. It would be interesting to know.

I read your whole story line! Sounds really good. I'm getting into car hauling myself with a local guy.. I've been training for over 2 months. I've learned so much knowledge especially with long loads like a Chevy suburban on the rear lower deck and making it fit. Hope your career in hauling cars is going good!

Was about to pull the trigger with Knight Trucking and got a call from a local car hauler. Good company, sound financials, and been around for a while. Pay is crazy good for a driver only on the road for 2 1/2 years. (23%) I want to do this right, safe, and long term. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Bill

I am interested in reading your progress! Please keep us updated. I used to work for a big auction house half hour away and thought about car hauling. :)