Charles, my husband, has been a truck driver for over 10 years. He started working for a hot shot company in SE Texas last year as a company driver. This past January, he bought a Dodge dually and tried working as an O/O. We are not having any luck and not making near the money he made as a company driver. We have tried two different companies in SE Texas to lease on to and they both said they would keep him busy. Well, WRONG...they didn't. Does anyone have any advice as to our next step...lease to another company, get our own rights, etc. We are at a loss. We are beginning to get discouraged. :-(
Getting starting in expedited/hot shot trucking
- Thread starter Runinlate
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RE: Getting starting in expedited/hot shot truckin
I don't know what companies you have dealt with, but Cannonball and Acme used to be the better ones for small hotshot loads.
They are in the Houston area.
We had dealt with quite a few of them over the years, but hot shots in that area have become very competitive.
Alot of foreign drivers and companies have kept the rates low.
Most of the better paying freight is for flatbed and gooseneck loads.
Your post doesn't say whether you are pulling a trailer or not.
Hard to answer the rest of your question without additional information.
Davekc
owner
20 years
I don't know what companies you have dealt with, but Cannonball and Acme used to be the better ones for small hotshot loads.
They are in the Houston area.
We had dealt with quite a few of them over the years, but hot shots in that area have become very competitive.
Alot of foreign drivers and companies have kept the rates low.
Most of the better paying freight is for flatbed and gooseneck loads.
Your post doesn't say whether you are pulling a trailer or not.
Hard to answer the rest of your question without additional information.
Davekc
owner
20 years
RE: Getting starting in expedited/hot shot truckin
Charles has access to a gooseneck. He just hasn't been given the loads to use it much. Acme is who he started out with as a company driver and then tried to work for them as an O/O but couldn't stay busy enough to pay the bills. Don't know if it was just the terminal he was out of (Corpus) or what. They did go through some restructuring while he was there (terminal manager changes and such). He's getting discouraged and he's not the type of person to do that. That's why I'm here and trying to figure out what we are doing wrong.
Charles has access to a gooseneck. He just hasn't been given the loads to use it much. Acme is who he started out with as a company driver and then tried to work for them as an O/O but couldn't stay busy enough to pay the bills. Don't know if it was just the terminal he was out of (Corpus) or what. They did go through some restructuring while he was there (terminal manager changes and such). He's getting discouraged and he's not the type of person to do that. That's why I'm here and trying to figure out what we are doing wrong.
raceman
Veteran Expediter
RE: Getting starting in expedited/hot shot truckin
Well I will say I am glad see a few folks refering to HotShotting. It is for selfish reasons though. There used to be a member on here that did not realize Hot Shot was still a business and for those reasons I would get dumped on when I refered to it.
In any case, I looked into this off and on over the last two years. I came to the conclusion that I would need to hook up with a company that installed roof top air handling units in order to assure regular work. Well, the one I found could keep me busy but was not willing to pay a good rate. I also looked into Horizon Transport and Jet. I never followed through but they offered a varity of freight from Campers to air handling units. Mostly campers. I just dont know if you could do as well as they say. I never followed up because of my need to run my expediting trucks.
Good luck with whatever you do.
Raceman
OTR O/O
Well I will say I am glad see a few folks refering to HotShotting. It is for selfish reasons though. There used to be a member on here that did not realize Hot Shot was still a business and for those reasons I would get dumped on when I refered to it.
In any case, I looked into this off and on over the last two years. I came to the conclusion that I would need to hook up with a company that installed roof top air handling units in order to assure regular work. Well, the one I found could keep me busy but was not willing to pay a good rate. I also looked into Horizon Transport and Jet. I never followed through but they offered a varity of freight from Campers to air handling units. Mostly campers. I just dont know if you could do as well as they say. I never followed up because of my need to run my expediting trucks.
Good luck with whatever you do.
Raceman
OTR O/O
RE: Getting starting in expedited/hot shot truckin
Horizon does alot of drop deck and gooseneck freight while Jet does alot of dry box freight. Jet is primarily company drivers.
Biggest issue I see is your location. Alot of trucks looking for backhauls from that area (Corpus Christi) which makes it much more competitive verses Houston. There is a whole lot more industry there in Houston.
Look at some load boards and it will give you a idea of the comparison.
As I looked at them last week, there was alot of gooseneck loads going back and forth from Houston to LA, AL, and MS
A large percentage were for the petroleum industry.
As mentioned, location is going to be your largest obstacle.
Davekc
owner
20 years
Horizon does alot of drop deck and gooseneck freight while Jet does alot of dry box freight. Jet is primarily company drivers.
Biggest issue I see is your location. Alot of trucks looking for backhauls from that area (Corpus Christi) which makes it much more competitive verses Houston. There is a whole lot more industry there in Houston.
Look at some load boards and it will give you a idea of the comparison.
As I looked at them last week, there was alot of gooseneck loads going back and forth from Houston to LA, AL, and MS
A large percentage were for the petroleum industry.
As mentioned, location is going to be your largest obstacle.
Davekc
owner
20 years
RE: Getting starting in expedited/hot shot truckin
You should check out www.dieseltruckresource.com . Go to the forums link . The members there are Dodge diesel owners , some of them owner operators .
You should check out www.dieseltruckresource.com . Go to the forums link . The members there are Dodge diesel owners , some of them owner operators .
whitewolf53
Expert Expediter
RE: Getting starting in expedited/hot shot truckin
Sell the Dodge and go back to the old company,if they will have him back,the grass is not always greener.
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Sell the Dodge and go back to the old company,if they will have him back,the grass is not always greener.
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RE: Getting starting in expedited/hot shot truckin
Though hotshotting is a specialized niche in the fast freight market, you have to keep in mind the location you run out of, and the limitation of your equipment. When I first started expediting years ago, I was coming out of big rigs, and I asked a sharp recruiter which way I should go to maximize my load potential in expediting. He gave me the same advice that I think is true today. He said, "buy a D unit". A D unit was the largest truck you could have before you got back to big rig back then (although there are some super D`s out there today). The recruiter`s reasoning was sound also. With a D unit, you can haul A, B, or C or D freight too. Just as logical today, as it was when I started. Whatever truck you buy, you next have to choose an area of the country to run out of where they have the freight, and I think all would agree that in today`s market the majority of freight runs in the northeast, followed by the midwest, and bordered by the Mississippi. Hard to keep busy in a small truck in Texas I would think.
Though hotshotting is a specialized niche in the fast freight market, you have to keep in mind the location you run out of, and the limitation of your equipment. When I first started expediting years ago, I was coming out of big rigs, and I asked a sharp recruiter which way I should go to maximize my load potential in expediting. He gave me the same advice that I think is true today. He said, "buy a D unit". A D unit was the largest truck you could have before you got back to big rig back then (although there are some super D`s out there today). The recruiter`s reasoning was sound also. With a D unit, you can haul A, B, or C or D freight too. Just as logical today, as it was when I started. Whatever truck you buy, you next have to choose an area of the country to run out of where they have the freight, and I think all would agree that in today`s market the majority of freight runs in the northeast, followed by the midwest, and bordered by the Mississippi. Hard to keep busy in a small truck in Texas I would think.
RE: Getting starting in expedited/hot shot truckin
Hard to keep busy in a small truck in Texas I would think.
How true today.
Back in the mid eighties we had several goosenecks with pickups. We did exceptionally well until the oil industry went bust.
We sold at the right time and were very lucky.
Today it is better but there is much more competition.
Deregulation didn't help too many either.
It seems the ones still in it do the best with their own accounts.
Very tough business to break into.
Alot of the hotshot freight out of TX is moved for pennies on the dollar.
Labor pool is considerably cheaper there as well, verses other parts of the country.
Rich has a good link with Jones Motor freight.
They perform better because they are not tied to a specific region.
Davekc
owner
20 years
Hard to keep busy in a small truck in Texas I would think.
How true today.
Back in the mid eighties we had several goosenecks with pickups. We did exceptionally well until the oil industry went bust.
We sold at the right time and were very lucky.
Today it is better but there is much more competition.
Deregulation didn't help too many either.
It seems the ones still in it do the best with their own accounts.
Very tough business to break into.
Alot of the hotshot freight out of TX is moved for pennies on the dollar.
Labor pool is considerably cheaper there as well, verses other parts of the country.
Rich has a good link with Jones Motor freight.
They perform better because they are not tied to a specific region.
Davekc
owner
20 years
RE: Getting starting in expedited/hot shot truckin
If you are looking for a job in SE.TX and you are a owner operator and can pull a 40 foot gooseneck trailer and or in or around the Beaumont area, email us at [email protected] we are looking for drivers now.
If you are looking for a job in SE.TX and you are a owner operator and can pull a 40 foot gooseneck trailer and or in or around the Beaumont area, email us at [email protected] we are looking for drivers now.