Not really sure where to post this. I have seen some threads where someone will say:"my truck was down and it's my livlihood so now i'm stuck" My question is, can you make a living hauling stuff with a 3/4 ton truck? How? I wouldn't think you could move enough stuff in one trip to justify the fuel and other costs. Maybe this is a dumb question, but I just had to ask!
Steve

Courier service. When FedEx & UPS next day air isn't fast enough. $.67-$.78 per mile, both ways, + fuel surcharges. 99% of the time whatever I'm hauling fits in the truck bed, so no trailer needed. I kinda stumbled into this years ago when a friend needed some parts machined in a hurry out of state. Now I've got 3 different companies that call me when they need something delivered or picked up, on a moments notice. It's not a full time job (& I don't want it to be), but it keeps me busy when I'm not farming.

Put 500HP and a hidden bottle on it.

Look for rice. :D

I use mine for work, Me and my dad are partners on a wood cutting plant, and i use the ol' duramax to haul the wood shavings,to the dairies. its a 37 yard trailer and i get $200 a load. For the last two weeks its been filling up everyday(10 hours a day-4 days a week) Thats $ 1600 for 2 weeks. Not a living,but a damn good chunk of playing money):h

cody

I'm thinking of starting a similar venture in my location, McRat. I'm hoping to get in on the ground floor, and get the market cornered. It seems there is a great need for someone to take money from all these little retards, so I'm going to take the ball and run with it.):h

Initial start-up costs are kinda high, but in time I think it will prove to be cost effective. Plus if you love what you do, its like being on vacation everyday.:lol:

Contact some of the trailer builders in Elkhart, Indiana. They pay pretty good to deliver travel trailers. We have 3 people in our family making their living with our trucks.

The trailer delivery service has slowed,most companys are not hiring. Animal4500 RV transporter

I have 2 trucks leased to Acme truck Lines in here in southeast Tx. C-4500 w/17' bed & 3500 w/11' bed & 20' gooseneck. It was slow at 1st, mostly depending on Acme to get me my loads. I got some cards made up and did some visiting to the local machine shops, steel mill, even the local galvanizing place. When they call I run the bills of lading through Acme They pay me the next week and let them wait out the 90day billing crap.

My customers deal will alot of hard to get specialty products and just cant risk the local freight lines messing up the product by transfering loads 3 to 4 times before it gets to its final destination.

If you have a 3/4 ton and want to make your truck more flexiable. I would strongly suggest a 20-25' gooseneck with 2-7000lbs axles & 14ply tires. You will get a better return with a small investment.

Last but not least just remember that Hot Shoting parts is a 24/7 type job and can be very frusterating sometimes. Make sure if you lease your truck on to a local hot shot outfit that its a 100% owner operator. If its not who do you think is going to be sitting at the house when times are slow. Hope this helps

It's o.k. for retirees with a pension looking to have expenses paid while seeing the country but don't expect to make a living at it . They only pay loaded miles and return trips are rare . I was contracted to Bennett Truck Transport for 8 months , put 90,000 miles on my truck and only grossed a little over $30,000 . I picked Bennett because they have terminals all over the country but some terminals ship less than a dozen trailers a week at times . I've seen 40-50 trucks sitting in Bristol , IN waiting for work while they were putting another half dozen drivers through orientation . Some terminals have drivers sit 2 or 3 days with no work available . I've seen drivers drive over 400 miles to Bristol on a Friday to get a promised load then find "things changed " and no load is available until Monday . Bristol charges drivers $27 to bring trailers from the manufacturer to the terminal . When several loads come out the end of the day they give the driver the option of picking the trailer up at the manufacturer but still charge the $27 fee .

I tow my SSL around on jobs.
Around 15,000 trailer weight, been doing it for a while.

We don't tow rv's. It's just like anything else. You have to market yourself right. Look at my signature! If you can't make any money doing this than I'm in big trouble when the bank calls.

My dad used to say "You can make a living selling used toilet paper, if you do it right!"
I'm not sure I want THAT job. If you want to drive then I suggest a wedge or a 40 ' Flatbed. There is plenty of work out there, especially if you get your own authority.

How would a guy like me be able to help pay for my new cargo trailer that doesn't get used about 7 months out of the year? I'd like to do some custom hauling in the winter, but maybe I'm kidding myself since I only have a 20 footer?

I'd appreciate any input.