Questions on Hauling for profit

[picker77]

This setup is called a "hot shot" hauler in the oil fields of Oklahoma and Texas. I see them all over the interstates and state highways every day. 1-ton diesel duallies and a long heavy duty flatbed gooseneck are the standard rigs. They carry oil field drill bits, pipe, parts, and tools and small equipment of all kinds, almost always on an "emergency" on-call basis when a drilling rig or pulling unit is broken down in the field, usually on short hauls of 100-400 miles or so carrying stuff that's needed to get things back up and working. Being on call means up in the middle of the night and on the road anytime the phone rings. They also have to be able to find oilfield sites in the boondocks in the middle of the night, and I suspect log books and drive times are loosely enforced if at all. I suppose some of them must be making a profit, but it's not a life I'd want. Business volume depends entirely on the oil patch industry, which can be up and down depending on U.S. and state congress whims and oil prices at the moment.

I have no idea what is required in the way of licensing and insurance, but there sure are a lot of them. I'd think the competition would be fierce and the profit margins slim, especially with diesel staying around $3+ a gallon. Good luck.

 

[scoutcub]

Scout, what do you haul for now? I see you post pics of some pretty big loads that seem like they would be more than personnel use.

I buy and sell equipment as a hobby, and the rest is personal use, so pretty familiar with hauling equipment.

Sure seems like a lot of negatives so far.....as I said before, I've just been kicking the idea around. Guess I have to decide if I want to pursue it full-bore with all legal requirements, or perhaps just an occasional run. Looks like a lot of requirements to be fully legal.......

 

[firedog]

Well the local shops here are at $90 to $120 hr, so if the work is actually done properly, you can see $400 is pretty much bang on. We've gone the cheaper route on our trailer, and they missed several major problems ( because they didn't actually do the work )

We may be comparing apples & oranges. In Texas, inspection fees are set by the State. There is no hourly rate charged for the inspection, however, if there is some deficiency, then repairs made would be charged at the mechanics hourly rate plus parts. The price I quoted was for inspection only.
About two weeks prior to the last inspection, one of the tractors was over at Performance Truck in Houston for service & repair work at a cost of about $5K.

 

[sweettractors]

That seem kind of high.
I just had both our rigs (that's tractor & trailer) inspected for $124.00 each rig.

We have a DOT officer inspect ours and the cost was 0. Ken Sweet