Considering RV hauling; need some advice

maybe fate saved your a$$...

i read a story about a guy that quit his regular job to haul RV for a living.. after about 4 months he figured out the dead heading back to IN was killing him so he quite hauling went to live an another place and started driving for FEDEX as a local delivery driver..

morel to the story is if you can not get back hauls, which on a pickup are hard at best with out a trailer you get 0 for the run back to pickup another RV most of the time.

norfla71 wrote:
As of now, this is all on hold; I am going to school full time, and the transmission is DOA anyway.

As of now, this is all on hold; I am going to school full time, and the transmission is DOA anyway.

First let me give you a bit of my background to put into context what I am going to tell you;

I grew up in the family trucking business (Moving and storage) While I didnt want anything to do with this business as I got older, later in life I found myself owning my own trucks and running them as a sideline to my regular career.

This job is NOT about "Living the Dream" as their ads say...it's Work. Period.

I wouldnt worry about the Commercial Carrier/DOT stuff if I were you. The company you lease to will take care of making sure you are all set there. It is their DOT number you will run under.

As for Logs they will undoubtedly give you a course, they are not difficult. And there are many good apps that will keep them for you.

This is a business and it helps to have experience in running a business but you will learn as you go. This is especially true at tax time. There are many good Trucking centered Bookeepers/Accountants and Tax professionals all around the country. Use them to begin with and LEARN from them.

Your normal Auto insurance will NOT cover you for this. However the company you lease with will have insurance that you can get from them. Be sure you get a copy of the ACTUAL policy from them, not an abstract.

Tax wise it would be better to have a new truck you could start depreciating as an asset. And this is very important. GET A TAX ID NUMBER AND MAKE REGULAR QUARTERLY PAYMENT TO THE ACCOUNT. This is where so many go off the rails and get themselves in trouble. AND PAY INTO SOCIAL SECURITY!

After all of that read your contract line by line ask questions and talk to a few of the drivers who work for the same company...even if you get into it and don't like it every contract has at least a 30 day escape clause (and most likely an immediate one) and you can get out.

So try it and see what happens. You can make money but it is work.

As was just stated,this is a great way to wear out a good truck and have nothing to show for it.

I did it back in 1974.That's right,1974 and then again for a few years in 1981/82 when I was single and Gas ( I ran gas back then ) was cheap.At the end of the year,I owed Uncle Sam a huge chunk of change for what I had made,but I was single,it was easy work and I repaired my own truck and never spent alot on a truck back then.

I did it again for a Short time after katrina altho I used my own authority/insurance so I was paid more and I only did it for a few months.

I have seen literally dozens of people over the years buy new trucks and wear them out hauling RV's.Nobody ever lasts doing it.

Funny,my Dad who was the last person I would have ever thought would enjoy doing this job got into it back in 81 and did it for 15 years.To this day,I have yet to meet (altho I'm sure there is someone out there) anyone that has ever lasted that long.His key was that he generated back hauls for himself and never got in a hurry.Ran steady and conserved his money.he also bought a new Ford back in I think it was 87 with an unlimited mileage warranty and soaked those folks for years,lol.I have now run over 4 million miles in my life and looking back I only ran across my Dad once on the road.I blew his doors off and kept going.I wish I had slowed down just that once in my life.

I see guys on Uship all the time getting or trying to get backhauls or items but that can be another story all together if your transporting on someone elses authority and they don't know about it.

I have my own authority and have for years and I do some Uship so keep in mind Uship takes their slice of the pie like a broker does and Uship is a bidding war process so you may end up hauling for nearly nothing.

I personally don't think hauling RV's is a practical way to make a living after all the money goes out,but when my Dad was in Hospice on his death bed,I asked him if he liked hauling campers and his exact words were "those were the best years of my life".

I was the one who got my Dad into hauling campers by the way and at that time,I thought it would get him thru some rough times he had experienced in the construction trades.Who would have ever thought he would last 15 years and love it that much.

With that said and like has been said,go give it a try,and see how you like it,it might just be for you,it isn't for me,and if it isn't for you,at least you can say you did it and scratch that off your bucket list.

Been there, done it. Good way to wear out a truck and become broke doing it. Turn over rate is more than a fast food restaurant. Required at least 500 miles a day. No pay deadheading. Too many DOT rules.

Knew a fellow a few years ago that moved/delivered. Class 7 and 8 tractors. This according to him was better, since he didn't actually tow anything..... The Tractors towed his PU. But he had to have a really good tow bar set up that was super flexible.

He'd then 'dead head' back... or rent a trailer and get paid for delivering cargo. His biggest problem was keeping the tow bar intact.

Mostly he'd just deadhead back to the factory and pick up another tractor.

The biggest problem you will run into is back halls. It's all good to pick up a trailer in Elkhart and haul it to say Boise. What then? When you dead head (no cargo) you lose every mile. There are however some good Web based brokers that can help get you loads from one stop to the next. Some are % based some are membership or monthly fee based. I would get a CDL even though it's not required, I carry a minimum umbrella policy over and above standard insurance of least 1 million, these in fact are pretty cheap.
I would run a 3/4 or 1 ton dually set up for 5th wheels and tts.
Remember good hauls may not just be rvs, equipment, fieght, cars, etc can be brokered and found on the trailer.
research research research
my 2 pennies

I'm looking at hauling for a few months at a time and going to school for a semester or two between (so long as I can keep a full time status with the VA I'm also getting paid to go, so no worries). Major downside, for me, is the sleeping requirements, as in where can I can do it (truck stops seem to be crowded, and overnights at rest stops are not allowed). Walmart's may be one option. Otherwise, the dead head miles are not much to my liking, either, but I choose this knowingly.

I won't be doing this as a career; just something I've always wanted to do. This will be a stopgap until graduation and I can get a job closer to home.

DW and I are Class A Commercial drivers (retired).

What you are getting into has one upside and MANY downsides. You may want to give a lot of consideration to what was said on this thread.

Then find at least two persons who are currently doing it. You may have to go to the factory and seek their advice. Don't go into this blind.

cjoseph wrote:
Haul travel trailers for money and carry a truck camper for your use. Or pull TT for your use and carry TCs for the money.


Other than that, the travel part will really stink. You gong to pull in a campground and get a sight to sleep in your truck? I guess you could pitch a tent?

I think that is what truck stops are for. Always has been. That is the reason they are open 24 hours, 7 days a week.