Forum Discussion

Groover's avatar
Groover
Explorer II
Jan 15, 2014

Delivering RV's for a living

Have any of you delivered RV's professionally?

I was recenly laid off and have been contemplating a career change anyway to have more control over my time. Last night I saw an add on this site for RV delivery drivers and started wondering how that works out. The add is by CW but I am sure that other employers are out there. I would like to set my own schedule according to personal needs and wonder if they are accomodating of that. The add promises $1.37 to $1.45 per mile depending on size of the RV being delivered. I would expect fuel alone to run $0.30 to $0.40 loaded and $0.20 or more per mile unloaded. If I were just delivering from the factory the pickup runs and trips to home from the dealer would be empty so I would be looking at $0.60 per paying mile just for fuel. I would need to buy a new truck and a dually diesel equipped with required equipment would probably be pushing $60,000. The truck would have to be good for 300,000 miles just to get the cost down to $0.20 per mile on purchase price. This math indicates that I might be making $0.50 per mile after fuel and vehicle purchase. From this I would still have to pay for insurance, motel bills, maintenance and other travel expenses. If half of my time is driving empty I am not sure that I could make any profit, much less a living.

I would like to hear from others what their experience was while doing this before I make any decisions on whether to pursue it. I live between Nashville and Huntsville AL so it would take me a full day just to get to Elkhart to make a pickup.
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  • DustyR's avatar
    DustyR
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    rhagfo wrote:
    BigBaron wrote:
    Danger, Will Robinson, danger!

    First, it's a deadhead run. No $$ to get back to Elkhart.
    Second, the new regs on trucking REQUIRE you to stop and get a room after a certain amount of hours. You cannot rest in your truck.
    Third, It's a competitive market and buying a truck JUST to make runs for RV World is not a wise decision. What if they decide that this program isn't worthwhile and shut it down?
    Fourth, I believe a CDL is required.
    Fifth, the bookkeeping can be onerous with regards to road-mile taxes in different states.
    Sixth, you'll need a fiver hitch AND a class IV regular hitch with a WDH so you can pull whatever they want you to pull.

    Check out car transporters on YouTube. A lot talk about what they have to do now with all the new regs.


    X2

    Had co-workers husband try this, gave it after about 3 months after going 2 months without a load.
    To be successful at this you really need a broker to get you return trip loads. It isn't really a "Part Time Job" you need to be available to haul always to keep getting loads. Maybe CW moves units around, but I know before paying to have a RV hauled to my local CW I would drive to the remote and pick it up.


    X3

    If you want to drive/live on the road I would recommend instead of the RV business you instead become a commercial CDL driver. Earn a decent living and let someone else pay for the maintenance on the rig. The benefits are decent and home-time can be arranged. You are definitely working for the man, but the benefits out-weight the negatives.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    Jan 15, 2014
    BigBaron wrote:
    Danger, Will Robinson, danger!

    First, it's a deadhead run. No $$ to get back to Elkhart.
    Second, the new regs on trucking REQUIRE you to stop and get a room after a certain amount of hours. You cannot rest in your truck.
    Third, It's a competitive market and buying a truck JUST to make runs for RV World is not a wise decision. What if they decide that this program isn't worthwhile and shut it down?
    Fourth, I believe a CDL is required.
    Fifth, the bookkeeping can be onerous with regards to road-mile taxes in different states.
    Sixth, you'll need a fiver hitch AND a class IV regular hitch with a WDH so you can pull whatever they want you to pull.

    Check out car transporters on YouTube. A lot talk about what they have to do now with all the new regs.


    X2

    Had co-workers husband try this, gave it after about 3 months after going 2 months without a load.
    To be successful at this you really need a broker to get you return trip loads. It isn't really a "Part Time Job" you need to be available to haul always to keep getting loads. Maybe CW moves units around, but I know before paying to have a RV hauled to my local CW I would drive to the remote and pick it up.
  • BigBaron's avatar
    BigBaron
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    brirene wrote:
    I think you've stated a lot of the arguments against it. What might be in your favor is if CW moves a lot of units around; you wouldn't necessarily be tied to the factory locations. All that said, seems like a lot of folks do it, so there must be some attraction.

    I checked it out carefully out of curiosity (I live in S. Korea).
    The runs are from factory locations/storage yards out to dealers. They did mention transfers, but again, those would be deadhead runs.
    Filling in the return runs with uShip jobs, etc., might make it work, but it's a hard way to make money.
    A good used rig would be a lot smarter way to start.
  • Dog_Folks's avatar
    Dog_Folks
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    Not an easy way to make money. Many people dream about it but in the real world it is hard work.
  • brirene's avatar
    brirene
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    I think you've stated a lot of the arguments against it. What might be in your favor is if CW moves a lot of units around; you wouldn't necessarily be tied to the factory locations. All that said, seems like a lot of folks do it, so there must be some attraction.
  • BigBaron's avatar
    BigBaron
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    Danger, Will Robinson, danger!

    First, it's a deadhead run. No $$ to get back to Elkhart.
    Second, the new regs on trucking REQUIRE you to stop and get a room after a certain amount of hours. You cannot rest in your truck.
    Third, It's a competitive market and buying a truck JUST to make runs for RV World is not a wise decision. What if they decide that this program isn't worthwhile and shut it down?
    Fourth, I believe a CDL is required.
    Fifth, the bookkeeping can be onerous with regards to road-mile taxes in different states.
    Sixth, you'll need a fiver hitch AND a class IV regular hitch with a WDH so you can pull whatever they want you to pull.

    Check out car transporters on YouTube. A lot talk about what they have to do now with all the new regs.
  • I_am_still_wayn's avatar
    I_am_still_wayn
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    Groover wrote:
    This math indicates that I might be making $0.50 per mile after fuel and vehicle purchase. From this I would still have to pay for insurance, motel bills, maintenance and other travel expenses. If half of my time is driving empty I am not sure that I could make any profit, much less a living.


    You have done a great job of crunching the numbers, and you are exactly right except you forgot vehicle depreciation. Figuring a $60000 truck will be worth $10000 after 300000 miles, and you have another 16 cents per mile.

    Very few people are successful making a living delivering RVs. The turn over rate is astronomical. There are some who use this as a means to "travel" and understand there is a cost, and some who make it work already have a retirement income, often from military.

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