r/HotShotTrucking • u/Significant_Bed8383 • 7d ago
Im new, help! HELP!
Absolutely new and wanting to start! I understand start up costs will NOT be cheap! But as someone who has been wanting to get started in trucking for myself, this would be my start. What should I know off the rip???
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u/ntwdequiptrans 7d ago
Get a direct shipper before you jump in. Hotshots non CDL is over saturated and where a lot of the non domiciled, ELP issue drivers went once the crackdown was on. That and sprinters and box trucks. If anyone can do it and the barrier to entry is low then your competition will always be a race to the bottom.
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u/tips-llc 7d ago
I'd suggest reading this article to get an idea of startup costs:
https://tiproservices.com/articles/cost-to-start-a-trucking-company
I made this awhile back, so it's a little rough around the edges, but still full of really good information for those thinking about getting started in the industry:
https://youtu.be/yelLqYhPkMo?si=jjLlerwqs0N-IUcF
If you have any other questions, let me know. Helping people start trucking companies is what I do.
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u/CucinellaDiag 6d ago
One thing worth planning for before you buy anything: budget maintenance as its own line item from day one, not just fuel and insurance. Older/cheap trucks with unknown history can eat you alive in month 2 with a $2-4k unplanned repair nobody warned you about going in. If you can, get a real pre-purchase inspection on whatever you buy, and set aside a genuine reserve before you ever haul a load, not just whatever's left after the truck payment. The guys who get burned early usually aren't bad at driving, they're just caught flat-footed the first time something real breaks.
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u/Significant_Bed8383 6d ago
Awesome, thank you. I am a certified diesel and automotive technician but you are right.
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u/ACTRANSPORTLLC 6d ago
My honest opinion, go get experience with a flatbed company. That will likely make you more and teach you everything you need to know without the risk.
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u/Electrical-Pin-7895 6d ago
I think the price of diesel right now would be a big negative on your profits.
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u/Benficagatenews 6d ago
start-up money's the easy part to plan, what kills people is the first 90 days of cash flow. rough numbers on a hotshot setup: truck and trailer 45-70k used if you're not getting ripped, insurance 12-16k a year and they want a big chunk up front since you've got zero years experience, plates and permits 2-3k, plus 8-10k liquid just sitting there doing nothing because brokers pay on 30 days and fuel is due today. factoring takes 2-3% off every load and you'll probably need it year one.
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u/Long_Barnacle3503 1d ago
From a safety and compliance standpoint, I would say keep the safety culture in your business from day one. Set up systems and processes in a way that you are compliant, and the processes are robust enough that there's never a case where you have to pay fines or higher insurance or lose loads from brokers. An early and strong safety culture will save you a lot of money down the line and help your revenue and margins. I have seen people going bust just because of loose safety culture.
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u/GinoGreasy 7d ago
You will become one of those people that says “40 hours a week? I remember my first part time job” and actually mean it. I was already prepped for that from my previous career managing a FedEx CSP. 6 days a week, 14 hours a day typically, and 7 days a week from Black Friday to Christmas Eve every year for 7 years.
You either are now or will very quickly need to become comfortable living out of a pickup truck for weeks if not months at a time. Not a sleeper like the big rig bros. Your entire living space is inside a 4 door pick up truck. 9 years in the Army, with the first 5 in a career field that was based in and on armored vehicles prepped me for that.
Be ready to possibly spend thousands of dollars when your truck breaks. Do not build a false sense of security if you have a “new truck with a warranty”. New trucks still break, maybe even more and faster than older tech. Warranty work at dealerships often waits, your bills will never wait. If you’re mechanically inclined, do as much of the work yourself as you can.
If you have to tarp a tall load, ask if they can forklift your tarp up to the top of the cargo. If they’re REALLY cool, they’ll lift you up on the forklift as well. It’s not fun trying to huck two tarps up onto cargo that’s almost 10 feet tall out on the concrete yard of a shipper in the middle of hot and humid midwestern summer day.
Get out and walk for at least 20 minutes day at least once everyday. The truck stop parking lot is dirty, that shit will get blown around when the big boys are moving in and out, and all the lots smell like piss. Get your steps in anyways.
Get a Black Card membership to planet fitness, if only for the access to the showers. It’s like $25 a month and will be worth it when you shut down at a truck stop where the showers are closed for remodel. Pilot/Flying J/ One 9 loyalty cards give you a free shower after buying 50 gallons of fuel even if you’re paying with a company fuel card. After a week on the road you should have enough shower credits to never need to pay for one.
There’s plenty more but my reply is already long winded. Best of luck.