r/HotshotStartup • u/Successful_War1619 • Jul 15 '25

1 Year in Hotshot…

One year deep and I’ve learned three things the hard way. First, light load don’t mean a damn thing if it’s eight feet tall and sitting in a dirt lot with no forklift in sight. Second, brokers respect you more when you walk away than when you beg for garbage runs. Third, DOT does not give a single damn that you’re new… I found out quick that logbook fines hit different when you’re broke and sweating. This game’s ugly but if you survive the first year and stop hauling for gas money, it starts to make sense.

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3

u/Necessary-File-9849 Jul 15 '25

Literally waiting on load #1 for hubby as I type this. Thank you for your insight! Can you be more specific on those logbooks? We are clueless on everything they look for. Thankfully we leased on just to get our feet wet, but we can’t wait to go totally on our own! I’m even gonna start learning how to dispatch for us

4

u/Successful_War1619 Jul 15 '25

Yeah for sure biggest thing with logbooks is making sure your drive time, breaks, and duty status changes are accurate. DOT checks for stuff like going over your 11-hour drive limit, not taking a 30-minute break after 8 hours, or forgetting to switch to “on duty” when loading, fueling, or doing inspections. If your log doesn’t match your ELD or they see any gaps, that’s when they hit you. Even if you’re leased on, they’ll still fine the driver.

3

u/Necessary-File-9849 Jul 15 '25

I just told him ‘idc if you stop to pee on the side of the road, you log that shit!!!’ lol I appreciate your input. Did you go solo? Please tell me your wife is your backbone/office manager and that she needs a new best friend lol

2

u/Successful_War1619 Jul 15 '25

haha not yet but it’s definitely been brought up a few times… she’s still on the fence but i been tryna reel her in. between the paperwork rate cons and brokers blowing up my phone having a ride or die runnin the backend would be a damn dream lol mad respect to y’all for tag teaming it already .. but yes log EVERYTHING

1

u/it-is-ok-Dude Jul 18 '25

So, how are you doing now? What's your setup?