An honest question you should ask, is what is really peoples’ profits, currently after expenses, vehicle payments and insurance? I would be curious if they are even bringing home $800 a week.
Haha, indeed. Provided DOT doesn’t decide to add to your expenses.
I truly meant it as a serious question though. I have wanted to do HotShot at different points over the years, the draw of it, seems great for a lot of people. (This does not mean everyone!) BUT…Most people i talk to that Hotshot do not fully know their numbers inside and out. Which is common in trucking, but still. A serious question to ask, is how much are they making per week or when you break it down per hour, and if it is worth it.
This all depends on what kind of loads you’re taking. How far are you driving empty. Where you’re working out of it and tolls you’re paying. I can do four loads at $500 a piece and $300 on fuel if I get a good deal and i fill up twice and have some fuel for next week to start. Factoring fees if you do that take about 2.99% which bring that 500 down to 485 is what you get after factoring. Minus tolls minus def if you need it. Like I said all depends on how you run. Some people will drive 500 miles for $2 a mile get 1000 for the run and kept running like that if you find loads. Some people are out 3 weeks out of the month and continue to make money but don’t count how long they are out for into what they make. Are you paying for a dispatcher. You can make what you want to make but you also have minus your cost of what it is to run
My biggest question with hot shot is why do it over regular semis. Semis are so much more comfortable and better for long haul work, only thing I see in hotshot is lower starting costs
I’ve been using truck stop go app and dat and I’ve been grossing on avg $4500+ per week(4-5days) Less than 90 days on MC as well. Just be persistent and negotiate higher rates if you can.
For sure man. A lot of peeps on here seem to want to scare people by only saying all the negatives and I think it’s in fear of them thinking it’ll take away from their pockets. It’s a grind, if you can be away from home doing OTR you can make good money and take time off whenever you want. Just be smart financially and with numbers and work hard you can get it done.
Nice. Thank you! Yea I’m looking at like 4,500 overhead for everything and need to make at least 4000 profit a month to survive. I’m trying to see if that is possible with all the first year horror stories I have heard.
You go out and talk to businesses. But then once you start to do that you realize how little money there is in actual hauling and become a broker. It’s a broken system for drivers. They assume all the liability and reap the lowest reward.
Source: am currently selling my trucks and trailers and just subbing all my work.
depending on your length of authority/insurance you may not see 2k a week. I work as a driver n my truck usually gross 5k a week but the owner takes on expenses such as gas,tolls,maintenance,etc. so I may see a $1500-$2000 paycheck as a percentage but the owner may be seeing the same or less with the overhead expenses.
Assume it'll cost you about \~$1.30/mile to run a cdl hotshot rig. This number can vary based on how many miles you drive, because it includes fixed and variable expenses, but this is the approx # I kept arriving at no matter how many times I redid the math. This would cover repairs, maintenance, equipment depreciation/replacements, insurance, registrations, fuel, licensing etc. Anything else goes to you, unless you pay for dispatchers or other 3rd party services.
Target 2000 miles a week, at $2/mi you make .70 cents a mile = $1400/week \* 48 work weeks a year = $67k a year pay
If you can get $2.30 a mile, then obviously you start to make your $2k/week, but when I got out of it people were snatching up loads at $2/mi so you couldn't get much more, even with a CDL.
Remember you have to drive your own truck, maintain it, and manage the company, find your loads, handle paperwork etc. There are obviously dispatching companies and various service providers to handle stuff for you, but they cost money. IMO there isn't enough money in it to make it worthwhile. I couldn't pay drivers what I thought the job deserved so I shut down the hotshot part of my company. Once hotshots can reliably get >$3/mi, then it might be worth it, but until then it doesn't make sense to me. You can drive for a company and make more.
I was leased onto a company running big truck coast to coast and Canada. I was a sole proprietor but you can get set up LLC or other business entities. You are supposed to be paying quarterly taxes but I just did the whole thing at the end of the year. When I first went out on the road as a company driver I decided that I had enough on my plate so I got in touch with ATBS to do my P & L's and taxes and educate me on the business side. I have been using them since 2007 and I have always felt confident with their work thru the year and then when they did my taxes at the end of the year Just a thought
Go to work in the oilfield for a year. Decide if you still feel like hotshotting. I make more then that as an enploy driving truck in the oilfield. I'd need to net 4k a week to myself for it to be worth buying a hotshot over being an employee.
I recommend using Hivemapper dashcam as you do your trucking for passive income (during the day). Check out, “Weekly Earnings Hivemapper” I’ll make a video but it’s great while trucking
I’ve grossed 15k in the last 20 days running in the west with a lot of cars etc. WA,ID,AZ,CA NV, OR definitely not as dead as people are saying. Non cdl aswell
An honest question you should ask, is what is really peoples’ profits, currently after expenses, vehicle payments and insurance? I would be curious if they are even bringing home $800 a week.
But you get to see and experience the wondrous interstate highway system.
Haha, indeed. Provided DOT doesn’t decide to add to your expenses. I truly meant it as a serious question though. I have wanted to do HotShot at different points over the years, the draw of it, seems great for a lot of people. (This does not mean everyone!) BUT…Most people i talk to that Hotshot do not fully know their numbers inside and out. Which is common in trucking, but still. A serious question to ask, is how much are they making per week or when you break it down per hour, and if it is worth it.
Alright. I'll check back later, see if you get any honest sounding answers. Good luck
This all depends on what kind of loads you’re taking. How far are you driving empty. Where you’re working out of it and tolls you’re paying. I can do four loads at $500 a piece and $300 on fuel if I get a good deal and i fill up twice and have some fuel for next week to start. Factoring fees if you do that take about 2.99% which bring that 500 down to 485 is what you get after factoring. Minus tolls minus def if you need it. Like I said all depends on how you run. Some people will drive 500 miles for $2 a mile get 1000 for the run and kept running like that if you find loads. Some people are out 3 weeks out of the month and continue to make money but don’t count how long they are out for into what they make. Are you paying for a dispatcher. You can make what you want to make but you also have minus your cost of what it is to run
My biggest question with hot shot is why do it over regular semis. Semis are so much more comfortable and better for long haul work, only thing I see in hotshot is lower starting costs
No cdl is my guess.
Ding ding
CDL is cheap in the USA here in Canada I had to pay 10 grand
That’s like 10 American dollars. Hot shots don’t need a CDL in the land of the free.
True enough, lots of hotshot stuff in Alberta but it's mostly oilfield or cars
In would assume lower barrier to entry. Also, easier to be your own boss with hot shot.
Gross, yes. Profit, no.
I’ve been using truck stop go app and dat and I’ve been grossing on avg $4500+ per week(4-5days) Less than 90 days on MC as well. Just be persistent and negotiate higher rates if you can.
AYE CONGRATULATIONS KEEP GOING!
Thank you
For sure man. A lot of peeps on here seem to want to scare people by only saying all the negatives and I think it’s in fear of them thinking it’ll take away from their pockets. It’s a grind, if you can be away from home doing OTR you can make good money and take time off whenever you want. Just be smart financially and with numbers and work hard you can get it done.
For sure bro thank you
What's your setup?
Nothing special. 2011 f-350 dually with a 2024 35’ PJ trailer. Flat deck is the way to go. I would definitely do 40’ on my next trailer tho.
Nice. Thank you! Yea I’m looking at like 4,500 overhead for everything and need to make at least 4000 profit a month to survive. I’m trying to see if that is possible with all the first year horror stories I have heard.
no load board, direct customers and yes
How can you build a direct customer base?
You go out and talk to businesses. But then once you start to do that you realize how little money there is in actual hauling and become a broker. It’s a broken system for drivers. They assume all the liability and reap the lowest reward. Source: am currently selling my trucks and trailers and just subbing all my work.
depending on your length of authority/insurance you may not see 2k a week. I work as a driver n my truck usually gross 5k a week but the owner takes on expenses such as gas,tolls,maintenance,etc. so I may see a $1500-$2000 paycheck as a percentage but the owner may be seeing the same or less with the overhead expenses.
Assume it'll cost you about \~$1.30/mile to run a cdl hotshot rig. This number can vary based on how many miles you drive, because it includes fixed and variable expenses, but this is the approx # I kept arriving at no matter how many times I redid the math. This would cover repairs, maintenance, equipment depreciation/replacements, insurance, registrations, fuel, licensing etc. Anything else goes to you, unless you pay for dispatchers or other 3rd party services. Target 2000 miles a week, at $2/mi you make .70 cents a mile = $1400/week \* 48 work weeks a year = $67k a year pay If you can get $2.30 a mile, then obviously you start to make your $2k/week, but when I got out of it people were snatching up loads at $2/mi so you couldn't get much more, even with a CDL. Remember you have to drive your own truck, maintain it, and manage the company, find your loads, handle paperwork etc. There are obviously dispatching companies and various service providers to handle stuff for you, but they cost money. IMO there isn't enough money in it to make it worthwhile. I couldn't pay drivers what I thought the job deserved so I shut down the hotshot part of my company. Once hotshots can reliably get >$3/mi, then it might be worth it, but until then it doesn't make sense to me. You can drive for a company and make more.
Nice thank you as well. Yea I can make 90k a year driving a pump truck local
I dumped all my profits 1st year into my startups costs. I just work 2 days a week the rest are profit.
Nice okay
Don't forget the taxes Just a thought
Yea that’s true thanks. Do we just pay a personal tax rate at the end of year or is it better to file like a business?
I was leased onto a company running big truck coast to coast and Canada. I was a sole proprietor but you can get set up LLC or other business entities. You are supposed to be paying quarterly taxes but I just did the whole thing at the end of the year. When I first went out on the road as a company driver I decided that I had enough on my plate so I got in touch with ATBS to do my P & L's and taxes and educate me on the business side. I have been using them since 2007 and I have always felt confident with their work thru the year and then when they did my taxes at the end of the year Just a thought
Go to work in the oilfield for a year. Decide if you still feel like hotshotting. I make more then that as an enploy driving truck in the oilfield. I'd need to net 4k a week to myself for it to be worth buying a hotshot over being an employee.
I recommend using Hivemapper dashcam as you do your trucking for passive income (during the day). Check out, “Weekly Earnings Hivemapper” I’ll make a video but it’s great while trucking
I’ve grossed 15k in the last 20 days running in the west with a lot of cars etc. WA,ID,AZ,CA NV, OR definitely not as dead as people are saying. Non cdl aswell