Overdrive

April 2016

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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44 | Overdrive | April 2016 A uto hauling is one of the more difficult trucking segments to enter and master, but it also can be one of the most financially rewarding. "A lot of guys will see the money in hauling cars, but don't have what it takes," says Wisconsin-based Jim Lepke, owner of Fortun Transportation. "It takes a lot of experience, and I guess when I got started, I was too young and stubborn to give it up. Now we're one of the better ones doing it because we've been doing it for so long." Two of the immediate challenges are buying a trailer and learning to load vehicles. It's not unusual for a new nine- or 10-car trailer to cost upwards of $90,000. "We paid between $265,000 and $270,000 for a 2013 Peterbilt and 2013 Cottrell trailer in 2013," says Dana Miller, president of Young's Transport, a car hauling company based in Fort Myers, Fla. Of that outlay, $97,400 was for the 10-car trailer. Bill Schroeder, general manager of the Auto Haulers Association of America, says another challenge for drivers getting into car hauling is gain- ing experience. Most insurance com- panies want drivers to have at least two years of over-the-road experience with a commercial driver's license before hauling cars. On-the-job training is one way to learn the business. "Small owner-oper- ators tend to do it that way unless they work for a larger company before get- ting their own unit," Schroeder says. Auto hauling It's hard getting established, but the money's often good BY MATT COLE A new auto trailer can cost upwards of $90,000. This load of Mercedes-Benz vehicles was loaded at the factory outside of Tuscaloosa, Ala.

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