Posted by Clint Dixon [74.206.62.210] on Monday, September 14, 2015 at 19:51:24 :
Lot of discussions here lately about transporting Power Wagons. I have never had to hire the services of anyone other than personal friends to haul anything that could not be sent UPS or U.S.P.S., but in talking with others, I think I have an understanding of how it all works. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
It appears that if someone wants a Power Wagon hauled across country, the choices are: 1) to do it oneself, 2) to hire a friend to haul it for you, 3) hire a company that specializes in hauling many vehicles at one time on an 18-wheel rig, 4) hire a hotshot.
From what I have been told, if hiring a hotshot, it works like this hypothetical situation:
Say I want a Power Wagon hauled from Union Grove North Carolina to Reynolds Illinois. I call XYZ trucking and supply them with my weight, dimensions, pickup point, delivery point, time schedule, possibly proof of ownership and insurance.
XYZ provides me with a quote, proof of license, proof of insurance, and a guarantee. We either reach a deal or we politely decline and do business elsewhere.
If I understand it correctly, their quote is based upon a set amount of money per mile (not necessarily a loaded mile) that it will take to travel in order to get the truck to me. This could mean that the closest the driver can get to the point of pickup (considering his other loads) is Louisville Kentucky. I would pay him to drive from Louisville to Union Grove. I then would pay him to drive from Union Grove to Reynolds and then from Reynolds to his next point of pickup. If by chance he passes through Indianapolis and he gets a call to haul a truck from Detroit Michigan to Sloan Iowa, and the detour would not adversely effect our agreed upon schedule, and he has the room on his rig, he will detour at Indianapolis and head to Detroit. The new customer would pay him to travel from Indy to Detroit to Sloan and then to my place. I would still only pay the agreed upon original mileage from Louisville, to Union Grove, to Reynolds, to his next scheduled pickup (not the additional miles of the detour).
This way he can pick his way across the country and never be empty and always be billable. Sometimes he would be billable to more than one customer at a time. This is the nature of the business.
It is kind of like buying a train ticket, the ticket costs the same whether the train is loaded of if you are the only rider.
Did it git it right?
Junior
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