QuestionQUESTION: Hello Mr. Stephens,
I am interested in starting a hauling business. I am trying to research what the greatest hauling need is in my area and what type of truck I will need. I live in North Eastern Florida, can you give me any resources that will aid in my research? Thank you, Jenn Mealy
ANSWER: Hi Jennifer.
Let me ask you this. When you say "hauling business", do you mean with a tractor-trailer or with a pickup (like Hot Shot Trucking)?
Thanks.
Bob Stephens
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QUESTION: I am sorry, i mean a tractor-trailer. Thanks, Jen Mealy
AnswerHi again, Jennifer.
If you want to start a long haul business, hauling refridgerated or flatbed would be a safe bet. If you plan on staying local, look into flatbed or container. I pull a lot of flatbed loads here in Florida and there is no shortage of loads. Jacksonville will have a ton of them coming out of the port. Jacksonville is currently expanding the port, expecially for containers. What this means, is that there will be even more container loads coming in for drivers (and outbound). That's something I would look seriously into.
If you haul container, you might only need a tractor. Almost Any Class 8 truck with twin rear axles will do. It depends on if you can pull a container chassis. I would contact the Jax port for information. They can tell you who some of the carriers are out of there and you can contact them. You may choose to lease out to one of them.
Otherwise look into getting a flatbed trailer and a truck. If you go to www.getloaded.com and do the "test demo", you can see some of the loads running. As you'll see, most in Florida are flatbed.
For other help, log on to www.ooida.com. It's a great site for owner-operators with a wealth of info. They also have a forum where you can ask specific questions to other truckers. You will have many decisions to make and a lot of questions, the forums can help guide you. Also, feel free to ask me more specifics and you progress.
Good luck!
Bob Stephens
