Tractor Gooseneck

Posted April 5, 2009 By farm machinery

Tractor Gooseneck

I want to start my own transport business based in Tx....Can anybody give me some info. on how to do it right?

I would be starting out using my new diesel p/up and my 25' 14000# rated dovetail gooseneck. I want to be legal in Tx and the rest of the U.S. as well as obtain the proper commercial insurance coverage. I already have some "inside" contacts w/ an auto manufacturer, some oil/gas companies, boating and RV's, tractor dealerships and even some contacts in the rodeo/horse trailer business. I just want to do it right and not be one of these guys "rolling the dice" w/other peoples merchandise and lives by running illegal! Any help or advice would be appreciated!!! Thanks!!!

Trucking is an industry that has seen many great companies fail and become only memories. You are seeking a high risk venture, with profits (when there are profits) typically at about 2 cents per dollar revenue generated. Maintenance of equipment, insurance, replacement costs of equipment and employees are extremely high. Safety programs must be designed and implemented, employment taxes calculated and paid to the state and federal treasuries, and more.

As for illegal operators, trucking is regulated and when illegal operators are caught it ain't pretty. In 1994 we interviewed 76 drivers to get 6- amazingly the majority of applicants failed the drug test for employment. I hope they all get caught, I don't want an illegal/unsafe driver on the road with my wife, kids and grand-kids out there. And anyone who knows who they are and that they are illegal are condoning their behavior and enabling them to continue such if they fail to report them.

Old trucking firms like East TX Motor Freight comes to mind, Consolidated Freight another, as does Interstate Freight Systems and more- all were fine freight carriers. Complete Auto Transport, Auto Convoy (my old company) Dealers Transport (my father's old employer), WADE Auto Transport, Associated Auto Transport, Complete Auto Transport and more were all good auto transport companies, all now gone out of business.

If you are going to persist, hire on with an established trucking broker or firm, learn the ropes and save all the money you can- you'll need it to carry you thru the lean times when fuel costs soar and you can not pass thru fast enough the additional increased costs to maintain a profit and keep the business viable.

With the current state of affairs in the auto industry being what it is, everybody and their 4th cousin trying to be in the transport business now profits are squeezed even further. Having an "insider" will carry you so far, you have to have the funds to carry you the rest of the way.

Corporate finances change constantly. People change jobs, companies change employees, and you may be out in the drop of a hat as was my former employer, who, even thought they owned the land the auto maker was located on before the auto maker shuttled the plant and they were left high and dry. Nissan ran into hard times in the mid 1990's and rebid our traffic, never mind it was under a 5 yr contract; we lost the rebid. They did not honor their contract terms, and we were put out. As a result I lost a good job I had for several years.

Unless you can operate for a few years w/o an income, I'd do something else. Trucking is not for the faint or weak of finance.

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