Hotshot Trucking - Getting Started, Costs, Insurance And Cdl ...

Here are 18 things you should know or consider when contemplating starting your own hotshot trucking business.

1. What is Hotshot trucking?

Today, the concept has expanded nationwide to include pickup and delivery of smaller, Less-Than-a-Truckload (LTL) of items and deliver them directly to the receiver. Hotshots, by the very nature of their business, provide “expedited” shipping compared to Class 8 OTR trucks that travel from terminal-to-terminal where products are off-loaded and held for pickup or transferred to a local delivery service. Hotshots are business LTL time machines.

2. Who can be a “hotshot?”

In some states, drivers can be 18 years old, while 21 is the minimum age for other states and for interstate operations.

3. Is a commercial truck driver’s license (CDL) required?

Being a hotshot is not for everyone, but if the following advantages appeal to you, you might be a hotshot candidate:

• Build a family business.
• Have more control over your schedule and be home most nights.
• Be home for holidays; maybe not have to work Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.

Hotshots can make good money transporting Less-Than-a-Truckload (LTL). Hotshots provide shippers more efficient point-to-point shipping. Shipping what, you ask? Almost anything. A dealer in Knoxville, TN needs to ship a car to a fellow dealer in Memphis, TN. A key piece of medical equipment needs to be shipped several hundred miles to a hospital, or 10,000 pounds of time-sensitive equipment needs to go a construction site.

6. How do if find loads?

There are several advantages to using load boards: (1) They are aware of many more load opportunities in each area. (2) They will be aware of the types of loads you want to carry, and preferred destinations. (3) They will also be able to help you to find a return load so that the trip home does not have to be dead head. There is, of course, a fee for this service, but if they keep you busy, the fee is well worth it.

7. How long are typical hotshot runs?

As a business, you work for yourself. A well run hotshot trucker in a reasonable location for regular loads can bring in from $60,000 to $120,000 gross income per year, possibly more. Most hotshot’s expenses—fuel, maintenance, insurance, licenses and fees, tolls, etc.—are approximately half of gross income. Time and fiscal management are critically important to succeed as a hotshot.

9. Tell me more about licensing and permits.

A USDOT number is required for any interstate hauling, and for hauling any hazardous materials, and an MC (Operating Authority) will also be required. New applicants registering using the