Nowadays, Hotshot trucking is a very popular business, each day, many people start their own non-CDL and CDL companies. I thought there still could be a person who wants to try out hotshot trucking before getting into full time, especially those who have a job and try this out as part-time.
If you are doing an 8 – 5 job, part-time hotshot trucking is impossible. Considering you will have to haul loads at least 1000 miles to make a fair amount of money and you will only have weekends to do the job. But if you are a person who does a seasonal job, part-time hotshot is possible for you. For example, if you are a farmer there is a certain season that crops are growing, so you have a considerable amount of free time.
Let’s talk in detail about the main problems you will face starting part-time hotshot trucking.
Insurance and other payments
Like many scenarios, insurance will be expensive for hotshot trucking. Insurance companies don’t know and don’t care whether you are doing part-time or full-time, so they will charge you accordingly. I would say the cheapest insurance will cost you around $1500 per month. If you are brand new authority for one setup, you will have to pay more like $2200 to $2500. On top of that, there will be truck and trailer payments too. Truck payment could be $800 to $1000, and trailer payment could be $400 to $700 depending on the type of truck and trailer you are buying for hotshot trucking. Also, there will be other smaller costs like a load board and ELD ( electronic logging devices ). Whether hauling loads on weekends or staying at home, these costs will come from your bank account. So you really need to think you can cover these costs and make some money while doing part-time hotshot trucking.
There is another way too. You can lease on with someone. You will have to book your own loads like Friday to Monday load. But still you will have to cover your truck, trailer payment, and insurance payment. Insurance payment might be cheaper because you are lease on with someone, and it might be covering the cost of load board and ELD. It’s going to be really hard to find someone to lease if you can do one load a week.
Time
If you are doing part-time hotshot trucking while you have a job, you probably will have to haul load on weekends. To earn the most amount of money while doing part-time hotshot trucking, you need to do a load at least 1000 miles or more over the weekends. Let’s say you pick up a load on Friday, and 95% of the time you will have to deliver that load on Monday cause not many places will be open for shipping and receiving. So if you get a load on Monday and no matter how soon you get it to the receiver, you will be dropping off that load on Monday. That means you will be a thousand miles away from your home on Monday, and it will take at least two days to get back home. By that time, you are not doing part-time hotshot. You basically spend your whole week for only one load.
Location
Another thing to consider is if you are not living in one of the bigger freight cities like St Louis, Cincinnati, Toledo, Detroit, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or Chicago. It will be a lot harder to find freight that works out for you to get back home.
Now let’s find out how part-time hotshot trucking is possible for certain people.
Hotshot trucking is possible for a person who has a few months off from their main income stream every year. For example, a farmer who already has a truck and trailer for his work and can get a few months off ( until crops grow) is more suitable for hotshot trucking. Also, some people who work in landscape business, Oil field, and teachers get a few months off from the main job.
Conclusion
In conclusion, part-time hotshot is not a profitable way to earn money if you already have a job. Starting cost is too expensive, and you will have to work hard only to cover the cost. It’s either do it full time or stay doing what you are already doing.