Can you start hot shot trucking using an older truck?
Let’s say you have this certain truck. Maybe you bought it for a different business or you’ve had it for a while now. Is it a good truck to start? This question comes up a lot since trucks are one of the most widely sold vehicles in the United States.
Our Answer? It Depends.
For the most part, no. But there are exceptions to every rule. So we would say, it depends.
How old is the truck under consideration (hopefully, not as old as the truck in the photo above!)? If your truck is older than seven years — I mean give or take a few years — it’s probably too old to take the daily abuses of hotshot trucking. It is a fact that an older truck is less capable than a brand-new truck. Think of the problem this creates for the company, regardless of whether it’s your authority or you’re leased under someone.
3 Reasons Why You Might Not Want an Older Truck
- Older trucks have a harder time passing inspections. That ruins your safety score.
- Older trucks are more likely to break down. That might cause you to be late on your loads and that’s definitely a surefire way to have a broker never work with you again.
- Older trucks don’t look as good. When you’re pulling up to the shipper I highly doubt they’re thinking, “Hmm. You know what? We should definitely use this guy again.”
The Possible Exception to this Rule
You might be thinking, “Surely there’s an older truck that you’d recommend, right?” Well, as a matter of fact, there is. The only older truck we recommend is a paid-off truck. Why? Hopefully, you now have a little bit of money in your savings account. In case your older truck that’s now paid off breaks down, you could easily fix it or trade it in as is, cutting your losses. You could buy a new one or get a lease.
The Bottom Line
To summarize, if you really want to try this business, don’t use an old truck. Just go get yourself a lease or go trade it in for a brand new truck. It’s not worth it to start out with an older truck. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments if you think it’s okay to start with an older truck.
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I know plenty of guys that have started out in 20+ year old trucks. Yes, they do break down more. No, they may not look like a brand new truck. However, If you clean her up, replace anything thats broken or even might break soon, you have a good shot at earning enough money to eventually trade her in for a better one. Use it just to get started and save save save!! Don’t take of until its been checked by a certified mechanic from bumper to bumper.
Yes I feel the same not everybody have new truck money so …so my question is it Legal to use a 1999 truck if it runs good …dnt care bout the looks cuz I see new trucks break down as well ..it’s about making the money …so next time explain that better next time mother trucker …that wasn’t useful advice you gave
I think a well-maintained old pickup can work just as well as the new ones. I have been following a lot of guys on youtube and all you hear is how they blew their motors on brand new trucks. A good friend once said he’d rather have 10 pennies than one dime and I agree after watching a lot of these guys. Just imagine 3-6 months to fix that brand spanking new RAM with only 20k miles on it. Just my opinion.
I bought a 04 f350 with 74,000 miles on it then had it bulletproffed. It’s a beast of a truck had everything check and serviced. I so happy I didn’t spend $80,000 plus fora brand new truck my older Ford is Great!!!