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Information on Popular Hotshot Trucks
If you are just getting into the hotshot business and wondering what kind of truck to buy, shown below are links to the Ford, GM, Dodge and Chevrolet websites.
Generally speaking, the larger your truck and trailer, the more loading capacity you will have. This increases the chances that you will be able to combine and haul more than one load at a time and increase your revenue per loaded mile. While it is ideal to have the higher load capacities, remember if your Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) exceeds 26,000 pounds the driver will need a Class A license and will need to be in a Drug Consortium. The truck will need an IFTA Fuel Decal and an IRP apportioned license plate. In addition, you must keep track how many miles the truck ran in each state and how much fuel was purchased in each state. Your equipment costs and your operating cost per mile will also be higher as your GVWR increases but so does your profit potential.
Here are links to the manufacturer websites where you can find the specifications for their various models. In particular you want to look at the Gross Vehicle Rating of the trucks and the Fifth Wheel Towing capacities. Generally speaking, bigger is better. Visit these company websites for detailed information about their trucks:
You've probably heard different models of pickup trucks referred to as half-ton, three-quarter-ton, and one-ton vehicles. All three terms refer to pickup truck load capacity. The "half-ton" description loosely refers to the truck's payload capacity. This means that the truck can carry up to 1000 pounds (453.5 kg) of cargo and passengers in the cab and bed. But wait a minute: If you take a look at the stats on modern half-ton pickups, you'll notice that their payload capacities exceed 1000 pounds (453.5 kg). Although early half-ton pickups could carry max loads of 1000 pounds (453.5 kg), since at least the 1960s, new and improved half-ton pickups have been able to safely carry more, surpassing their namesakes [source: Autotropolis].
But old habits die hard, and the name "half-ton" has stuck around to this day. It's still helpful as a general classification term, differentiating the group from the larger, heavy-duty three-quarter-ton pickups and one-ton pickups (also obsolete terms). Most manufacturers have stopped using weight-related terminology to describe their pickup trucks. They've switched to number or letter designations that don't usually help you determine a truck's load rating, but you'll always find it listed in the vehicle's specifications.
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