Classic Transport

[haulin rv]

CLASSIC TRANSPORT (http://www.classictransportinc.com/)

I started this chapter in my life with Classic and I learned a bunch. Classic has some good and some bad as with every company, but I will say my experience overall was a good on.

They run things a little more relaxed than others and are really a go where you want when you want type of company (no forced dispatch). Pay is done via Comdata and depending on the company you either get it when you deliver and fax in, or once the receive the actually paperwork either by physical turn in or via trip pak. I NEVER had an issue with getting paid. Heck many times I'd fax in and before I could hit an atm the money would be there. Now as far as pay went they are usually on the lower side, but at times they have also been among the highest. It really depends on how you choose to run and who's product you haul

I spent 5-6 years running for the and enjoyed it, there are some good people working there. But all things come to an end and when the rv industry crashed I was forced to move on.

[RVtransporter]

I heard they churn through a lot of drivers - like 200% turnover. You were there a while, was that true then?

Seems like they are one of the lowest paying transport companies around (you kind of mentioned that) so I guess it wouldn't surprise me.

You're right though - all companies have some good and some bad.

[pmmjarrett]

I heard they churn through a lot of drivers - like 200% turnover. You were there a while, was that true then?

Seems like they are one of the lowest paying transport companies around (you kind of mentioned that) so I guess it wouldn't surprise me.

You're right though - all companies have some good and some bad.

The whole industry has a 100- 200% turnover. In trucking it's not about how much you get paid, it's about how much you keep in the end. As a small business owner it is YOUR job not theirs to make that happen and it is accomplished by knowing what your cost per mile to operate is, having efficient well maintained equipment and having a sufficient reserve for breakdowns and running within those limits. The ultimate goal for any company is to make a profit for themselves, plain and simple.

The RV transport industry is nearly 100% sub contractor and 99% of every wannabe has no business sense, has no operating reserve for breakdowns, is too picky of where they want too run, doesn't set enough aside for the slow shipping season in the summer or an economic slowdown or has simply leased on the wrong truck for the job and washes out, it's really that simple. Every company has their own way of operating and as a self employed sub contractor it is up to YOU to learn that system and figure out how to best use it toward your advantage.

Get a Haul and Tow truck and you'll quickly find the guys with no maintenance reserve and a broke down truck. They're the ones that you get calls about or from every week and expect you to drive 1000 miles out of the way to pick up their broke azz truck in the middle of Bum Fudge nowhere and bring it home to them...... For free and get mad when you won't.....

Mabey they were just mad at me because they seen me the week before walking across the company parking lot sipping my Starbucks double shot Mocha with a big smile on my face from a good nights sleep in a hotel after a steak dinner and a fat wallet in my back pocket as I wandered into the bosses office to have an enjoyable chat with him kicked back in the chairs with our feet up on his desk without a worry in the world because my bills were already paid for the month and my family is well taken care of.

Horizon, Classic, Quality, Mapletree, Jet, Indiana Transport... It's what you make of your time leased on. Every company has their core drivers that make good money, have been around for years that they rely on to run anything to anywhere, on time and without any damage and the drivers that are picky, passing up loads, delivering late and tearing stuff up that are bitching about it.

I've seen drivers sit for 2 weeks waiting on a load to a specific area that wouldn't go anywhere else...

Yep 2 WEEKS. Summer of 2008 during the financial crisis that crippled the RV industry. I deadheaded to Cleveland to pick up a good paying 18,000 lb pintle hitch trailer going to Washington and pulled back in the yard to pick up a MN plate on the way through. Had a driver walk up, look at it and said it was a gas hog and he wouldn't pull it. From Tacoma I dropped into Los Angeles area to pick up a $1.00 per mile 22' speed boat coming back to Lexington KY and then grabbed a portable restroom from Louisville going back to Chicago and then came back to the yard. He was still there in the yard came up and said he was still waiting for a load to Texas and wasn't moving until he had one. He was still sitting there when I pulled out with another load that nobody wanted later that day.



Indiana Transport is a good company, sure there are some things I didn't like and adjustments I had to make but was treated well and with respect. Made good money with them until I was forced off the road with medical problems merely months after leasing on.

Horizon is a good company. A lot of people bash them, you'll find that the largest companies in any industry get bashed by haters. Ran for them for 2-1/2 years and stayed busy even with the slowdowns as I ran anything to anywhere. I enjoyed my time there, made some good friends and made dayum good money there and was for a while one of the highest gross revenue trucks there, I beleive I made it to #1 for a bit until my F800 got wrecked and put me out for 3 months. They were making some changes I didn't like and I had an opportunity to make a change that was financially bennificial. Nothing personnal about it, simply business.

[haulin rv]

Whats your experience with them or any other company?

[pmmjarrett]

Whats your experience with them or any other company?

If there is any it's been steering a desk and not a truck and it's really obvious.

IMHO ... Just trolls the forum to gleen info and self promote the blog and calls companies and talks to local drivers looking for info to add to the blog trying to sound like the RV transporting expert.

Read through the posts and you'll see most everything they put up is 3rd party hearsay or something pulled from a company website.

[RVtransporter]

IMHO ... Just trolls the forum to gleen info and self promote the blog and calls companies and talks to local drivers looking for info to add to the blog trying to sound like the RV transporting expert.

Read through the posts and you'll see most everything they put up is 3rd party hearsay or something pulled from a company website.

Kind of close, but there is some reason to it. Been in the rv industry for a few years and have learned a lot by making the mistakes first. Much of what you described in your previous post shows that you learned a lot too - maybe not by making mistakes first, but you figured it out.

You need to hustle in this business - sitting does no good. Planning and moving is the only way to make money.

As far as the third party sources and other websites - correct, and for a reason. The more resources to confirm information, the more credible the story if the story isn't a "this happened to me" piece. Those pieces have value, but that just isn't my style I guess.

My hope was to provide some more resources for drivers in the industry. It only helps us all to have better drivers, right? There are few resources on the internet for this industry.

This is a great site because of the experience and the willingness to share wisdom (like the story above of the driver that sat waiting for the golden load while you put miles behind you making a living). So, yea, I keep an eye on this site. Yes, I call around and talk to people in the industry (manufacturers, dealers, transport companies and drivers). It's a great way to get a big picture view on the industry as a whole and everything that goes into getting that family in a unit to go camping for a weekend.

In fact - I think I found this site after seeing a post about a haul and tow truck the forum user put together. But it was on another site a couple of years ago... somehow that led me to this site.

No offense intended if it seems like I'm trolling... I'm trying to make sure I have more than just my perspective on things.

[pmmjarrett]

Nope, not offended. Just calling you out to see where you stand... And not be too offensive.

Knowing where you stand in the mix helps us help you better.... I suspected you might be behind a desk somewhere in the industry gauging the temperature a bit. Doesn't surprise me at all. Wouldn't surprise me if I know you or at least know who you are either.

Honesty is the best policy here. Most of us on this forum personally know or have met other members and have been in business for ourselves succesfully for many years in one of the most cut throat industries in the world... trucking... and we won't sugar coat it.

[RVtransporter]

You're sniff test worked ok I guess. I started in rv's back in the mid 90's. I've been behind a wheel and behind a desk, and even taken a break from the whole thing a few years ago (and even then got back into it by setting up an in-house transport division at the non-rv company I was with at the time).

You are right. This is a cut-throat industry. It's only gotten worse over the last three years or so. But I think there will be some relief coming. There were hints of it last year (a couple of months last spring where the rates went up on some products to flush out the transport yards inventory). I'm hoping for more of the same this year.

Like I said, I'm looking for perspectives other than mine - so if you think I'm off base with something on here or a blog, pm me or something and let me know.

[pmmjarrett]

You are right. This is a cut-throat industry. It's only gotten worse over the last three years or so. But I think there will be some relief coming. There were hints of it last year (a couple of months last spring where the rates went up on some products to flush out the transport yards inventory). I'm hoping for more of the same this year.


You'll see the same with rates this year, it's already started, and then get cut back to the bone right after the 4th of July... same as last year.

Probably only for pickups again as they don't want to give up squat for haul and tow or flat bed loads which is why a few haul and tow operators refused to haul out of Indiana last year and stayed out west running nothing but full rate trailers 2 at a time out of the plants in Oregon to BC and AB, myself included.