He will for sure. The LEO Scott mentions above is Law Enforcement Officer. He'll have handle on it for sure. I think while onevoice was trying to be helpful, his reply came off as condescending to me. Either way, it's all good information. :thumbsup:

The minute ANYTHING changes hands in exchange for doing something... it's COMMERCIAL.

So here's the problem.

If everything goes okay -- everybody is happy... and everyone goes about their business....


BUTT -- Always a big butt in the room...


If you have an accident -- or something happens to the customers car... or anything other than a perfect pickup and drop off... you begin to have problems.

Since you're not covered on your insurance as "commercial" -- they're not going to cover you... The person you did the "favor" for - is now pissed and wants his pound of flesh and is more than happy to start singing his song about how he paid you... Then all bets are off. You're in deep shizzle without a shizzlepaddle.


I just hauled Brian Hobaugh's Camaro -- and Bret Voekel's Camaro down to Texas for them - and brought Ed Capen's Corvette home to California. I wouldn't so much as take a bottle of water! They offered -- and each time I said "thanks" but no can do! That way they could never claim I was paid to do this === I did this as a pure favor. Period. I wouldn't even agree to take anything when I dropped their stuff off safe and sound! Because... then they could claim we had a "deal". No thanks! Nothing zip nada.

So my advice is to go commercial all the way if that's what you plan to do. Do it right - factor in all the overhead - and be clean as a whistle. Otherwise - it's only a matter of time when the lawsuits start flying.

I wasn't trying to be critical, but by giving example numbers, I assumed you were using them to making a point. This is a good example of always doing your research. I understand your LEO background, but again, if you are not in DOT enforcement, your experience may not be up to date. For example, just by being a vehicle for hire, the driver you talked to is AUTOMATICALLY governed by the DOT regulations, he doesn't get a choice if he needs a CDL or not, and he must abide by all the regulations, including log books. The FMCA/DOT regulations are somewhat confusing and certainly lengthy, but the bottom line is that anyone hauling freight like vehicles, across state lines, for hire, is on borrowed time if they are ignoring the regs and they WILL get caught. It's just a matter of time.

An example that should make us all nervous from the FMCA website:

The 26000 discussion was in reference to private vehicles that must abide by commercial regulations due to their weight. regardless of whether they are being used for a business.

There are plenty of exceptions in the regs, such as for farmers in certain situations, but there isn't one for car guys. :D

Last year in my area, the DOT guys were out for blood and pulling over any dually pickup with a magnetic sign on the side. My general contractor friend traded his dually for a SRW truck just to avoid the hassle. The lawn care guys took the signs off their trucks, but were still getting pulled over if they had a couple of mowers on a trailer.

Good luck.

onevoice: Thank you for the clarification. I had no reason to believe or suspect that he was operating illegally. His statement of logging mileage was there, along with hotel stay vs sleeping in his truck. I am aware of wheel time and their limits (but I don't know what the max drive time allowed is). I would like to think he kept accurate logs. I spoke with him for about 15 minutes and paraphrased our conversation. I didn't ask about medical cards or anything else.

The only thing that I recall was he implied there was additional logs to keep after exceeding 26xxx lbs. Something to do with having to purchase fuel in each state you enter. I don't do DOT checks and never will.

Regardless, you definitely provide good info as to the complexities involved and some possible pitfalls to be aware of.

I myself, would not get into this unless I was properly licensed and insured.
I would not run the risk of losing my commercial license, house, vehicles, freedom or whatever else by trying to skate past the law. All intents and purposes would be to do this by the book.

My friends need to be more like you!

Great explanation Greg! :thumbsup:

Can those of you that do this for a living or have had cars shipped give me some insight into the insurance aspect of this. Are the transporters covered under a set dollar amount, say a $5 million policy and the items being shipped insured under a separate dollar amount or the same policy?

Jose, that is a good question to ask when you are talking to the Shippers. Brokers may not know what the Individual Trucking Co's are offering and that is another down-side to Brokers.

Also make sure that you have Your insurance up to date and ask your Insurance Agent about coverage during Shipping

Last time I shipped, I requested documentation as an 'additional insured.' Just in case, you know?

I believe there's a total load limit amount and per vehicle limit. Depending on insurer, your mileage may vary...