Car hauling companies

What car hauling is, and who does it

Car hauling is the trade of moving vehicles on trailers built for them. A full-size stinger or high-mount rig pulls 7 to 10 cars on two decks; a dually pickup with a wedge or gooseneck trailer carries 2 to 4. Enclosed carriers haul fewer cars, usually 1 to 7, inside a box trailer for classic, exotic and high-value vehicles. Capacity varies by trailer and by the cars on it, so check the maker's spec for any trailer you consider.

The customers are new-car makers moving vehicles from plants and rail ramps to dealers, dealers swapping inventory, wholesale auctions, rental and lease companies, banks repossessing and remarketing, and private owners moving one car across the country. Each customer group tends to work with a different kind of car hauling company.

Types of car hauling companies

That last row matters. Many sites ranking for "car hauling companies" are brokers who sell shipping to car owners and hand the load to a carrier. If you're looking for driving work or a company to lease onto, you want an actual carrier with its own authority and trucks.

Car hauling companies, from their own pages

How we chose: carriers (not brokers) that publish, on their own sites, what they haul and either their size or their owner-operator terms. Facts are only what each company states, checked October 2026. This is not a ranking and not a full list of car hauling trucking companies; it is a fair way to read any of them.

We left out companies whose sites no longer describe a car hauling operation, and companies we could only find through job ads or directories. Job ads change weekly; a company's own pages and its FMCSA record are the facts to check.

What to compare before you sign with any car hauling company

Put the same questions to every company and write the answers side by side. The ones that dodge a question in writing tell you something too.

• Authority and record: active operating authority, insurance on file, out-of-service rates and crash history on FMCSA's public lookup.
• Pay basis: percentage of line haul, per car or per mile, and whether fuel surcharge passes through to you.
• Insurance split: who carries liability, cargo and physical damage, and the deductible you pay on a damage claim.
• Equipment: whose trailer, who maintains it, and what you owe for wear or damage to it.
• Freight mix: new cars, auctions, dealers or private owners, and how many loaded miles a typical week has.
• Home time and lanes: regional loops or coast to coast, and whether you can refuse a trip.
• Settlements: how often you are paid and what each settlement sheet shows.

Car hauling leasing companies: how lease-on works

Leasing on means you own the truck, and often the trailer, but you run under another carrier's operating authority. The carrier finds the freight, bills the customer and pays you a share. It also takes on the public liability insurance, and depending on the lease, the cargo insurance too.

Federal truth-in-leasing rules set the floor for that deal. The lease must be written and signed, state your pay before any trip, pay you within 15 days of your delivery paperwork, show you the rated freight bill if you're paid a percentage, list every chargeback and how it is figured, and spell out escrow, which comes back within 45 days after the lease ends. Source If a carrier won't put those items in writing, walk.

Worked example: a lease-on split

Car hauling companies that train

Training is the question new drivers ask most, and the answers vary. Large fleets with employee drivers may teach loading on the job, but most lease-on carriers want car hauling experience before you start. Intercity Lines states plainly that new drivers who need car hauling training pay for it themselves. Source Loading a 9-car stinger without damage takes real practice: deck order, clearance under the upper deck, chain or strap angles and the height of the finished load all come with it.

Before you sign up for any training, ask:

• Who pays for it, and do you owe that money back if you leave within a year?
• How many loads do you run with a trainer before going solo?
• Is the training paid, and at what rate?
• Who covers damage you cause while training?

Leased on or your own authority?

Leasing on is the lower-risk start. You learn the work, the carrier carries the insurance and billing, and you find out whether the lanes suit you. Own authority pays more per load but loads every cost onto you, starting with insurance. Federal rules set $750,000 in public liability for for-hire property carriers in trucks of 10,001 lb or more Source, and auto transport brokers and dealers commonly ask for more liability and a set amount of cargo coverage per load.

Honest note from our desk: we stopped booking car hauling loads in October 2026, so this guide is information, not a pitch. If you're weighing car hauling against another first rig, such as a hotshot, a flatbed or a 26 ft box truck with dispatch, new authorities on those rigs are work we do every day, and our new authority dispatch page explains how the first months go.

How to find local car hauling companies

1. Search FMCSA records. The public carrier lookup shows a company's authority status, insurance on file, power units and inspection results. Car haulers list motor vehicles as a cargo type.
2. Ask the people who ship cars. Dealer used-car managers, body shops and auction yards know which local car hauling companies show up on time and which damage cars.
3. Watch the auctions. Wholesale auction lots are full of local wedges and stingers on sale days; drivers there will tell you who leases and who pays on time.
4. Check the load boards. Companies that post on Central Dispatch and Super Dispatch are active in your area; see our car hauler load board guide for what each board publishes.

How to start hauling cars

The rig decides most of the rest. A dually with a 3-car wedge or gooseneck can often run without a CDL if the combination stays under 26,001 lb GCWR, but most loaded 3 and 4-car setups cross that line, which makes it a Group A combination when the trailer is rated over 10,000 lb. Source A 7 to 10 car stinger always needs a Class A CDL. Then come authority (or a lease), insurance, a load board account and the straps, chains and wheel nets for securement.

Two rules shape every load. Each vehicle of 10,000 lb or less needs at least two tiedowns, holding it at the front and rear, to purpose-built points or over or around the wheels. Source Height has no federal limit; each state sets its own Source, from 13 ft 6 in in Pennsylvania Source to 14 ft in California Source. Loaded high-mount rigs live near those numbers, so tall pickups go on the bottom deck.

Car hauling contracts and what they should say

Whether you lease on or sign a direct deal with a dealer group, get these in writing: the rate per car or per mile, who pays fuel surcharge, how damage is reported and who pays the deductible, how dry runs and cars not ready at pickup are paid, payment terms, and how either side ends the deal. For dealer and auction work, a clean bill of lading with photos at pickup is your only defense against damage claims at delivery.

A 3-car hauling business, in income terms

Owners of small rigs often ask what a 3-car business brings in. It depends on the lanes, rates per car and costs, and nobody can promise a figure. What we can show is the shape: revenue per car times cars per trip, minus fuel, insurance, truck and trailer payments, maintenance, and board fees such as Central Dispatch's monthly plan Source or a paid Super Dispatch tier Source. Run your numbers per trip, not per month, and count the deadhead miles back to where the next cars are.