Answering Questions

---

I am asked all the time about what it takes to be a pilot car, how much does it cost to get in to and how much will I get home. If you read the "What is a pilot car?" page, you got a little idea about what is involved in being a pilot car. It is a complicated and dangerous business. Regulations are always changing and are different from state to state. It is the pilot cars job to not only protect the load from the motoring public, but to protect the public from the load. I have had people flip me off, cuss me out and try to run me off the road while I am just doing my job. I could tell you many stories, good and bad, about this business, but most of it is learned by experienced. I can give you a bit of advice from what I have learned from my personal experience in starting and running my pilot car business, but your experience may be different. If you choose to become a pilot car or are thinking about it, here is the advice I give others when they call. 

• Make sure you have at least a 30 day roll over on your money. Many pay within 14 days, but some take 30 days. You don't want to have to choose between paying your bills at home or using that money to run a load.
• Make sure you set up and fund a maintenance/repair fund. No matter how well you take care of your vehicle and equipment, things break down. It takes money and time to fix the things that break. So, not only are you spending money to fix what is broke, you are also not making money while you are in the shop.
• Make sure your equipment is legal. Get the minimum equipment you need to run your region. As your customer base expands and you have more money coming in, save up to buy the better equipment and get the equipment you need to run all lower 48 states.
• If you are looking to support a household, you will be on call 24/7/365. Like truck drivers, you won't always make it home for the holidays and special occasions.
• Truck drivers...If you are looking to get home more than you are now, that may not happen. It really depends on how much money you need to make, supporting a household or just extra money after retiring from trucking.
• Be careful who you get tips, tricks and advice from. Most people will be honest about what they know and the advice they give you, BUT, there are many that will point you in the wrong direction, give you bad advice and do their best to make you look like an idiot or cause you to make a mistake.
• Be careful who you take loads from. Again, most trucking companies and other pilot cars are honest people and will pay you as they say they will, but some don't. If you are not sure, there are places online that you can ask about a company that you are looking to take a load from.

To give you the basics about the insurance, equipment, regulations, certifications and duties of a pilot car, click on Getting Started at the top of this page. I have put together several resources that will help you make the decision to become a pilot car and what is needed to get started. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions, please feel free to shoot me an email at cindy.waldron@whiterosepilotcar.com. I will do my best to answer them.