We’ve the Shipping Wars team haul all kinds of things. Few bumps and bruises along the way, and some odd items, vehicle and animals. The best part of the show is where the shippers get paid. You are rooting for them to make it on-time so they don’t lose part of the price. Always great to see them win and get the cash!
Shippingwars.net got some great photos from Susie and Scott Bawcom of Dreamtime Transportation. This is part 2 of our chance to ask a few questions about their operation.
JB.net – With somewhat setting your own schedule, are you to make your weeks
about 40 hours, get two weeks off, or is it not so structured?
“Our schedule is really not very structured as we stay busy with shipments all over the Country, all of the time. We do take time off every so often to spend time with our Kids and Grandchildren who all live in the Nashville area.”
JB.net – How is your support setup for shipping, do you always travel with a
backup vehicle, rotate the trucks, have knowledge of truck and trailer
repair places along the way?
“We never travel with back up vehicles, as there is too much cost involved with that. We have been very fortunate to drive Ford trucks and there are so many dealerships along US interstates that we keep our vehicles maintained along the way.”
JB.net – Does you two rotate who drives and sleeps when doing long hauls,
are there other drivers part of Dreamtime?
“I do all of the driving right now. Susie focuses on booking shipments, answering emails and doing quotes while on the road. We have had as many as seven trucks on the road in the past, but have scaled operations to to trucks for the immediate future. We do plan on expanding in the long term. “
JB.net got some great photos from Susie and Scott Bawcom of Dreamtime Transportation. These are great pictures of some of the boats and items they’ve hauled all over the US. We also got a chance to ask a few questions about their operation.
JB.net – We get a lot of questions at the site about starting in this business. What are three tips, tricks or pieces of advice you have for shippers starting out?
“Shippers that are just starting out should always ask questions when they are unsure of what to do. A good resource is to pull into a weigh station, go inside and ask. Believe it or not, they are there to help you get things right. Drive defensively, be courteous, and always be thinking ahead in traffic. Take good care of your equipment. Downtime on the road is very expensive, so do your best to be proactive with regards to care of your equipment.”
JB.net – After shipping and traveling all over the US, what are some of
your favorite places to go, to see, vacation, eat at or drive through?
“Susie and I like Alaska the drive up there is beautiful as well. We like to hit “In and Out Burger” on the west coast. We love the Grand Canyon and Northern California. We have taken amazing Ferry Rides to the Lopez Islands and New Foundland.”
JB.net – How did you get into shipping and boats become your specialty, as
opposed to standard freight, cargo, boxed items or even animals?
“I bought a 1940 Ford Coupe and had it transported from Dallas, TX to Nashville, TN and were not pleased with the service and thought, there must be a better way to do this. We started out just shipping cars, then found that we were pretty good at shipping boats. Boats have been our mainstay for the past 3 years or so, but we continue to ship cars, motorcycles, ATV’s and PWC’s and occasionally an airplane.”
Thanks Susie and Scott, more interview and pics to come!
Roy’s shipment was pretty action packed, phone booth, too heavy, broke trailer and almost broke his foot. He lost some valuable time and money with truck problems, but did manage to make some cash. Scott and Susie has some touch and go moments and of course, running out of gas but got the boats delivered. Some haggling at the end about lateness, but money was paid. Out of all this Scott and Susie were the winners with making the most profit during this journey.
