OK ,Weirdest Idea Yet !!!

I've been trying to figure a way to harness the power of the HAMB . This idea came to mind . Lots of us want to buy something or sell it but shipping is prohibitive on big items and of course in the car hobby almost everything is big .What to do , what to do ?So what if every HAMBster kicked in a few bucks ($3-$4 ) a year , there seems to be about 40,000 + of us , and we leased a truck , hired a couple of out of work HAMBsters and they drove around delivering parts for other members muy cheapo . Seems like in quick calculations that it might work since it could be a non-profit organization . Told you it was a stupid idea , but maybe .

 

I wouldn't have a problem doing that if it could be done. That's actually not a bad idea.

 

40k members, but only like 15-20 that log on and about 5k taht are active...

interesting idea... but not likely with the cost of gas etc...

 

p***

 

Haha ….Haul My **** Shipping.. subsidiary of the HAMB!!

 

Bob the Ferret - whatever next - Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy are real? Your boundless optimism is a joy to behold, but just look at a thread on the HAMB - any thread and see if people agree.

Now how do you expect 40,000 cheap***, nickel and diming, chisellin' SOB's to put their hands in their pocket? People here are not only cheap, they're damned proud of it too - after all they have reputations to defend ya know!

 

Ya may need ta keep thinking ......

 

I'm out.

 

I would go $1.25 but not $3.OO.

 

Come on, no one can spare $5 for free shipping?

 

Just stop and think about what you are really proposing...at $5.50per gal for diesel...and rising.

 

Hate to be the fly in the ointment with all the negativaty flying around, but I for one like the idea. Maybe it's the beer talking (Canada Day today, our equivilant to the Fourth of July) but I'd kick in a fin. Problem is there's about 39,500 who wouldn't. Nice idea, but probably wouldn't fly. Keep me posted if it does. All the good stuff is south of the 49th. You Canucks know what I'm talking about.

 

50,000 gallons of diesel will get a lot of parts delivered

 

The idea is "nice" in theory. Reality is a whole different story since I don't see anybody hoisting one of my motors or frames in and out of a truck easily or for free. But...."nice" theory.

 

Hey....I resemble that remark.....

 

the cost of fuel alone woudl eat that money up in a short time. add in the cost of maintanance on the truck, plus some sort of salary for who's driving the truck...no one who is out of work would do this for free.
it's a good idea, but...i just don't think it would be cost effective.

 

doubt it would work. If it was quicker/cheaper, UPS et al would have found out a way to do it by now.
Issues with participation, overuse by some, long waits, damages, etc.

 

and don't forget insurance

 

UPS & DHL would burn you out and threaten your family. Remember Preston Tucker. Do not mess around with big business's territory. Bad mojo.

 

ill go $1.50 and not a cent more.

 

Reminds me of a line from "Risky Business"..."never **** with another mans livelihood"

 

It is not a bad idea just not a great idea. Thats all. You are just a little ahead of your time.

But OK I'll play along----
One fairly good used Tractor Trailer (car hauler) Say $50K.
Driving like an idiot back and forth zig damned zaging North America (You know it ain't all going from one location to another on big load.) Say 100K miles (more like 750K with the way some folks buy and sell on here Add 5 more drivers) @ 6mpg is 16,666 gallons of fuel at say $5.25 per gallon $83,333...HEY WE"RE OUT OF MONEY!

Infact we are in debt by over $33K and we haven't left the driveway yet.

You haven't paid me or the other driver(s), insurance, trip permits, tires, maintenance, oil, wipers, breakdowns, phone, hotel or two, showers, IFTA, DOT, FMCSA, accountant, computer, map software, some benefits.....keep listing.

Now I will offer this. I'd do it in a heart beat and charge reasonable rates and deliver in a timely fashion just like the best in the business we have had out here from our very own HAMB family with the God of delivery BEN D and Jim.

But you need to promise no guarantee me those wheels are turning every damned day I want them to turn. And every load is ready for pick up and drop off on my scheduled windows with someone to receive it. And pay in cash!

 

Tractor Trailer is too big of scale. A 1-ton early 90's Dodge with a 5.9 ***mins, and a 5th wheel hitch, with either a long flat trailer or a three car angle deck trailer, would do the job. You'd get about triple the fuel milage - how often would you need to haul more than three cars at once anyhow?

The idea of a co-op car hauler isn't a bad one, the problem right now is with fuel so high I don't think you'd be able to do the business to make it worthwhile. You'd almost certainly have to hire yourself out between runs done for co-op members to make it at least break even.

 

I represent that too!

I want to use it to charge my batteries.

Ya mean they're not?
Then who was that fat guy I caught my wife with at christmas? and does this mean I have to give grampa back his dentures from under my pillow? Damn! I think I'll go cry now.

 

Why do you think my 92 Dodge with the 48ft Featherlite is parked?
And, how many of our members are overseas?
How many stops would a guy have to make each day?
It just isn't practical.

 

Why not get a DHL or UPS account that belongs to the HAMB and is available to paid folks to use? We could get ALL get a discount that way. I have some shipping company contacts... if they can be convinced that there's enough money to be made off of us in a year, they'll go for it.

It would require one more Cl***ifieds editor to send out PayPal bills to individual HAMBers, and once received, they'd email it to the guy shipping (DHL makes a JPEG of a label on the fly with your bar code on it). All it would take would be for the shipper to print the label, slap it on the box with packing tape, and a call to an 800# later, the DHL or UPS dude would come get it and take it off to the shipee.

DHL & UPS often give away razors to sell razor blades, so-to-speak. They'll bring a programmer in and set it up so that you can use Microsoft Access, or Filemaker or some other database for keeping track of the names, addresses and emails with the UPS or DHL system. In theory all the Cl***ifieds editor would have to do (if we do this the hard way) is enter in the billing and shipping info into the database. The UPS or DHL system would then email the labels out to the shippers, along with a link to the shipees for tracking.

If we do this the easy way, to ship folks would have to "sign up" online. By doing this, they could be entering their OWN info into the database in the first place. That done, all the Cl***ifieds editor would have to do would be to babysit the system. This could be done from anywhere, and if anything went wrong, the DHL & UPS folks would have to come fix it.

In theory, it's a great idea on paper, but it's a little more do-able than the first one, and although it sounds complicated, it's really not.

By the way, if shipping a LOT of stuff, if a few standard sized boxes could be agreed upon, UPS has a way to "certify" them so that if ANYTHING that's shipped in one of those is damaged, they pay you the insurance money within a few days.

Also, since DHL is worldwide (and UPS), if you add the phrase, "US-Made goods returning to the US for warranty service" to the box, you can ship anything into the US (well, not ANYTHING, but you know) and not have to pay customs.

~Jason

~Jason

 

I can't imagine it being cheaper than UPS/Fedex/USPS. The current HAMB relay system is great. It's one of the many things that make the HAMB unique and proves there's still hope for humanity

 

I can see it now....H.A.M.B. Trucking....

Haulin' Ass (like) My (good buddy) Bandit...

"....east bound and down, loaded up and truckin',we gonna do what they say can't be done...we've got a long way to go and short time to git there, I'm east bound, just watch ol' Bandit run"

 

I'm in! I wanted to buy the T touring body Phat Rat has listed in the cl***ifieds, but it's in Michigan and I'm in Tennessee.

Let me know where to send my $3 and when to expect delivery of my body.

 

I wonder if we fill out the right government forms, we could get grants and no interest loans to get this idea a rollin'. Remember it is not about what you know, but who you know.