How's business? "Pretty good," says Shinn after a busy day of work. To make his point even clearer, he pulled out a roll of hundreds leftover from the previous day's haul.
Welcome to the first installment of our three part series titled: "How to Make Money With Your Diesel." We often extol the virtues of diesel power and reliability, as the same vehicle that can tow a trailer might also be able to run down the dragstrip or get good fuel economy. This got us thinking, why not write a series about people who are using those advantages to actually make money?
Los Angeles is one of the most vehicle-intensive locations on the planet. With more than 12 million people living in the L.A. area, the need for new cars is immense. Lots of vehicles also means lots of accidents, and lots of used cars and trucks. All of these factors make Los Angeles a prime spot to start a car hauling company. You know those big rigs on the freeway that carry 10-12 vehicles at a time? Well, the same thing can be done with a regular diesel truck on a much smaller scale. The new '08 Ford F-450, for instance, is rated to tow 24,500 pounds by the factory, which is easily the weight of a loaded three-car trailer. Older trucks can also be used, though in many cases, the factory tow rating will be exceeded by a good amount. This could mean parts breakage ranging from transmissions to rear axles, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. One of the most common vehicles we see here in Southern California towing heavy loads is the '94-and-up Dodge Ram 3500.
We spotted this '07 truck and trailer combo along the side of the road. It was selling for $68,500, which seemed too high to us. | 
The more axles, the better. Most three-car trailers will have triple axles to support the 15,000-plus pounds that will be placed up on top. | 
Some people prefer gooseneck hitches, others prefer fifth-wheels. Either way, make sure your hitch is rated to tow at least 24,000 pounds. |
We spotted Joseph Hannah, of Runyon Transportation, by the side of the road with a blown head gasket in his 6.0L Power Stroke. Luckily for him, he had another tow rig on its way, driven by his business partner, and a set of head studs at home. Rick Shinn uses a Chevrolet 6.6L Duramax-powered C4500 (left) and a four-car trailer to haul vehicles up and down the California coast. | 
This angle gives you a good idea of how long three-car wedge trailers really are. The reason a Class "A" license is needed to drive this setup is because the length of the truck and trailer is as elongated as many big rigs. | 
Rick Shinn, of Rick's Xtreme Auto Transport, took the heavy-duty approach with his business. Instead of buying a smaller truck and trailer, he went with this medium-duty Chevy and a four-car trailer. |