AutohaulerSupply.com not only an online store where owner-operators can purchase wheel straps, height sticks, loading ramps, tie-down bars, and tire chains, but is also an excellent knowledge-base for new truckers searching for answers about which tools will be essential to their car hauler business.
In fact, the youngest person on staff at AutohaulerSupply has seven years experience, and over time, they’ve seen every imaginable situation come up. They try to use this knowledge to help customers save time and aggravation.
The auto transport industry contains a lot of hard working men and women that are not just trying to do this the easy way, or the cheapest way.
Dale of customer service shared: “If you’re ready to enter the car hauler business, and you’re looking to buy a used three-car hauler with a mesh decking trailer, you might first want to learn more about what types of car straps.”
That’s why veteran car haulers not only have many tools in their toolbox, but they have good ones that will last (and one’s that sometimes cost more up front). The unknown problem for a rookie is, “if you have a mesh decking trailer and you want to move new cars, and you go to buy over the tire straps, it’s actually possible for the decking to eventually tear up because of the pressure, the pull and the strain of the straps” that are actually pulling upward, rather than downward, on your trailer.
And since many car haulers have already purchased their trailer before they learn about the loading requirements from the manufacturer, this can cause a real problem later down the road.
“If you’re ready to enter the car hauler business, and you’re looking to buy a used three-car hauler with a mesh decking trailer, you might first want to learn more about types of car straps.”
Another Potential Pitfall: All Straps Look The Same Online
But when you start using them, you’ll quickly figure out the difference in quality between different straps that looked the same on a website. Sometimes the straps will start wearing immediately. Other times, someone used a wire hook that was just a little too big to fit the holes in your deck plate properly.
Autohauler Supply created a “Diamond Weave wheel strap made with webbing that has two different patents for abrasion resistance.” Customers have told them they’ve been getting double the life with these straps compared with the old kind. The tighter weave means fewer loops to catch on edges. And burying the lock stitch 1/8th of an inch from the edge means it will be harder for straps to wear out and unravel (Diamond Weave is the blue strap on the right.)
Autohauler Supply also created the Big Orange line of auto tie-down products, made with much more thickly woven webbing…and designed with hooks that would fit properly into auto trailer deck holes. Three different styles of hooks to fit different types of trailers.
After listening to years of customer feedback, complaints, and suggestions, we decided to design our own.”
The Reality of Making a Better Height Stick
Steve Rowe and company are already on their second generation of “The Big Red Height Stick” – and not just because they want you to buy a new one. Steve says, “the old yellow height stick had a lot of problems and a lot of complaints – but it was also a standard item for many car hauler businesses.
So after listening to years of customer feedback, complaints, and suggestions, we decided to design our own.” Knowing there was a better way, Steve was motivated to use “thicker fiberglass, stronger buttons, and a smaller collapsed length.” He also increased the number of telescopic vertical sections, a better rubber cup at the bottom, laser-etched numbers and a heavy duty nylon carrying bag. That’s a lot of thought and improvement on just one tool!
Believing User Feedback Is Much More Than Customer Service
Drivers and customers told Steve what they wanted to see changed – and he listened. He made extensive notes of user feedback, and over the months and years, after planning and strategizing, he brought a vastly-improved product to the market. While it may not be cheaper or faster to make, it is much higher quality, it will last a lot longer, and veteran users will know and appreciate the difference.
Steve says, “We don’t get involved with [a new product] unless we can make it better – and move some real volume with it.” The auto transport industry contains a lot of hard working men and women that are not just trying to do this the easy way, or the cheapest way. Too many car haulers often work too hard for too little, so they need high-quality gear that doesn’t have to be replaced regularly.
AutohaulerSupply.com will never be all things to all people. But if someone calls them up looking for something they don’t carry, they can usually point them in the right direction.
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