Making the switch!

[freebrd]

I have finally had it with flatbed freight rates thinking of making the switch to REEFER! People gotta eat right!
were headed into the slow season for flatbed and i dont want to be caught with my pants down.
so i might as well get my great dane reefer up and running, its been years since i have fooled with this reefer trailor probly needs all kinds of work to get going!
i guess im tired of the dog eat dog! i have my own authority.

what im looking for is some more security.

I dont know but i always have the feeling most people posting on here are stedeck and flatbed owners and not too much complaining from the van and reefer guys especially reefer.

when i first started out i hauled potatoes then deaheaded all the way back to get more
i did this for three months but it allways bothered me to deadhead all that way . In my mind we should had loads both ways so i went into flatbed.

i might have too get another reefer! does anyone no what the prices are now for a decent reefer trailor.
looks like every were else in this industrie theres excellent deals esp. on trucks!
ANY WAY IF SOME OF YOU COULD CHIME IN AND LET ME NO YOUR THOIUGHTS ON THIS SWITCH I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THEM AND THANKS!
ALSO MIKEFAN3 HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING THAT CHALLENGER OF YOURS! I STILL LIKE THE DODGE BETTER THAN THE CAMARO.? THANKS!

[Bandit102]

DONT do it, Driver! I have 1 flat and 3 reefers. There is currently more flatbed freight available in most places than reefer freight. My flat is currently kicking my reefers ass for rates and that is pathetic. The rates for reefers absolutely suck. Even through the NM onion season, we got killed. $2.25/50# for 2,000 mile runs is what they paid this year. Last year it was $5.50.

I'm not looking forward to anther killer winter with the flatbed, but the reefer prospects are just as grim.

[no_worries]

Reefer is no picnic these days. Most are out there trying to make it on volume and not doing too well. You've got to have one good end to make that work and the good ends just aren't as good this year. Not to mention the fact that, with demand down, the seasons have all been shorter than usual.

[GMAN]

I spoke with one guy not too long ago who was pulling a reefer and he told me that the return loads were paying as low as $0.70-.80/mile. I believe he was going back to the northwest. You need to have a really great rate to offset that cheap of a rate. I don't keep up with reefer rates much. I just talk with some who do pull them from time to time. I don't see great rates no matter what you pull. Reefers might do better through the winter months. Van rates should be coming up shortly with the holiday season. I don't know what used reefer units are bringing these days, but not long ago a new unit was about $60,000. If you plan on going to California you may need to retrofit if the unit is too old. Of course you can always haul meat or other types of freight other than produce and not go to California. Then there is always van freight that you could throw on your reefer. A friend of mine was offered $2/mile for some short van freight going into the northeast. I am sure rates coming out are really cheap. Before spending much money I would check into rates. From what I have been hearing they are not doing that well. You can still haul onions out of the northwest, but getting out may be the problem.

[mike3fan]

ALSO MIKEFAN3 HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING THAT CHALLENGER OF YOURS! I STILL LIKE THE DODGE BETTER THAN THE CAMARO.? THANKS!

Yep still having a blast driving that thing, still amazed at the attention it gets going down the road or anytime I stop.

[chris1]

If you're just planning on using loadboards and have no customers you won't see much for rates. Just increased costs from the reefer.
2002 and older units are dirt cheap as they don't qualify for CARB and unless they extend again can't run CA at the end of the year.(unless retrofited with DPF)

[DaveP]

I've met two different O/O's just this past week who recently parked their reefers and went back to flatbed...

[RostyC]

I've met two different O/O's just this past week who recently parked their reefers and went back to flatbed...

I never would have thought that, wow.

[SickRick]

Yep still having a blast driving that thing, still amazed at the attention it gets going down the road or anytime I stop.

It's probably the TRUEST RETRO/REINTRODUCTION of a model - every time I see one, I have to get closer to tell if it's a classic or new one. They're HEAVY AS HELL though. You'd think they'd have gone fiberglass fenders to get the horsepower:weight a little more peppy.

A GORGEOUS CAR nonetheless...

Rick

[BigDiesel]

I never would have thought that, wow.

Reefer rates are not as bad as the brokers and lunch counter crybabies want you to think they are.......

[GMAN]

Most people who pull reefers tell me that their rates are down. I spoke with one owner who told me that he was only getting $0.70/mile to go from the east to west coast so that he could get his reefer loads. However, if I had a reefer I have a shipper that told me that they could keep me busy year around with decent rates. I was somewhat tempted, but am not sure that I want to deal with reefers. If flat rates go down dramatically during this winter I may rethink my decision. Reefers are not cheap. I would want to have some assurances that I would be able to do better than with a flat or step in order to spend that much money on another trailer.

[Bandit102]

Reefer rates are not as bad as the brokers and lunch counter crybabies want you to think they are.......

The Hell you say. No matter where I send my reefers, we're getting our azzes kicked. These rates are from 1980. I know lots and lots and lots of people pulling reefers that all agree with me. I also know lots and lots of people who have folded this year because their reefers werent making even a living wage.

On the other hand, its not only reefers. Its flats and vans too right now. Rates suck everywhere. There are still a few good paying loads here and there, but its certainly not the norm.

[jagerbomber3.0]

The Hell you say. No matter where I send my reefers, we're getting our azzes kicked. These rates are from 1980. I know lots and lots and lots of people pulling reefers that all agree with me. I also know lots and lots of people who have folded this year because their reefers werent making even a living wage.

On the other hand, its not only reefers. Its flats and vans too right now. Rates suck everywhere. There are still a few good paying loads here and there, but its certainly not the norm.

Is it just me or does anyone else see a disagreement coming pretty soon from Big D. In my crystal ball I see Big D getting way above average rates and all of his associates doing the same and all of you reefer haulers that are getting otherwise just dont use the right customers and dont know the art of negotiation. Anyone else seeing this argument coming very soon without any proof to the contrary? Thats just my guess on the future of this thread.

[BigDiesel]

Is it just me or does anyone else see a disagreement coming pretty soon from Big D. In my crystal ball I see Big D getting way above average rates and all of his associates doing the same and all of you reefer haulers that are getting otherwise just dont use the right customers and dont know the art of negotiation. Anyone else seeing this argument coming very soon without any proof to the contrary? Thats just my guess on the future of this thread.

Nah...... I honestly do not give a rats azz..... If others are relying on broker rates for their freight and can't stay in business, then so be it.....Thinning the herd is good for those of us who know how to adjust and adapt in this downcycle...

[no_worries]

Reefer rates are not as bad as the brokers and lunch counter crybabies want you to think they are.......

Your miles and rates are relatively unchanged? And running out of the NW? What are you hearing for xmas trees this year? CHR bid a customer of mine $3000 PDX to Chicago. Didn't even mess with a FSC and those are for loads running from the end of November to the middle of December.

[BigDiesel]

Your miles and rates are relatively unchanged? And running out of the NW? What are you hearing for xmas trees this year? CHR bid a customer of mine $3000 PDX to Chicago. Didn't even mess with a FSC and those are for loads running from the end of November to the middle of December.

Miles and rates are down 4% from this time last year.... Not that bad considering.... Xmas trees are going to be about the same this year as they were last year. The mexico tariffs really spooked the growers. As for CHR... let them hang themselves with the grower by booking the fly by nighters.... I have been busy with watermelons, cantalopes, spuds and onions out of Hermiston and Ontario this summer and into the fall.

[Rev.Vassago]

CHR bid a customer of mine $3000 PDX to Chicago. Didn't even mess with a FSC and those are for loads running from the end of November to the middle of December.

The sad thing is, someone will gladly haul those for $1.00 a mile. Possibly less.

[no_worries]

Miles and rates are down 4% from this time last year.... Not that bad considering.... Xmas trees are going to be about the same this year as they were last year. The mexico tariffs really spooked the growers. As for CHR... let them hang themselves with the grower by booking the fly by nighters.... I have been busy with watermelons, cantalopes, spuds and onions out of Hermiston and Ontario this summer and into the fall.

Nope, 4% is not bad at all. My rates have held up but miles are way down. I wasn't going to work my ass off chasing rates. We were prepared to sit the year out but didn't have to get that drastic. It's been rare that I've seen a brokered load out of eastern OR for more than $1.50/mile this year. I don't look that hard because I don't go out there anyway, but I keep an eye on it. How are you doing getting back? As bad as NW rates have been this year, they've been worse on the return.

My customer doesn't do trees, but if you're shipping anything out of the NW during that time of year, trees set the rates. I doubt CH will cover those loads easily. They're just trying to get a foot in the door and they'll gladly pay out of their pocket to do so. Those loads aren't configured for my operation, so I wasn't interested. Plus, there's enough volume and with CH trying to get the cheapest carrier they can, there is above average potential for a service failure. They've already had some issues brokering stuff this year.

[GMAN]

My customer doesn't do trees, but if you're shipping anything out of the NW during that time of year, trees set the rates. I doubt CH will cover those loads easily. They're just trying to get a foot in the door and they'll gladly pay out of their pocket to do so. Those loads aren't configured for my operation, so I wasn't interested. Plus, there's enough volume and with CH trying to get the cheapest carrier they can, there is above average potential for a service failure. They've already had some issues brokering stuff this year.

I hope CHR has to eat some of those cheap loads. Last year they went in on some of the nursery business where we haul and cut the rate almost in half. I would not haul them, but it did impact the number of available loads. It was a battle to keep rates up when these people and others are going in and cutting rates so drastically.

[no_worries]

Yep, you have to know when to pick your battles these days. These loads are something new for this company and when they told me what CH had bid I said, "I can't touch that and probably nobody else will either...you might as well go with it." I figured the best thing for me is to have CH somehow drop the ball, so I encouraged them. I know what kind of service you generally get for bottom feeder rates. I just hope the percentages flesh out, lol.