[Cam]

Gman shows up with all this good information and all I can think is 'Have no fear, Underdog is here...' I used to love Underdog and little Polly Purebread. Gman, I got a pen and paper and took notes on what you wrote, thanks. Care to comment on the $. Everyone has told me our dry van freight dries up the first three months of the year. But one guy said you can get some really nice rates securing and tarping loads up north in the winter. And Beachbum2 says Tampa looks good even now.

Beachbum2, I guess I wasn't paying attention, you working for Landstar too. I started with them in March but I can come up with whatever financing I need. The important thing I might get from LCAPP is a purchase price that's better than what I might come up with myself. I can't see renting a trailer at $600 a month very long when a year of such payments would buy a used one.

For anyone thinking about the transition, I spent last Friday examining a flatbed truck. The modifications are minimal, I don't have to do anything with the air lines or the stack. The headache rack is just bolted on that far out from the back of the cab.

Anything else I'm not thinking about? I'd like to uncover everything somebody would have to think about in making a move like this. Safety is a bit of an issue when you are climbing up there padding your straps or adjusting your tarp. A ladder, I probably need to get a ladder, right? Personally, I'm not one to fear falling or hurting myself doing stuff like this. But I can still clearly see one flatbedder who was as wide as he was tall leaning up against his trailer supporting his weight as he slowly and methodically secured his straps. Guys in even the worst physical condition are doing this.

[LOAD IT]

Cam,

My 2 cents here. Get you a stepdeck. I know Landstar has these 3 customers, I will not post names and numbers because those posts have been deleted in the past. In Jacksonville, there is a plastics company that ships fence on stepdecks only, located on Old Kings Rd. In Tampa there is an american truck body company, In QuincyIL there is a knaphd truck body company. These are all Landstar accounts and they ship daily and pay good rates. Check your Landstar load board for step loads from those cities. I hope this helps.

[Cam]

Hey Loadit, first time we've 'spoken'. I was having a blast with your exchanges with MFMotors (or, however that's spelled). Good natured fun.
That's perfect, that's exactly the kind of thing a guy needs to know. I'll add that to my Gman notes. Maybe you can help me with him, I think he needs a nice Elliot Ness/Robert Stack Untouchables avatar, what do you think? Keep that pirate though, reminds me of some of the nutty characters on the old Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer claymation.

Beachbum2:
Some of the best loads never hit the loadboards because the agents would have hundreds of drivers calling them. It's important to establish a relationship with a few brokers (agents) in the system who know they can trust you to deliver.

Been doing the loner thing with Landstar's new load matching system, plug in the parameters and no favors and no debts with any particular agent. Been going through my week and a half 'trial' wondering where this thing (my business) is supposed to be going. Positioned myself this weekend to get back to Dallas for Flatbedders school on Wednesday. So today, just today, while revisiting my old stomping grounds of 16 years ago, El Paso and Fort Bliss, this dry van agent I delivered for offers to put me on his board saying he can keep me moving on what sound like some pretty nice runs. Hhhhmmmm....what!? It just comes at a remarkable time. Logically, I really like just closing the doors and the freight is just done, it's done. The left brain just tells me you were doing fine, now finish getting everything paid down and then, then think of going $25,000 for securement and my own trailer.

I do want the high rates per mile, highest return on the primary capital investment (I don't take for granted the cost of this 'machine')...thinking, praying, actually, just listening and paying attention...

[GMAN]

Cam, there are some loads coming out of Florida, mainly Tampa area. Most rates are soft coming out. Occasionally, you get lucky and nail a good paying load out of there. You can make good money with a van, just as you can with a flat bed or step deck. With Landstar, you will need to find the right agents who have the better paying freight. Landstar will finance a trailer for you, but when I was leased to them, I found a Great Dane dealer in Knoxville, TN who would sell me the same trailer as their rep in Jacksonville for about $1,000 less. I don't know if they would have financed it without going through their guy in Florida. If you want to pull a van, you will want to become more specialized to get the bigger bucks. You can get furniture pads, logistics straps, and a few other odds and ends to make yourself more valuable. LTL's pay much better than truck loads, in most cases. You can probably do a little better with a step deck than a standard flat. It depends on where you run. It could pay you to get a set of ramps and elevators or risers to level the deck. That will solve some of the problems of loading from some shippers, such as pipe or steel beams. Versatility is the name of the game. Don't try to do it all at once. I suggest feeling out the market and check with others doing what you want to do. You have been in the Landstar system long enough to know your way around, to some degree. If you switch to a flat or step, you will probably need to find a new roster of agents. It seems that many of the better flat bed agents stay with flats or steps.

Van freight is usually slower beginning around the middle of December to perhaps around a few days before Christmas to at least the middle or end of February. That is just the nature of pulling vans. There are some specialized areas where you can over come some of the slowness. You can do better with a flat in the Midwest and snow areas during harsh weather. A lot of drivers and owner operators don't like running in the cold and snow which results in reduced capacity and higher rates to move the freight in those areas. I would not go with one over the other just for the money. You should find an area which you enjoy and run with it.

[Cam]

Gman:

...Tampa area. Most rates are soft coming out...

It is Florida, afterall. This is how I get out of Florida right now. I set the computer parameters kind of tight so that I know I'll be interested in just about any call I get. When the phone rings I answer, hang up, and re-dial before I've even listened to the message long enough to know even where it's going. If I listen long enough to find out where it's going I'll just get a busy signal when I try to call the agent. We're talking maybe 1.20 to the truck. Gman, your hardship load is probably going to seem like gravy to me. I can always visit my Mom and binge on cable TV when I go down to Florida, if the rates are good going in Tampa is the perfect winter destination.

...to pull a van, you will want to become more specialized to get the bigger bucks....

Been talking to Beachbum2 about that. It's always nice when an agent is relieved because he's finally found a guy who's got what he needs. And, he's happy to pay a good rate.

We'll see. Started out fasting today, ended up at McDonald's :?