Ok I got it.

I assume you're looking to get south. I haven't checked DAT yet (Hey, ya get what ya pay for LOL) but I did check Getloaded for some LTL.

-Wilimington MA to Miami pays $850 on 1500 their miles.
-Quincy PA to Jacksonville FL: $700 on 1200 their miles.
These are quite close to you...may want to see if you can start a load over a few days while you're still at the house. Then pick up a few more on the way south. Fill up the trailer and you could probably get $3000+ on 1500 miles. THese are crap rates but it's warm.

In the Northeast I routinley get $1.25+/mile for 10' of deck and 500 miles. FTL rate if it's OD.

A guy in your position with no timetable should be able to get over $2.50/mile by scavenging all the LTL scraps around the country. Make sure they don't railroad you into a delivering the next freakin' day....."THIS IS LTL, AND FOR LTL RATES I CANNOT SET A DELIVERY DATE. I NEED THE ABILITY TO FILL UP MY TRAILER." If they pull this BS tell them you will deliver next day for $2.50/mile and that will shut them up.

 

Hey Rank,

Those are some kick a$$ rates there!! Maybe we need YOU to be hunting freight!! :lol:

I think when we go for our own authority we will get a SD.

tootie

 

Thanks Rank. I had to leave the house quick and pick up a load then back home for the night. I'll write more in the morning. Can't believe this one!!!

 

Pretty much every broker tells the client, that partials are given a 21 day window for delivery (flatbed LTL). Express delivery, requires an Express Rate..don't let them kid you.

 

So, my truck was posted yesterday and I got a few calls pretty quick but turned them down. One was to NY City and the other was paying less than a dollar a mile. Then I get a call from a government dispatcher for the Navy. Right to the point, $2.00 per mile from Kittery Maine Navy ship yard to Norfolk Va Navel ship yard. He says I have to pick up by noon. Once again I've been dicking around at home and I should have had the truck all packed and ready to go days before I posted my truck.

Here I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off. (by the way, I've actually seen this). I'm throwing everything into my car and trying to do paperwork in between and faxing to them. I pretty much throw everything into the truck and get on my way.

Once again, my confidence driving in tight places pays off. The Navy base is nothing but one turn after another with inches to spare. When I pull into the truck entrance to the base it looks like a DOT inspection bay. 7 armed MP's just crawl up on my truck right away without asking. One gets right into the cab then another into the passenger seat and opens the glove box. I find out once I'm in the gate my ass is theirs.

They search every place including the engine. They take my laptop and lock it up in a locker and give me the key. They type my info into the computer then he asks if this is a CIA load. I say what? He says because of my security clearance. I laugh and tell him I gave up the government work a while ago but I guess my Top Secret clearance still shows up.

I get to the shipper and everyone is really really nice there. Offering me coffee and donuts and very casual. The dispatcher asks why I haven't hauled more loads for them because they always pay good. I say what? He says, well, you applied for an SCAC code and you have a clearance and that's why we called you but you never finished signing up the whole way. I say WHAT? He says we are in a bind so we called you anyways. He prints out all the forms for me to get setup permanently with the government to start hauling loads. He then shows me the web site I can go on and pick any load I want. He says you can run the whole East Coast non stop for us if you want. I SAY WHAT!!!

He gave me is personal cell phone number and said he will help me with the process. He said, you don't look like a truck driver.

They load me up with 2 steel boxes the size of refrigerators that could fit in a pickup truck. I say, you got to be SH%^&ing me. Why didn't you call UPS or a straight truck. He said they would charge 3 times the amount. The shipping papers only say it's non hazardous and a phone number to call if anyone questions the contents. COOL. They are locked and sealed pretty darn good.

So off I go heading the way I came. I pull over to a little rest stop and spend over an hour getting the inside of my truck together and checking everything. The 5th wheel is nice and tight now!!!

I realize it's 4pm and I usually hit the rack at 6 so I decide to park my truck back at home and spend the night here. I told them I would deliver the load first thing Friday morning which should be no problem. I have about 500 miles to go.

The load is going right to a battleship. I don't have the paper work here or I would post which ship. I know that people are on a plane heading there from CA to be there when I arrive. Wish I knew what was in there. Maybe I'll find out when I unload.

This would have been an ideal time to fill up my truck with more LTL stuff but I would have to unload it before heading into the base.

Oh yea, by the way. These 2 containers look like hell. They almost look like beat up trash bins only they are locked in multiple places with newly welded on latches. I'll bet there is another container inside.

Now time to post my truck for VA for Friday and see what happens....RANK? lol

 

Triple post

 

triple post

 

Way to go, Steve! The only drawback I remember about delivery to military bases was finding the exact delivery point once you were inside the base, some are so large. Maybe with those containers it will be obvious to someone who sees you (since they are visible) and can point you in the right direction when you arrive. Think I delivered there myself many years ago, been too long.

Do GPS maps include streets/roads on military bases? My guess is no?

 

Good for You Steve! You might have found your niche!

 

My GPS did have the roads listed for my pickup but I think Kittery was like a town to begin with and they just fenced some of it off. I'm on the Mass pike taking a little coffee break and checking my load. lol...ya, all 500 pounds worth.

I'm pretty sure I don't want to keep running the coast all the time. I really like getting out in the mid west and the unpopulated areas. At least I can use the base near me to get out.

I think I'm going to take a longer route today and bypass NY and the Washington bridge. Looks like I can stay on 84 and go a little out of my way and drive around that mess.