[GMAN]

Originally Posted by Dejanh

What Gman was talking about is that if you can get hoked up with the right agent you can make money but problem with that is that the number of those agents is getting smaller and smaller month in and month out. I understand them giving the best loads to the guys who have been with them the for years but dont expect that to happen to you when you first come in, expecially at this time...

Landstar is a good place, so i've heard at least but i've not only been browsing thru their load boards and talked to their recruiters but i ran their loads alot out of Chicago/N.E and Indy for quite a while and what i've seen does not impress me any more than what C.H. Robinson has to offer..
Funny thing is that anyone you talk to thats leased there is getting rich beyond their wildest dreams and running whatever they want wherever they want....i found it very hard to believe that a BCO running the routes that they want to run and hauling dry van can make 1.50 to the truck :roll: in and out...i have a pleasure to see all confirmations not only from the peeps am with but also from 3 other places that i have friends at and conclusion is one and that is that rates have fallen a bunch in every corner of this country in the past couple of years.
And they say that you need at least 6 months to get going with Landstar and with that i have problem with. if you need half a year to get going who will take care of your familly for the time being because Landstar will sure not..

Also..
People need to separate special equipment haul with dry van because they will pay more, dont post your earnings as if everyone hauls the same stuff, running your own authority and driving a flat will pay more that dry van for example..

Unfortunately, Dejanh, rates are down across the board. Rates tend to decline in winter and rise during the spring and summer months. When capacity exceeds demand, rates drop. That is what is happening. You also have marginal owner operators hauling loads for much less than they should. I have gotten good rates from both Landstar and C. H. Robinson. I have also been offered cheap rates from both. You should be able to make a decent living with any of these carriers, but you will not get rich leasing to ANY carrier. I believe Landstar requires 1 year experience for drivers or owner operators.

[Fredog]

Originally Posted by mike3fan

I just started as an O/O leased onto DANA/SUTTLES pulling tankers,I cannot give you a definite answer on pay as of yet I have not received my first true check yet(hold back 2 weeks and all fuel out of 3rd :cry: )

I can tell you that there does seem to be plenty of product to move,since the first I have been running constant and only home for 12 hrs since leaving New Years day(my choice).

The delays are usually not due to the drivers but usually due to the type of product being unloaded,I unloaded in Detroit on Monday and it took 10.5 hrs to unload because the product was so thick,I am supposed to get detention pay after 2 hrs,as I said cannot confirm this yet as I am just starting.I also had a 8.5 unload on Wed night because I has to wait for the lab to analyze the product before unloading.

These were my only delays so far over 4 weeks,I have had about 4 preloaded trailers and usually either the receivers unload or are right there to help you hook up hoses and get started,also I have dropped 3 of my loads so you don't have to load and unload every load.

So far I really like it,driving a tanker is not an easy job the constant moving of product in the trailer is a real challenge sometimes,but it will definitely make you a better driver.

I did pull out of our terminal in Morrow Ga,last week and they seem to have plenty of work.

I have a running journal of my adventures here
http://www.truckersroad.com/fusionbb...php?tid/44711/

tanker usually is no problem getting detention pay, you are dealing with customers who have a much better attitude and treat you with respect.
most plants run 24/7 so frieght usually isnt a problem, I haul sulfuric acid and I love it, you dont wait in a long line for your turn, and you dont have to deal with lumpers, and you get to know the customers on a first name basis, most of my customers know me and they just sign the bill and say, you know where the phone is, call me if you need anything. its a whole different world. one that I think you will end up liking very much

[Dejanh]

Well, what i think is happening at the momment is that brokers first will make a fake situation in which all of them wont pay what they should because,, times are slow'' . maybe to a certain extent but not this much and we all should know it, not when trucking buisiness is posting record revenue in all areas of this buisiness. I have been present when loads are being booked at my office and its interesting to see how different broker based companies pay the same amount of money to a certain area, its like all of them are holding each others back in trying to get as much from the carriers as they can, while they can, and this here backs up my claim stated in the opening statement of my post, they are making a fake ,,slow'' situation to make more money.

Cheap freight is another thing, you Mike are pretty set in your ways, you have 30 or some odd years expirience under your belt and probably some substantial savings to keep you going while the times are tough, not everyone is the same expecially folks who just started driving for ex. , folx that have bills piling up and so forth, folx that need to keep running to make a living. Although i donr approve of cheap freight i can understand people who are willing to run it from N.E or F.L. and for that i wouldnt blame them, i would blame a broker who makes the situation look hard and heavy to pass whatever he wants. Unfortunally theres little a driver can do except deadhead which i usually do but not everyone can afford it..

[GMAN]

I understand that some may need to have the cash flow to keep going. We all get in a bind at times. One reason it is good to have a good nest egg starting out is so that you can pass on cheap loads. If you haul loads in which you don't make a profit, you are only avoiding inevitable. You cannot survive in business without making a profit. I don't mean to sound as though I am condemning anyone for doing what they feel is necessary to survive. The problem in hauling cheap freight is that it makes it more difficult to haul the better paying loads, because the broker knows you will haul for less. Some brokers can pull you up on their screen and see what you have run for in the past. There is no reason to pay someone $2 when they will run for $1. Hauling a load in which you will not make a profit is like working in a factory and foregoing a paycheck at the end of the week. :shock:

[Dejanh]

All good points but the fact is that Fl and NE loads will never pay worth a crap, they have not been during these 3 years that i have been driving and i dont see it changing any time..

[GMAN]

Every so often I can get a decent paying load out of Florida. For the most part you are correct. That is why I usually stay out of those areas without getting a better paying load going in to those areas. Just think what would happen if everyone refused to take a load out of those areas. If they only refused for a couple of weeks, it could change things. I know....it is only wishful thinking. There are some decent paying intrastate loads you can find. It is the interstate rates which stink. :x And as far as New England is concerned, it is rare to get something coming out which pays decent. But, like Florida, you can get lucky sometimes. 8)

[mike3fan]

tanker usually is no problem getting detention pay, you are dealing with customers who have a much better attitude and treat you with respect.
most plants run 24/7 so frieght usually isnt a problem, I haul sulfuric acid and I love it, you dont wait in a long line for your turn, and you dont have to deal with lumpers, and you get to know the customers on a first name basis, most of my customers know me and they just sign the bill and say, you know where the phone is, call me if you need anything. its a whole different world. one that I think you will end up liking very much

This is something I have also found,everyone to a fault has been nice at shippers and receivers.

Most everything has been set up on a appointment time and except for a few minutes here and there I have not had to wait for either loading or unloading.

Also with DANA,we have something like 50 terminals and everyone I have been to so far have their own tank washes and everytime it has been drop dirty tank and pickup clean one.

[Paul McGraw]

Thanks for posting the info on tankers. I have been taking a close look at leasing on with a tanker outfit, and I am finding that most tanker companies pay very well. I still have going back to my own authority in the back of my mind so I am still investigating and trying to decide if I want to make a long term commitment to being a leased O/O.

Any more tanker folks with experience to share?

[mike3fan]

Originally Posted by Paul McGraw

Thanks for posting the info on tankers. I have been taking a close look at leasing on with a tanker outfit, and I am finding that most tanker companies pay very well. I still have going back to my own authority in the back of my mind so I am still investigating and trying to decide if I want to make a long term commitment to being a leased O/O.

Any more tanker folks with experience to share?

Ok here is a update,I got my first settlement sheet

Total miles including personal,deadhead,running out of route to go home for New Years day,and loaded = 3217

Total Pay including fsc,detention = $4401.87,$1.37@mile

by the way my deadhead miles was at 22.3% or 718miles

Interesting that if I would have run it straight acording to pc miler practical it would have been 2765 miles or $1.59@mile

[mike3fan]

So that I can feel like I can run with the big dogs 8)

I am averaging $1.76 a loaded mile,and only a little 'ol lease operator.