I'm at a loss here. Don't know what to do.

I've been offered a load out of Denver, heading to New York, and a reload in MA and VA heading to Missouri. Total linehaul = $11,433.92 (my cut).

Labor would be about $2000 for the whole trip, and fuel would run me a little less than $1900 (3355 miles total). Not a great load, but not a terrible load, considering the time of year.

The problem is, I've been out on the road since January 8th, and I'm dying to go home to my family. I don't really like the idea of being out for another 3 weeks (which is what the trip would take to complete).

I've been offered another trip, seperate from this one, loading in Illinois, heading out to New York later this month, where I have a guaranteed full trailer reload heading to Denver. I could deadhead home from Denver, spend 2 weeks at home, and take off with this shipment after that. The nice thing about this option, is I'll be empty in Denver right about the time that our busy season starts to pick up.

My question is: Should I forego the hometime and take the load, or head home empty and take the trip later this month? I don't know what to do. :?

 

go see your family ya horses ass

 

That sounds like a good check for that. Can you make 11 grand from other loads that come your way, or is something special?(I know nothing on bed bugging) If this type of money is nothing, and you get it often, I would go home. If its something that comes around once in a blue moon, I would stay out, and tell em to give me my moolah. Talk to the family, see what they think, and look at your finances, and see how everything is, and go from there. If it was me, and if I was well off enough to hang out at home for a couple of weeks, I would tell the boss to stick that furniture....uh on someone elses trailer. :shock: Good luck, Rev.

 

As I said, it isn't great, but it isn't bad. It's about par for the time of year. I hate the idea of a 1200 mile deadhead, though.

 

I know nothing about Household goods so I'm not going to vote

 

I voted for you to go home. However, do you NEED the money, would you be in a financial bind if you turn down these loads??? If no, then GO HOME!!!!!

 

This is where Bandit says "I told you so"

Explanation:

You sat for 10 days getting waiting time in TX recently. I PMed you, and told you to fly home for your sitting days and collect your money while sitting at home, enjoying the family. You said "I'm too cheap". I disagreed, considering I flew from CA to IL nonstop for $120. You chose to sit at the Flying J, waiting to unload and reload out of there.

I agree, its been a while since you've been home. the Bandit doesn't have a wife/kids, so I'd stay out until I could swing by the home. However, you're no rookie to this business, and you know how unpredictable this sector of the business can be. Even if you take the load to NY and deadhead from there, its roughly the same distance from NY as it is from wherever you are (1200 miles away?).

So, we have choices-

#1- Listen to Bandit. You could have been making money at home, enjoying the family, and not in a position worried about being home right now. However, that ship sailed, so its really a dead subject as of now.

#2- take the load. If you do, you'll make that cash. I don't know what the weight is, accessorials, how many shipments, etc, so I can't comment on how good the linehaul payable is to you. It would have to be pretty crappy to not be worth it. Will the wife/kids understand? My dad would be out 3 months at a time when I was young, but Mom was steamed. :wink:

#3- deadhead home from a bedbugger's point of view, if you've been out this long, you've been banking some money. The fuel for 1200 miles deadhead home at 7mpg (your pete, EMPTY) at $2.85 will be around $500 (much cheaper than a divorce!)

#4-compromise/combination of #2 and #3- Ask dispatch for ANYTHING going your way, even a 3000# load to pay the fuel. My dad ran 8000# from pheonix, AZ to Champaign, IL (45 min from his house) just to get home and shut the truck down before our cruise. he had a 14K one, but decided enough was enough for the year 8)


Pretty much, your hands are tied. Dispatch won't be mad if you turn it down, especially at this time of year. Somebody else will grab it up by 5pm today. I don't know what your financial situation is, so it would be way too easy to tell you to deadhead home. Family is important, so thats the deciding factor for you.

I'm going to vote to take the load, based on MY beliefs, even though it looks like 3 more weeks till your Pete goes back to the ChesseHead state :lol: You could very easily make up for this, as its not even the busy season yet. We both know you're gonna be out running hard May-late Aug, so why not bank up hometime now?

 

Yup - not an option. Although, I got $300 for taking that survey while I sat there, and another $5200 and change for the waiting time, so I'm not complaining.

It's full loads on both ends - 2 shipments each. The rate I quoted includes all the accessorials.

We'll touch on this one a bit later.

No loads going to the midwest. Period. I looked at the dispatch screen myself. Nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada.


Things have changed since I first posted. I found out how much the trip up in Jersey is going to pay. That trip alone (single shipment, full load from Jersey to Denver) will pay about the same as the ENTIRE trip from here to NY and back to MO. Add to that a full load going out to NY, and there's no question anymore on which I'm gonna do.

$19,000 plus 2 weeks at home vs. $11,000 and missing all the loads heading out from home. No contest anymore. I'm goin home.


Anyone want to move from Denver to WI in the next 24 hours? Cash? :lol:

 

They're not going to be around forever.

 

They don't have a shorthaul going to kansas city?

Does Graebel have "alternative hauling" (special commodities)?

F-it, go home :lol: Summer is coming, thats the bread and butter of the industry anyway :wink: