[Doghouse]

Originally Posted by rank

I thought you were a carrier?

See,..here's an example,....I thought I was an OO that could be the carrier running under their own authority.
Now I'm confused,....but to set the record straight.
I am a one truck OO who operates as a common carrier of property.
I have not even done one run yet because I have a family that needs to understand that I can't be here to babysit them for the rest of my life. Now I have to wait until October 1st because of a house closing that is set for late Sept.
For now I will live vicariously through Steve,Merrick,Pepe, and other new start ups, until I can finally get out there and sleep in my truck (when its not in my driveway).

[Doghouse]

Merrick,
I signed up with Freight Capital, they charge 10%(they hold 10%) and pay in 48hrs, then they deduct 1%every week (from the 10% they are holding) until they get payed, and then at the end of the month they send me the balance from the 10% they held.
I don't really plan on using them , but since the procedeure to get with a factoring company takes about a week, I figured they would be a good tool to use if I had a questionable shipper.
ITS has their own factoring company and I might sign up with them as long as there is no monthly minimum.
The thing is that I just don't want to be screwed over by a shipper,(I would hunt them down and make them pay) and it takes about way too much time to hunt them down,...so I'll factor those loads and let the factoring company do the hunting.

[merrick4]

That's funny Doghouse, I would hunt them down too You remember that movie CaddyShack 2 I think it was where Randy Quaid was holding the golf club saying something like around here we don't go for all that lawsuit stuff then he starts swinging the club? Well that about sums up my attitude on things

I had a closing on a house in Winter Haven I think it was January so I know what you are going through especially with the closet thing. I was working for LCT at the time and I kept having to get back only to have the closing postponed cause the buyers were morons. I felt like telling them to screw but thankfully my realtor took care of things. Great job that guy did.

Just out of curiousity Doghouse how much experience do you have out here? You seem to know a lot about the mechanics of these things. For me I never knew the money side of it as you can see from my experiences, if you don't mind me asking, what are you expectations out here? I you familiar with rates etc?

No_worries, you know as I was driving today I was thinking about the "two schools of thought" on trucking and really if you end up making the same as deadheading then just hauling to get to a better area, then I think the hauling to a better area would be better as there is less wear on the truck.

I'll say one thing, it's non stop with this guy. I hadn't even emptied this morning and I had the current load I have and one after that. The one after looks good though I haven't had time to look into it. It's a short run in Florida and pays $1000

[no_worries]

I think you missed my point, merrick. I was thinking of the following scenario:

A averages $2.05/loaded mile with 30% DH on 100,000 total miles.
B averages $1.59/loaded mile with 10% DH on 100,000 total miles.

As you can see, they both average about $1.43 for all miles. I see what you're saying. B should get the same rate as A on the good runs with the extra revenue from the 20% more loaded miles, even if they are cheap. The reality, as I've seen it, is that B usually doesn't get the same rates at the top end. There are a couple of reasons. B is spending time finding, loading, and unloading cheap loads while A is heading straight where he needs to go. This allows A extra time to find higher paying loads when he does look. B is also often less willing to wait when he does get to the good areas. He may deliver his load at noon and jump on the first load he sees paying what he considers to be a good rate. A is generally more patient and is often rewarded with better rates when he does wait. I'm not saying this is always the case. As Solo like to say, "there is no rule without exception." But it has been my experience more often than not, and I'll bet there are other here that would tend to agree.

[merrick4]

Originally Posted by no_worries

I think you missed my point, merrick. I was thinking of the following scenario:

Sorry no_worries. Truth is I get to read things once them I'm going. You know they say with reefers that we have to hang around all day at warehouses and it has happened but really it seems like I don't have two minutes to stop. I swear a few stops ago I honestly just finished making a sandwhich and had the milk to my lips and they were banging on the door with the paperwork.

Also with the company I bumped dock and waited. Now I am out of the truck watching things go on and off the truck and taking temperatures. I'm at an onion place now and picking up and I saw a flatbed dropping them off. I guess they peel them and cool them and send them out. I was thinking of Steve's recent trip with the onions. I can't believe he kept a bag of those in the truck. I walked into the warehouse and my eyes started burning like crazy.

Back on topic, what's your thoughts on posting a truck? The guy I'm with says he never did that. That the purpose is not to let them know where you are, I guess to just pop up. I know GMAN says he spends a lot of time planning on getting out where he's going. GMAN, do you post your truck a few days in advance or are you just calling people you know in that area?

What about Steve? I think he posts when he's empty. How about you no_worries?

[Doghouse]

Merrick,
I do a lot of research, and ask a lot of questions. I also lose a lot of sleep trying to figure things out if they don't make sense.
As far as experience OTR, I drove for Stevens as a company driver back in 99 (about 10 months), and as usual I lost a lot of sleep trying to figure out why the job sucked so bad (22 cents per mile 1,500 miles a week),...and then I would see an OO who looked very happy and had nice equipment.
So when I decided to get back into trucking (about 3 years ago) I started doing hours of research on how to be a successful OO and not go into the hole.
People like Gman helped with the info on how to set a rate, and how to keep a low overhead. Hence,....when I started preparing 3 years ago,...I had money set aside for a $60,000 rig (condo), 25,000 trailer (stepdeck), prepaid insurance and all the goodies to get on the road and be able to have comfort and security with my new business.
Now,...a few years later,..I have a $9,000 truck that I built from the ground up (I decided,...since I'm a gearhead to begin with,...why not buy a used truck,.pay cash, and bring it up to how I want it), a $9,000 trailer, because its going to get beat up, so why buy new and actually give myself an aneurysm every time some dolt drops a coil on the deck.
I have spent many hours on this truck, and I am still finding things wrong, but as of now I have a lot more knowledge about the vehicle than when I bought it, and it was all in the comfort of my own garage.
What are my expectations? I'm assuming you mean profit. I expect to be able to net around $500.00 per day, everyday I drive. Sometimes I expect to run around 500 miles a day @ $1.50 or better, and since my rig is payed for, the usual truck payment will go into the repair fund and the rest will go to me,..the driver. Sometimes I plan on running only 200 miles per day. My goal is to make a profit and be a happy, comfortable nomad.
Will I net $500.00 per day,....I don't know,..the math says yes, but reality says maybe not. Bottom line is that as long as I net $1,500 per week, I will be a happy little nomad, and be able to pay all my bills and put away around $4,000.00 a month for my future.
I suspect that on the high end I should in all reality be able to run 2 to 3 thousand miles a week, and @ $1.50 or more per mile,...when I take the 50 cents and set it aside for running the business, I should see between $2 to 3 thousand per week net.
I am anxious to find out.

[Sonny Pruitt]

the "good freight areas" will be getting farther and farther apart as we head into winter
until Jan to March you may not even find a good freight area
don't expect to even find a cheap load to haul back in some areas
the point is don't be so proud to reject a cheap load to better areas
in summer
you need that extra$$$
to get you through winter
You are looking at things like the rates and freight volume will be some kind of constant all year round
we are at the end of the busy season
produce will soon fizzle out
Frozen is busy because schools are opening their cafeterias
and it will be busy until Christmas
but dry will be bottoming out once Christmas stuff is in stores
you have to put as much money in the pot as possible
the "overflow" now fattening up the brokers and jamming the load boards will be glommed up by the mega carriers......
until spring lawn and garden season starts again

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by merrick4

Yes GMAN but this is why I kept saying this is not about me. So I get rid of the dispatch service and do this on my own, but I am truly nervous that this is the industry. Every now and then you will see a post, well I think it was the other day and midnight runner or flyer I forget who was saying that they might have to leave the industry due to rates. I just don't know what to believe anymore.

Merrick, rates are down somewhat. They have for about the last 2-3 weeks. We are beginning a slower time of year. The last two years things have seemed to be slower than usual. During slow times, it is even more critical, that you follow the freight during slower times. With a reefer, you are not limited to just refrigerated freight. You can also haul van freight.

Originally Posted by merrick4

But I stress again this is not about me or how much money I make or don't make. I think a lot of people get into this without realistic expectations, including myself. I see a guy that had 10 nice trucks. Kennworth and Pete. Beautiful looking and that means a lot coming from me as I don't really care about this stuff. So what's a guy to think, man he has all these trucks he must be making money.

The guy who has all those new trucks could be making money or going broke due to all the high overhead. Because he has such high overhead, he may be taking anything he can get on the truck to just try to stay afloat.

Originally Posted by merrick4

Doghouse or GMAN any good factor names you'd like to toss out there?

You might want to check with D & S Factors. They charge 5% and are non-recourse. You only factor what you want and have money in your account within 2 days from when you drop the paperwork in Trip Pak.

[no_worries]

Merrick, I post sometimes and others I don't. If you're in a bad area it usually doesn't do much good to post your truck because you won't get a call all day. Why should a broker call you when his phone's ringing off the hook from trucks wanting his loads? If I plan on being near the computer, I'll post us. That way if I get a call on something promising I can check it out. I never take a broker's word on miles or their company's situation so I have to be able to check things out. Usually, if I'm in a decent to good area, I'll post for awhile then pull it off and repost later. Brokers can see how long your truck's been posted. If they see you've been sitting awhile they might think you're desperate to move and you'll get the calls for crappy loads. When freight is hot and brokers are having a hard time moving their freight, they'll see a new truck pop up and think, "I'd better grab this guy." Maybe they offer a little more because they don't know when the next truck will pop up. I'd love to get my loads set up ahead of time, but unfortunately it rarely happens. If a broker knows he has a few days to move a load he's usually offering it for garbage right up until he feels like it really needs to move. Reefer seems to be by far the worst for this, which seems to be counterintuitive since dry and flat freight isn't perishable. So to answer your question :lol: sometimes I post and sometimes I don't.

I'm not sure I understand your guy's logic in not wanting brokers to know where you are. That's a strategy I'm not familiar with.

Hey Doghouse, how do you arrive at $.50/mile to run your business? I realize you're not including salary, bennies, etc., but fuel alone will run you around $.44/mile.

[person]

Gman, is d & s on ITS or who are they? Do you have a link?