Originally Posted by merrick4

To stick with the reputable ones, that was more or less what Sonny said I believe when he wrote that list out; that you don' t have to check credit etc. Honestly most of my loads have been with CH Robinson and I just did one with TQL and I like that I can just log in and see where my money is.

But when I get settled I will as I said find my own shippers or find my own freight. I don't know, keep posting your experiences cause you seem to be honest in how things are going for you. Not bitter or hyping things up or down just telling it like it is.

I've hauled 6 loads for TQL and signed up for direct deposit a few months ago in case you didn't see that Merrick.

[merrick4]

No I missed that Steve. The only thing I don't like about them so far though is that you have to mail in the bills. CH Robinson you just scan them and fax them in. I was going to ask if you have worked with them yet, but I remembered that they wanted that whole checklist and stuff. These people can be a pain sometimes. On my load for TQL they kept calling and calling to see where I was.

Henestly I told them I was 150 miles or so away and not 8 minutes later another one calls to see if I'm checked in yet. I asked "what's the matter with you people"? of course I got the old Neuremburg (sp?) defense, "I'm just doing what I'm told to do.

[pepe4158]

yeah TQL is the hardest to set up with....they dont take pre-set up any more, you must first book a load with them to be set up as a carrier.
That seems unusual compared to most who just want as many , 'pigeons' as possible :-p

[rank]

They have some new program where you pay 10 cents a mile and don't have to worry about maintenance.

IMO, one would be better off borrowing an extra $10K and paying it back to the bank at $.10 a mile.

Originally Posted by merrick4

No I missed that Steve. The only thing I don't like about them so far though is that you have to mail in the bills. CH Robinson you just scan them and fax them in. I was going to ask if you have worked with them yet, but I remembered that they wanted that whole checklist and stuff. These people can be a pain sometimes. On my load for TQL they kept calling and calling to see where I was.

Henestly I told them I was 150 miles or so away and not 8 minutes later another one calls to see if I'm checked in yet. I asked "what's the matter with you people"? of course I got the old Neuremburg (sp?) defense, "I'm just doing what I'm told to do.

The more you pull for them the less they call. I usually don't answer my phone when I see it's them calling. Sometimes I tell them I'm in a different state then I really am and it takes them a while to figure out I'm heading in the wrong direction.

[Hiway61]

Great thread ... I suspect someone is a Capricorn Or a Sagittarian.
Hoping for more info :wink:

[Sonny Pruitt]

I am still locked in to a handful of brokers who seem to be pretty legit
I set up with about 5 new brokers in the last couple of months
That puts me around 20
And I just work with those brokers and their other offices
I very rarely post my truck
But I study the load boards constantly
And get rates
Even on loads already taken
If the rate is good I ask if its a daily shipment or how many a month
Then I try to work that load in to the mix

[merrick4]

I know it's been a while but yes I'm still out here. Got a nice PM from Kurbski asking where I was so I figure I'd update this post. The time sure does fly by.

So I was home for a couple of weeks while they replaced the fifth wheel and the A/C Condenser or something like that. I don't know it was all under warranty anyway. I use to love sitting at home but I was getting crazy to get back out. The day I got my truck back my wife went to Argentina for her company and I was going to go with her but decided to get back out. Probably should have went to Argentina.

So right away with the abuse. They have me running mostly for CH Robinson and this broker is running me for dirt. He knows I'm not stupid and I tell people that I am going to figure this stuff out so you would think they would have some more sense. The dispatcher pretty much told me that I don't need them that I can do it on my own. I called my friend and complained again, well more than complained I wanted him to know what was going on. I don't know if I mentioned this before but this dispatcher is a relative of his. That changes everything of course.

Well to make a long story short they send me to Florida at a rate so low that I'm embarrassed to say and then try to send me to New York, the Bronx on an expidited load for $1.34 a mile. First no. Felt good too. Actually I was just about to deadhead out of Florida and never come back in again for so cheap. You know screw me once shame on you....

So they come up with another bs load and I only said yes cause I got to go home for the night and then I would end up in Chicago a good area. I regretted doing that in the end because if we all haul cheap to get home we will be screwing eachother and the business in the end.

So I post my truck on a couple of load boards en route to Chicago and go to bed. I wake up with 8 missed calls. I couldn't believe it they just kept calling and calling. The first one I talked to my mouth was dry and I was nervous. I asked what the load was paying cause that's what I always hear the dispatcher say and she asked me what I needed. Of course they get away with that becuase I've read a high percentage of people don't know what they need. Well I excused myself for the delay, slow computer etc and logged into TruckLoadRate.com and put in the trip and quoted just about the high mark. It should be noted that I've been watching that and have not even come close to getting what that site says I should be getting.

Well she said hold on and then agreed. She called back like 5 minutes later and said the customer had just booked it 5 minutes before. I said no problem. Then I get another call with a load picking up in Michigan and going to Montana with a stop in Nebraska. I told him I was out of the office and would call him back shortly (I was in the Flying J taking a shower). Well to make a long story short I calculated the miles and saw that I would have to deadhead out of Montana to Idaho. I put it in Truckloadrate and it came back with about $2700. But I gave him a whole speech about how I didn't want to go there and I can't get out and blah blah blah and he says the customer wouldn't pay more than $3100.
So I then learned lesson #1: don't hesitate. I told him I would call him right back and I called the dispatcher and ran it by him. When I called back to accept it he had it booked. Again to make a long story short, they called me back a while later and said the carrier backed out.

I was just booking another load when the Montana load called and the dispatcher told me to ask for an extra $50. I'm thinking he sounded mad at paying the $3100 so I was embarrassed to ask but what the hell I did and he said yes.

So in the end I am going to try and do this myself. The abuse has stopped here. You know I was talking to the broker at ch Robinson and I mentioned matter of factly that this has been a bad investment so far and he made the comment that I'm new and it takes time to make money. That was BS. None of these brokers that called me asked how long have I been driving.

I am going to keep the dispatch service though for a while because I can't drive and dispatch myself at the same time. I am going to give him my log in info for truckloadrate and tell him to check that before he offers me another one. If nothing else but to have them take care of swapping the paperwork etc. I was in Tenn. and I couldn't even get a signal so I don't know how people do this on their own.

I like that Truckloadrate for the fuel mapping as well. I bought fuel 2 days ago in Florida for $2.98 with out paying extra for the credit card and then in Tenn yesterday I payed $2.84 I believe it was.

In the end I still havent' figured out all the market forces behind these rates but until I do I will stick with Truckloadrate because at least when they ask me what I need I don't start stammering.

I acutally had a good load planned to go to Arkansas but I want to try and get out to the West Coast. Florida should be kicking in again soon but I'm done hauling for cheap.

[Orangetxguy]

Originally Posted by merrick4

I am going to keep the dispatch service though for a while because I can't drive and dispatch myself at the same time. I am going to give him my log in info for truckloadrate and tell him to check that before he offers me another one. If nothing else but to have them take care of swapping the paperwork etc. I was in Tenn. and I couldn't even get a signal so I don't know how people do this on their own.

Merrick...You really sshouldn't be giving your login information to an internet service you pay for, to a "dispatch service" that should be paying for that same service, itself.

Why do you think you can't dispatch yourself while out on the truck? Plenty do so themselves. Buy yourself a printer for in the truck, and try.

[merrick4]

I have all that stuff in the truck but it's not any use if I can't get a signal. Besides I set myself up with RTS I think it was to check credit but if I'm driving I can't stop and check every broker that calls.

As for the log in, I hear you , but it's not like some faceless company. This guy is selling me brand new Michelin tires for $150 a tire I don't care if he lets his dispatcher use the service to run his trucks. Besides they are old school and probably wouldn't use it themselves.