Are you still trying to get your home affairs in order without having to go home to take care of stuff?

[no_worries]

I've been getting offers to head out there but I haven't liked what I've seen coming back. Once you get into the search let me know what things look like. I finally booked one out of here for tomorrow. I hate it when it's hard to get out of the house because I know it's going to be 10 times worse once I get out there. Oh well, all part of the adventure :lol:

[LOAD IT]

Originally Posted by merrick4

Just want to add that it is also confusing on who is paying for these trucks. For instance I was in Delaware one time picking up corn and I was asking questions and he said sometimes they hire trucks but as I was picking up for Publix, he said they always obtain their own trucks (me through CH Robinson).

Then you have third party buyers, like right now I picked up apples in Washington and it's for Country Fresh,but I think they distribute to others.
I screwed up in Washington, cause I really got to talking with those kids in the office and I was asking on the harvest times and if they have work all year round. But I do this as I am by nature very curious but I need to put that curiousity to work now. The big question like how many loads you send out a day and stuff like that and leaving my name and number or even getting theirs I didn't do. I have to start doing that.

Shippers vary in size, we are all competing for the same freight. I am not 100% against brokers, but if you want your loads to go smoothly 98% of the time you need to be hauling shipper direct. When you go into a place to load, ask how many trucks a day do you load? ask the loader who to talk to to get some of those loads, get the address and mail that person your flyer with all contact info including fax and email, they will contact you with available loads. Also you can mail flyers to both shipper and consignee on the BOL (they wont tell the broker). If you mail 25 flyers and get 8 contacts to give you freight, you only spent $20, you can stay busy with the 8 contacts and use brokers to move you back to your shippers. Look to do more regional work versus long haul OTR. Maybe make it a point to only run I-95. You have to figure that out.

[Doghouse]

Originally Posted by merrick4

And while you are at it, I wish someone would explain what those fence looking things on land next to the highway are in Wyoming? Look like pallets standing on their side. Seemed like they were throughout the whole state. They can't be fences as they are only so long.

Thats funny merrick,...I remember when I came to Florida 15 years ago,...I showed some photo's to few guys I worked with,.....they thought my snow blower was a wood chipper :roll: ,......you Southern folk kill me.

[merrick4]

I'm not a Southerner, I'm from Mass. I've only been in Florida about 6 years. They have those wood things in New York where you're from? I never saw them in Mass. Maybe out in western Mass I don't know never really been there.

Anyway thanks LoadIt for you answer on the shipper. I really appreciate it. I'll figure things out shortly I'm sure but when I'm trying to learn something I get crazy with the questions.

You're probably right about regional vs. OTR but I want to see what's out here.

This load I'm on the broker was trying to push me to have it delivered by tomorrow morning Sat. I left Washington 3pm EST on Wed. and he wants me there early Saturday morning. That's 2600 miles in roughly 2 1/2 days. He can kiss my .....

He starts telling me about when he was driving for his grandfather when he was in his early 20's. Yeah well I did stupid things at that age too doesn't mean I am going to risk my house and everything else at this age. I was temtped to try cause I don't babysitting these loads and want to get them delivered as fast as possible, but that wouldn't have been too smart.

[LOAD IT]

that broker probably doesnt know the red button from the yellow button.

[BigDiesel]

Originally Posted by LOAD IT

Shippers vary in size, we are all competing for the same freight. I am not 100% against brokers, but if you want your loads to go smoothly 98% of the time you need to be hauling shipper direct. When you go into a place to load, ask how many trucks a day do you load? ask the loader who to talk to to get some of those loads, get the address and mail that person your flyer with all contact info including fax and email, they will contact you with available loads. Also you can mail flyers to both shipper and consignee on the BOL (they wont tell the broker). If you mail 25 flyers and get 8 contacts to give you freight, you only spent $20, you can stay busy with the 8 contacts and use brokers to move you back to your shippers. Look to do more regional work versus long haul OTR. Maybe make it a point to only run I-95. You have to figure that out.

This is the best way to get direct shippers... Follow this advice from Loadit, it works.

[pepe4158]

Originally Posted by merrick4

Thanks LOADIT. The thing is, and don't laugh, but when I get to these places I'm obviously there on behalf of a broker. Now sometimes of course the broker represents the buyer not the shipper so I can ask but I didn't want to do anything that would be percieved as stealing the brokers customer. I guess there could be big problems with that.


I do talk with the people at everywhere I go but usually it's just friendly talk. Also as a lot of these places now have spanish people there, and I speak Spanish, well they are usually pretty nice to me. Not that they weren't polite before but you know.

I made one big mistake, the CH Robinson broker with whom I was hauling for mostly in the first place, well as I was running on behalf of this other guy I was accepting loads that were too cheap, so when I got to the point that I refused to put another cheap load on my truck, the broker got mad. But I guess if he isn't going to pay me I don't want to haul for him anyway. Hauling cheap as more consequences than you migh imagine I guess. This guy was head of SE Produce too but if we work together again at least he'll know not to put cheap freight on me.

So in the end, like any other business this is going to take time.

So LoadIT, these shippers you deal with and call on are mostly smaller ones than? I guess that would make sense, I mean how are you going to build a relationship with ConAgra if you don't have 100 trucks or more like 1000?

Well thanks for all the help. And thanks Steve for explaining those drift fences, it was driving me crazy wondering what they were.

My 2c you did the right thing not taking the other cheap 1....let him get pissed, its such a big Co just deal with another broker in that same Co. at least till he gets over his whiny little attitude which will be soon enough.

[merrick4]

Back on the East Coast and won't be going back out West again unless I am paid very well. No_Worries was right to stay on the East Coast, fuel is too expensive to be out there (not that it's cheap here). Even the iced coffee at McDonalds (finally it's even in South Carolina) is roughly $.45 cents cheaper for a large.

I didn't like being rushed by this broker; I rush myself I don't need others doing it.

So tomorrow I deliver then we will play the sitting game again. Seems to be that I am in a good area so I'm not moving for cheap. I do need to get home but I can't get out once I get there. Right now my goal is to pay down the debt I have incurred with this venture. So I will stay out a bit longer and go home take care of what I need to take care of, do the Thanksgiving thing and get back out.

I am going to take LoadIt's advice and get some flyers and such made up. I guess I will get a 1-800 number as that is more professional. As Pepe found out from that company he got screwed from, if you aren't big at least look big. As they say fake it til you make it.

I actually have a girl that will get on the phone for me and do many other things that will need to be done.

I'm having big trouble with this fifth wheel. There is still too much slack. I'm wondering if the kingpin might be defective as it is brand new. The last fifth wheel got cracked at the frame and they put a whole new one on. I get a heavy load and back with the slack. I think they think that I am just being a pain in the ass but when I pulled into the dealer at Tampa a few weeks ago they guy got in and pulled forward and felt the slack and said immediately this isn't right. Apparently the spring was broken by the lock and they fixed that and sent me on my way and within 10 minutes the slack is back.

When I get home I am going to take it back to the dealer but I just don't know what the problem could be. I have a new trailer and now a new fifth wheel. Something is defective.

[merrick4]

Trying to get a load again. Preprint Logistics wanted to give from SC $1.15 to Chicago with 6 stops.

Another one to Sunrise, Florida, I would have had to deadhead about 96 miles and it would have come to $1.86. $1350.00 for 622 miles plus deadhead. I declined but am still thinking on that one.