Truck Driving Jobs

tracer · #51 01-06-2011, 04:01 PM

All right ... let the games begin. I'm looking at the load board and there's 22 loads within 500 miles of the freezing cold McDonald's in Winnemucca, Nevada where I'm sitting right now. The funniest load is this one: an LTL from Idaho to Northern Ontario (2,000 miles) and the load is 20 ft long, weighs 5,000 lbs and pays a whopping ... $1 per mile. I was getting bored so I sent the Special Agent in Charge this message:

"If you don't find anybody to do it as LTL, I can move it from Idaho to ON for $6,400. I'm in Winnemucca, Nevada."

My thinking was this: it's 2,857 miles from my location to the shipper to the consignee in the tundra of Northern Ontario and then from there to my home. So I counted ALL miles (including the deadhead on both ends) and multiplied by 2.25. If they say 'yes' that'd be something

But it does deliver in a desolate place. There's no loads out of there period.

Graintrain · #52 01-06-2011, 10:36 PM

I wonder how big a hurry they're in to move that load? With all the weather they've had out there and also the delivery location they might consider that offer. Don't imagine there's alot of demand to go to nowhere, grab an LTL, and go hundreds of miles to another nowhere to deliver, plus its going to cross the border, and that disqualifies some.

tracer · #53 01-06-2011, 10:53 PM

I was buying coffee at the Winnemucca NV Flying J/Pilot truck stop and the clerk was nearby preparing fresh coffee. I said, "No offense, but the Pilot coffee you guys are selling now tastes much better than the one Flying J had before it went bankrupt." The clerk said, "I'm not offended. I like this (Pilot) coffee better myself." I added, "Why was there all this foam all the time with the Flying J coffee?" She said, "I guess they didn't have this policy where you have to drain the jug and refill it with fresh coffee after a certain time..." I asked, "So that's what produced that foam on top of the cup?" She replied, "Yes, they just let it sit there till it was empty." There you have it: just one more thing the Flying J had been doing wrong. There's only so much bad coffee you can sell

tracer · #54 01-06-2011, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graintrain

I wonder how big a hurry they're in to move that load? With all the weather they've had out there and also the delivery location they might consider that offer. Don't imagine there's alot of demand to go to nowhere, grab an LTL, and go hundreds of miles to another nowhere to deliver, plus its going to cross the border, and that disqualifies some.

What might help is that the load is described as AUTO PARTS, which means it probably goes to a conveyor somewhere. Sooner or later they WILL be pressed for time

rank · #55 01-07-2011, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tracer

My thinking was this: it's 2,857 miles from my location to the shipper to the consignee in the tundra of Northern Ontario and then from there to my home. So I counted ALL miles (including the deadhead on both ends).......

That's the way I do it. You'll turn down alot of loads that way.

Steel Horse Cowboy · #56 01-07-2011, 02:21 PM

Glad to hear u made it safe and sound. Hopefully you will be able to find something that pays good. I'm stuck at the TA in Ganado, TX till morning myself due to a line shutdown at the chemical plant that they forgot to call me about. My empty won't be ready till the morning so here I sit doing nothing and getting paid. God bless America LOL

tracer · #57 01-07-2011, 03:13 PM

It's Day 2 for me in Nevada. This morning found 15 Canada-bound loads posted within 500 miles of me (Winnemucca, NV). The best one is an LTL (6 ft by 6 ft by 6 ft) that pays $1.07 per mile for $2,770 miles from California to Canada. It's 300 miles away from me but needs tarping. With such a small size I could put it on the upper deck of my step and then pick up a full load somewhere in IA, NE or IL. It'd be perfect! I emailed the Agent asking if I can use one of those disposable WalMart tarps or move it without tarps... and am waiting for the reply. Out of the 15 loads by the way only 3 go to Ontario, Canada: 2 are LTLs (the one I just described and the other one I made an offer on yesterday, the one that goes to Northern Ontario). The third one is a 45,000 lb load that pays $1.55 per mile (!) and picks up 2 weeks from now. Yeah ... right! All the other loads are heading to Alberta Canada. Well, it's still early... someone might post a load a bit later. If not, I'll be here till Monday. The good news is there's casinos all around and I'd have a chance of making some money over the weekend

NOTE: all the rates are GROSS, to Landstar. So, if it's $1.07 per mile, it'd probably be 76% of that to the truck (100% of fuel surcharge + 73% of the freight bill).

tracer · #58 01-07-2011, 04:17 PM

tracer:

"re: your load from oregon to ontario, canada

If it can fit on a 48 ft stepdeck and does not need tarping, I can move it for $7,000 with a pickup on Saturday or Monday, and deliver in Brampton, ON 5 days later. I'm in Winnemucca, NV, 500 miles away from the shipper in oregon."

agent:

"are u crazy u will never get a legal load for 2.80 out of there"

tracer:

"i'd be crazy not to try. you'd be surprised how often rates are negotiable. for me to do this load would mean to cover 3,122 miles from where i'm at now. take care."

agent:

"be safe"

...................................
By my calculations, I'd need:

$1,000 - just to cover the fuel to deadhead all the way back to my home in ontario, canada
$4,400 - just to break even and stay current on all the bills
$5,000 - to cover all the bills and make a small profit

it's 2,189 miles from my current location to my home in ON, all the way to the east, via Chicago, IL. My Nevada Gamble continues ...

Steel Horse Cowboy · #59 01-07-2011, 05:38 PM

Start searching loads along 80. I can almost guarantee that there is something in or around the Chicago area you could grab and take home and it will prob pay the same as a load you will get out west. Just look at it this way, say u find a load in NV that pays $1.40 (good luck out there) you could fund a load in say Iowa or Chicago that pays $2+ and make the same amount, with better fuel mileage due to you going halfway empty.

tracer · #60 01-07-2011, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steel Horse Cowboy

Start searching loads along 80. I can almost guarantee that there is something in or around the Chicago area you could grab and take home and it will prob pay the same as a load you will get out west. Just look at it this way, say u find a load in NV that pays $1.40 (good luck out there) you could fund a load in say Iowa or Chicago that pays $2+ and make the same amount, with better fuel mileage due to you going halfway empty.

You may be right. If I start moving now I'd be near Chicago on Monday. In the past I also saw Ontario-bound loads in NE (near Omaha) and in IA. If I don't find anything till the end of today, that probably what I should do - deadhead to NE or IA or IL. I emailed one idiot who has a good LTL from California and called him twice and he said, "I emailed the customer's Blackberry and he should get back to me shortly". That was 4 (!) hours ago. This 'customer' probably dropped his Blackberry in his pants' back pocket and is sitting somewhere in the bar sipping beer and he forgot to turn on the 'vibe' mode

I suspect by 'customer' Agent 1 means not the shipper but another load broker he got this load from. That's what happens when you have too many middlemen. If we shoot every second one, the rates would go up and many drivers would be much happier, including this one. These guys should learn to get off their a**es and find their own loads.