Not to discount anything alan5oh has typed, after all, I am seeking all the different points of view I can get, but that is my concern with the third axle. Being new to pulling a SD and not being sure what the heck my modus operandi will be, it seems like dragging (or even carrying) a third axle around would most likely be a waste. I like the idea of the sliding California legal spread because it adds a lot of versatility and convenience in scaling heavier loads not to mention the obvious ability to run California if the money is there. I think I am most likely to go with a sliding spread, but I’m still hung up on the deck height. Low pro 22.5s would be the most convenient, but having that extra eight to ten inches of height might also come in handy. Luckily, I’m not in any hurry to make this move. Buying a SD in October or November would probably be tantamount to suicide. I’m going to spend the next few months exploring my local shippers, as I know there are a few who ship SD fright and see what they require. I’ll also keep tabs on the load boards to see what the equipment requirements for the majority of the loads posted are.

Since I have my wife dispatching me, LTL should be quite profitable. I envision doing this much in the way I used to haul cars. Find a core load that pays well and then keep any empty spaces on the trailer as full as possible along the way. With cars, we had a Lamborghini and Lotus contract that paid pretty well, but we still always tried to fill a rack as soon as it was empty, even if it was a 40cpm junker. Which reminds me, I used to have a picture of me jumpstarting a Murcielago off of an old Charger. That was out behind the Shelby factory in North Las Vegas. They got the biggest kick out of that… but I digress.

 

So we have progress. The third axle argument has settled itself, at least for now. No Canada = no third axle. It’s not easy from what I’ve seen so far to even find a trailer being sold with 17.5’s. Still, those extra few inches of height availability could open a lot of freight to me that would otherwise be over-height with 22.5’s. I definitely have to put a lot of thought into that one. Hopefully, more folks will add their opinion over the next few months and I can make a decision with more points of view to draw from.

As for being heavy, I have twin 150 gallon tanks, an APU and everything but the kitchen sink in my truck. I’ve actually considered taking a fuel tank off, which would save over 1k pounds, but that would mean a lot more fuel stops.

 

Sounds like we have it narrowed:

- 48 foot with 10 foot spread, California legal and lighter
- 53 foot with rear slider, California and Canada legal with rear slid up, probably about 800 lbs heavier
- Choose between 17.5 and 22.5. This will take the most research

 

"Sagacious" - good word!

So you're not buying the "more miles" pitch the interstate sweatshops are selling?

First thing I notice is your tractor is not designed for pulling an open platform trailer.

Look who's pulling tractors... TMC, Western Express, Maverick. You might be in the same boat you're in now. Just picking up the scraps that the rate cutters can't cover.

 

I wanted to buy a trailer with the smaller tires when I found my current trailer. One thing that made me decide on the 255/22.5 tires was the brakes. The larger tires had the bigger brakes. Since I was running a lot of left coast at the time I felt that was important. One thing to consider with the smaller tires is where you run. If you run the west coast or the warmer regions of the country in summer, you are probably going to blow more tires. Smaller tires tend to heat up more than larger tires. There are advantages of having the smaller tires, such as being able to haul some RGN or double drop freight. I have container locks built into my step deck to haul high cube containers. They pay pretty well sometimes. The container locks add a few hundred pounds to the trailer. If I were you I would stick to a 2 axle trailer, at least for now. You don't know what you will really need at this point. One other thing. Most step deck loads are from the side, but some are loaded from the rear. For those loads the lower deck could be a problem. You can't have a trailer that will be perfect for all applications. I would sit down and consider what you plan on doing with the trailer and then match your trailer to those needs. It would be good if you could scale 45,000-46,000 without permitting. Just one other thing to clog the brain.

 

I know the 387 isn’t the most common tractor to be pulling a flat or step, but what is it exactly that makes it “not designed for pulling an open platform trailer?”

I haven’t ever bought into the high mileage concept that governs reefers, vans and containers. I have, however, always chosen the best option readily available to me at the time. I cut my teeth in this industry doing cut flowers and plants, so running a reefer was the obvious choice when I began running under my own authority, because that is what I know best and would be least likely to fail with.

Last I checked, I’m not picking up scraps in the reefer business. You’d be hard pressed to find others averaging over $1.74 for every odometer mile put on the truck so far this year; and that was having to run a truncated schedule so that I could be home to take my wife to chemotherapy for eighteen weeks at the height of the produce season. I’m sure there are some out there who have done better. I’m sure there are even more who would claim they do better but couldn’t ever prove it. I’m doing quite satisfactorily in financial terms. As I have stated in an earlier post, I am afraid that my two main brokers are correct in their assessment that the writing is on the wall in the reefer and van business. The last couple of times I’ve been into a repair shop and chatted with the mechanics, they all say that finding an English speaking driver these days is like hitting the lottery. I don’t fault any immigrant for trying to better his or her standing, but when I have a house and acreage with a mortgage and other goals, and he is simply happy that he has money to eat and that nobody is trying to exterminate him, it makes it hard to compete with the money he is willing to work for. There seems to such an influx of these sorts in the reefer and van segments of our industry that I think it’s time to get while the getting is good. I never really like pulling a reefer anyway, I’m just good at it. I loved enclosed auto transport, but the liability is so great that I’ve had my fill of that. That leaves pulling some sort of open deck trailer, and I can’t see buying a flat when I can just as easily get a step-deck and have a lot more versatility.

 

Another option you may consider is buying an aluminum or combo flat with a side kit. Living in Illinois, you would be in a good position to haul steel and get home on a regular basis. Rates would be fairly decent and with the sidekit, it would be easier than having to throw tarps. A step might be more versatile, but I did well pulling a sidekit at one time. You probably are not going to get as good of a rate as you can with a step deck, but rates could be worth noting.

 

"I am afraid that my two main BROKERS are correct in their assessment that the writing is on the wall in the reefer and van business. The last couple of times I’ve been into a repair shop and chatted with the MECHANICS, they all say that finding an English speaking driver these days is like hitting the lottery. I don’t fault any immigrant for trying to better his or her standing, but when I have a house and acreage with a mortgage and other goals, and he is simply happy that he has money to eat and that nobody is trying to exterminate him, it makes it hard to compete with the money he is willing to work for."




#1. Brokers are salespeople who make their income selling you loads. If they told you the truth that it is difficult to find reliable, knowledgeable, intelligent owner operators they would have to pay you more.

#2.The reality, regardless of what mechanics say, is that there is a tightening of capacity for all kinds of freight. Over time rates will increase regardless of who hauls it.

#3. Don't try to compete with bottom feeders who haul cheap freight. Find shippers to deal directly with the man paying the bill and that person will appreciate great service and pay more for it.

 

What tractor is desgined for pulling a open platform trailer?

 

I already stated that we do get paid more. When I call and discuss a load with an underling, he always says that he’ll have to get back to me on exactly what he can offer because we get more than the broker’s standard rate. They can tell me what it would pay anybody else, but they have to consult with their boss to see what they can pay us. We get compliments from customers all the time on our professionalism and quality of service. The problem is that few customers in the reefer or van market are willing to pay a premium for quality service anymore. I think you missed the point that the brokers are having an increasingly difficult time keeping THEIR rates up because their customers are getting calls from rate cutters like Total Quality Logistics and others who are offering the same service for twenty percent less than what our brokers are offering. Total Quality Logistics and others are able to move the loads for less because they cater to carriers who require less, because their drivers will work for a little more than fuel money. Like I said before, when you come to America and you’ve been living in squalor and under persecution previously, you don’t require much to achieve happiness. I require more than fuel and food money, myself. I don’t blame these people, in their situation I’d do whatever I had to do as well, but the end result is that it destroys an industry. Just ask any native born American in Southern California who USED to work (because you can’t find any who STILL work in construction) in the construction industry what it did for them. That is the future of the less specialized segments of trucking and nothing will stop it.


Ask guys who’ve been around for thirty years or so in this business if your assessment is accurate. You will hear stories how rates were twice what they are now and expenses less than half. Rates do not always go up. I agree that the bad economy is partly to blame, but that’s only a small part of the problem in the reefer and dry van markets.


This is not so common with produce. I have a shipper that I get good rates from doing dairy, but those loads are so short that it isn’t worth bothering with them most of the time.