That's the Reason I hated LTL when I tried it.
To each their own on what they like.

I am not talking about 60-70 packages. That is something for the USPS, UPS or FedEx. I am talking about freight. I am talking about 3-5 partials on a Flat bed or Step deck. You can do the same thing with a van. The difference between a van and step or flat is that you must be more careful how you load a van. You don't want to have to unload a van to get to the partial you need. You also need to find LTL's along the same route. You cannot afford to go hundreds of miles out of route without a sufficient payout. Most LTL's are sent as partials so they won't need to pay for a truck load. You would probably need to have a hub and warehouse or central distribution center to handle as many partials as you noted. I think we are talking about two entirely different things.

I must say I posted this question and then got lost. Too much of this I don't understand as I'm so new to the industry. Especially stuff on the brokers etc.

There is something to be said for customer service. I use to do billing for one of the largest Ltl companies (they outsourced it to where I worked) and the mistakes I use to see were massive. Stuff sent to the wrong place, hazmat not marked correctly, trucks sent without liftgate, etc. Obviously this is much less likely to happen with a smaller company.

LOAD IT I don't understand this comment "If you were an advance hound as a company driver, you will be a quick money hound as an O/O and you will not be successful (this comment is not aimed at you, just something that I have observed)." What does this mean, I'm not sure what you mean with the advanced hound

As to your comment on being comfortable without being a millionaire, I can't agree more. We are constantly bombared by the media with "buy, buy and buy more". This is a trucking forum so I won't go on that too much, but I am trying to reject this way of life as a BMW nor many other prized items has no meaning to my life. There's a saying "the rich man stays rich by acting poor, while the poor man stays poor by acting rich.

Thanks to all.

I think (correct me if I am wrong) that LOADIT is referring to cash advances. If you are always out of money and you need to get an advance on your check the minute that your truck is loaded then you will have serious cash flow management problems as an owner operator.

Ah, that makes sense Rawlco. Thank you.

That is exactly what I meant by the term "advance hound". Cashflow problems is the best way to describe it. We all have cashflow issues, we like to see it come in and we dont like to see it go out.

It is best to operate without getting cash advances. If you initially must get advances, you should put as much money back as quickly as possible to run you so you can stop taking advances. When you take advances, it seems that you aren't making that much money when you get your settlements. I no longer give advances to drivers, however, I used to do that. I recall one driver who got advances and when it came time for his settlement, he didn't think he was making much money. He failed to see how much he really made because of the advances he got. Whether you are an owner operator or company driver, the psychology is the same. It is always best to operate on your own money.

If not taking advances is one of the keys in this business, well I should do all right. I'm neurotic about having bills paid and always having enough to keep me covered for many months should something happen.

GMAN, I wanted to ask a question on something you as well as others have mentioned. Namely specialization. Now I know that hauling cars for example is specialization, or hauling heavy machinery. But how broad does this go. What I mean is, is there specialization on certain types of freight say like kosher meat or some specific types of freight like produce?

The reason I ask, is any day I should be going OTR. I need to learn log books and a myriad of other things. But how do I focus myself on learing to do one thing good? Do I need to first learn OTR then apply to a company where I'll be specializing in something?

Thanks for any and all answers.