Round table landstar drivers.I need your help
 

So must of you know I am a newbie driver who quit hauling containers and got on with Landstar.Landstar is pretty rough in starting out and in these difficult times as far as freight is concerned, where do you guys usually run and please don't tell me Florida.I have been there twice and I am never going back until freight picks up.I have my own base plate that covers 25 states(mostly east coast)Should I try running VA(west royal with agent NTO) or should I set my load alert towards Chicago and it's 300 miles radius from GA?Maybe Ga-TX and then to Chicago which will then bring me home?
I live in atlanta and though I hate the traffic here, this place has more paying freight than places like NC, AL and FL.Please correct me if I am wrong.I have been offered a dedicated run on thursdays/fridays from Ga to NC and 4 stops in between paying about $950 gross which is a 450 mile run.I still want to keep my options open.
I am not making what I was making when I hauled containers but I know brighter days will come and I am willing to learn their system.

Florida doesn't make anything, therefore freight doesn't pick up there...unless you pull a reefer :lol:

Florida
 

It is funny how they do not produce anything coming out of FL.Maybe they just trade more among themselves down there because I see more loads within FL than anything coming out.I see many $1/ mile Gross(which is 66cpmto my truck) and I am sorry I cannot run for that when my 2290 and base plate is costing me $2100/yr.I drove from Conover,NC to Sarasota, FL( at 1.88cpm gross).I waited a day without any good loads and just dead headed back to GA which was 450 miles.Birmingham was even worse about a month ago when I tried to find something coming out of there.

Last summer I was headed into MS and got a call from an agent about some of his loads. Things were hopping pretty well and I just told him, I need a linehaul of $2 plus fuel coming out of there $2(.65) + .25 = $1.55. I got it too, a nice little load of those PODS storage units going up to Philly. I was able to get loads out of FL for about $1.18/mile TTT (to the truck, I just made that up) but I learned to call back immediately after I got the call- if I waited until the message played long enough for me to even know where the load was going I probably would have gotten only a busy signal.

Not like that now. Coming out of Fl a month ago I deadheaded to Columbus. I guess eveyone is looking for things to pick up. That run you now have sounds alright unless there's stuff you haven't said (waiting around, bad roads...)

Also take your questions to BCOforum.com.

Running VAN or flat ?

Wow!
 

I never knew about that website.I learned my lesson.I am now home and I am booking loads 2 weeks in advance.What are some of the good agents to deal with and who not to deal with.

Critical distinction, Dejanh. Van.

Henboy1, that's kind of a new website. Reminds me of ClassA in the early days. I don't have any particular agents that I work with or even avoid. Whoever seems like a good dude like Tim at MPH or whatever it is out of Memphis, he may or may not have the freight you need. I don't know the olden days but with the computer it's one and done, wham, bam thank you ma'am :lol: next agent, next load. I switched over to Tammy's RKY to see if I can run an individual agent's freight more regularly. If you have success booking freight that far out let us know. One thing screws up and you're calling agents telling them 'sorry but you've got to take me off that load'. Personally, I don't like to try to book too far out.

$1.18 :shock: With fuel where it's headed, you can get that rate anytime you want...with Schneider.

Yes, but when you make your delivery in OH, can you get $1.60? I think everybody except Gman would agree :P , that $1.18 is sho' a lot bettter than deadheading 3-5 hundred miles out.

You are right, Cam. I would rather deadhead 3-500 miles than take a load that I couldn't make a profit. I think every load should make a profit. I guess I am funny about that. :P No profit, no haul. :wink:

My first week with Landstar was rough
 

I booked a load with SUL in Indiana.This will leave Lithia springs, Ga to a stop in Ocala and Lady Lake, Fl.The agent mentioned that if I get there on Wed. at 7am they will unload me but anything after they wouldn't until thursday.I got to that first stop in Ocala(Lowes) at 6:45am and knocked on their door.I was amazed when the lady said she booked the load for thursday and that I would have to come back the next day.I was soo pissed off.She claimed she had no room and that she had mentioned that to the agent.I then started calling SUL because I was stuck with this load that only drives 400 miles to be delivered in 2 days.I then called my BCO advisor to compolain about SUL.My advisor then called SUL to try to get me detention pay for sitting at a Lowes parking lot for 24hrs.SUL claimed the shipper had told them what they relayed to me but they still couldn't guarantee getting me detention pay.I left messages on SULs vm but I got no call back.Then again after they had recieved my truck number, they came up with the 2nd stop and tailgating which only changed the Gross to about $30 more(not palletized).I remember those cabinet fixtures fell on my forhead while I was unloading and that caused a bump on my forehead.Never again will I tailgate or unload.
That was my bad first week experience.

Re: My first week with Landstar was rough
 

Drag. Total drag. I know how frustrating it can be. Sometimes you are stuck between a rock and a hard place and you get no justice. Good, you called the agent. Good, the BCO advisors. Customer service is supposed to help with this kind of thing but they seem to me like a bunch of college girls in their first jobs who know little about trucking but have been trained in conflict resolution. My experience, they spin things around so that it is your fault and the way to solve the problem is for you not to do whatever you did wrong. Well, I'm just no fan of customer service. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to call the agent's regional supervisor listed in the front of the book of agencies. These are the ones who may have some sway over the agents but, and particularly if the ink is blue...Henboy1, the best thing to do is to keep your blood pressure down and realize most loads aren't like this and some things you just have to call the cost of doing business.

You're taking the easy route getting loads from Atlanta to Florida. If you can't get loads out of Florida that isn't your solution. Which leads me to Gman... :D

I've had time to think about all this. I too now turn my nose up at freight with no interest under any circumstances including a deadhead. But, I'll go down to even 1.10 TTT coming out of Florida right now and I'll tell you why. 1.10 covers the cost of operating the truck which you have to do anyway if you want to get out of there. It also pays 'the driver'. The only thing not covered is you, the owner and the investor. It gives no return on the capital you've got wrapped up in equipment. It doesn't compensate you for all the non-driving work you do like maintenance and paperwork and dealing with any catastrophe that could potentially happen.

But, if I can get my operational costs and pay 'the driver', I can make up for everything else on nice, fat Midwest loads. I either take the operational costs and the driver pay or I take nothing, those are the only real choices sometimes. And, my sincerest appologies to any cents per mile drivers I may be offending right now. :shock:

Seriously, on that last I went to Pumpkindriver to check out things over there. Lots of advantages to a huge freight base and someone just giving you loads. I love the thought of nice terminals all over the country, overstuffed chairs and I'd like to rediscover my lats and triceps. Schneider pays 'shortest miles'. The rates just don't get it. I think you'd be better off as a company driver over there.

BTW, 1.10 TTT still prices you out of most freight coming out of Florida right now.

Cam, I understand your reasoning. We all have to do what we feel is in our best interest. Personally, I try to stay out of areas where I know rates are low. If I find myself in one of those areas, I usually deadhead out rather than haul something that will only net me fuel money or cover expenses. I understand some feel that it is better to cover expenses rather than pay expenses out of your pocket, but my feeling is that I can't see hauling a load unless I can make a profit. I would rather deadhead out than waste my time, fuel, and wear and tear on my equipment hauling a load which will only cover expenses. I usually get a high enough rate on most load going to those areas where I can afford to deadhead out. If I have a driver they usually don't want to haul something cheap either, since I pay them percentage. That is the way I look at it. For me, it works.

I wonder how much of it is the difference between flatbed and van. I can get what you are saying but then, my home run load is your average load. Additionally, people tell me the flatbeds just deadhead more than vans.

I've kind of gotten to where I don't like my truck to move unless I'm getting some kind of compensation. It's ok if that means doing the million other things I like and need to do besides trucking while waiting for Miss Right (that is, the primo most excellent load...or one that just doesn't suck :lol: ).

With freight being so much slower lately, I have been doing more deadheading. However, I usually keep my deadhead miles to around 10%. For instance, I had a short run to Foley, AL. I deadheaded to Mobile to pick up a load which brought me to within 70 miles of the house. The deadhead to Mobile was less than 30 miles. On the other hand, I deadheaded from Brunswick, GA to the house because of not wanting to sit all weekend for a reload. It was a 368 mile run. I usually don't deadhead that much. As things pick up, it will do less deadheading. I don't know if vans deadhead more or less than flats. My guess is that it depends on where you run. When I hauled cars, I nearly always had more deadhead than with other types of freight.

Landstar pushes the hauling cheap freight to get to a better area. You can certainly make a argument about that being the better way to go. I think it is probably more a matter of principal with me. I just feel that if we continue hauling cheap freight, then there is no need for shippers or brokers to pay more to get the loads moved. If I were in their shoes, I would probably feel the same way. I seem to do pretty well hauling at higher rates and deadheading out unless I get a decent rate with which I am comfortable. I have spoken to other owner operators who will haul anything that comes along so that they don't deadhead. According to them, they seem to think that they do better than deadheading out. My rate per mile is usually better than those with whom I mentioned. At the end of the year they will have driven more miles than I have, but make less per mile. I drive less and make more. Which is better? I think we all have to make that decision for ourselves. If I pulled vans I would find some specialty areas that would boost my rates. I recall some BCO's I knew when I was with Landstar who did very well for themselves. Some were making around $2/mile. That was supposed to be to the truck. One kept blankets, logistics straps, etc., and did some LTL runs. He also owned his own trailer. That was several years ago. If you lease to Landstar you can increase your pay by 8% buy owning your own trailer. If you do a lot of drop and hook, it may not work quite as well for you.

A possible advantage to deadheading out is.....

You are free to meet any appointment time and take advantage of any high paying load that pops up. If you had taken that low "I need to pay my fuel" load, you might be stuck having to deliver at a certain time that means you'll miss that high paying load. Plus you'd lose the hours spent loading and unloading....again, that 's time in which you might have been availalble to catch a high flyer.

So there might be some hidden expenses that go above and beyond simply paying for the fuel.

Hey, and you'd have the joy of saying NO to those cheap brokers/shippers. I think it was Rank that told the cheap broker that said he'd "blow his horn as he blew by empty" rather than accept cheap freight. Great line... :P

wellllll, since I am a female and a trashy old truck driver...I gotta put my opinion in here too. :lol: I drove for over 17 years and did van, reefer, flatbed and stepdeck. Depending on where I was sitting at and which trailer type I was hauling is what determined whether I deadheaded or took the "cheap rate". Usually I never broke my rule of running for less than my "set truck rate" but there were a couple times I took the lesser rate to help cover the deadhead, usually when the miles were over 300. But then again...I deadheaded from CA back to OH to be in OH in time to pick up my dedicated load. As an agent for Landstar I take into consideration the situation the driver is in and where the freight is moving at compared to his location before I tell them to deadhead, etc.

How's that autohauling? I always thought those guys make a forturne. Didn't the unions have that locked up one time back? How do you get in that? You got out, is the flatbedding/OD better?

Cam, hauling cars paid pretty well when I did it. There are segments within car hauling which pays more than others. For instance, there are auction cars which don't pay as well as hauling POV's (personal vehicles). Hauling new cars usually pays more than used. Exotic and antique cars pays well. If you haul a covered car hauler, rates tend to be higher than an open trailer. There are exceptions. Sometimes you have to mix it up a bit. There are some who get started by buying a dually and wedge trailer. I started with a 10 car. In fact, that is all I ever owned. Different customers have different requirements. I hauled for a lot of car dealers. A wedge can haul for dealers, but may haul more POV's. You can make more money with a 10 car. I pulled from auctions, new car manufacturing facilities and POV's. The down side to pulling a car hauler is that the only freight you can haul is vehicles, so you will usually do more deadheading than other types of freight. I have hauled some loads on a flat or step deck which pays as well as cars, but they are usually specialized or over-sized loads. I do well with my step deck and flat, but could probably do better hauling cars.

I stopped hauling cars when I fell from the top ramp and broke my back and both wrists. I was in a body cast for about 4 1/2 months and a body brace for several months after that. When I got to where I could drive, I leased on with Landstar. In fact, I was still wearing my body brace when I first leased on with them. Shhhhh, don't tell them. That is the only thing I could physically do, at the time.

There are higher risks for personal safety and cargo damage associated with car hauling. It is very easy to lose your balance and fall. There have been some who have fallen and been killed or paralyzed. I was fortunate to have broken my back in the spot I did. I could have been a paraplegic... or worse. As it is, I pretty much do anything that I could previously, except haul cars. I might have gotten back into cars, but since the accident, it upsets my family too much just mentioning it. I could still haul cars. I did pull another owners car hauler for a few weeks, mainly just to prove that I could still do it. It really worked on my back. I am not as flexible since I broke my back. You need to get into some tight spots when you load cars. It is also easy to get a scratch or dent on a vehicle. I remember being in Minnesota one winter with a load of cars. I had a car in the basket (just behind the tractor). A couple of rocks either coming from the road or a passing truck, broke a tail light on the car. Those claims you usually pay from your pocket. Even though it wasn't anything that I had control, it was still my responsibility. Claims can send your rates upward. They can also eat into your bottom line.

The unions are not very strong in car hauling, any more. There are still some large carriers who are unionized, but they have lost market share from carriers who are not union. Most of the union carriers run day cabs and stay in motels at night. Most of the big union carriers haul directly from manufacturer's, such as Chrysler, GM, etc., There are a few carriers who will train you to haul cars if you have 2+ years of driving experience. Most will not hire inexperienced drivers. There may be some who hire inexperienced drivers, but I don't recall any off hand. Hauling cars is very physically demanding. You can make good money, but will earn every nickel. Carhaulers are more expensive than other trucks. The trailer alone can cost more than $60,000. When I hauled cars, a new truck and trailer would run from about $150,000-250,000. You don't usually find someone who will rent a car trailer.

Gman, when you answer a question it's like hitting the motherlode. Thanks. That's just about everything I had been wondering about autohauling.

-Pays great
-not locked up by the unions, sounds like anybody can get in
-one of the 'barriers to entry' is that you have to climb around like a monkey
-Maybe 200k for a truck and trailer

I am really sorry about that fall. I hadn't heard about it. Glad to hear you've recovered.

All that climbing would be up my alley. I was 17 years old when I went into the Marine Corps. The drill instructor demonstrated this high climbing, acrobatic "Confidence course" and I thought, 'yeah right! Another psyche job. There's no way on God's green earth they're going to make us do that!' The short of it is, they weren't just trying to psyche us out :lol: Ever since then I get a perverse pleasure from climbing stuff. I love rappelling, for one.

Well, I need to get some property paid down first. But then, maybe...

Thanks, Cam. :oops: I have known of car haulers who make from $150-350M/yr. If you buy a new truck and trailer, your payments can run from about $3,500-5,000/month or perhaps a little more. :shock: That is a lot of overhead. If you like climbing, you might just enjoy climbing around on a car hauler. You still need to be careful. There isn't much room for your feet with a large car on top.

Re: My first week with Landstar was rough
 

Word of Caution-- LOWES and HOME DEPOT only receive at the scheduled times and going in early is usually futile. Save yourself the stress and be on-time or dont run LOWES or HOME DEPOT loads. Your time is not important to them. I lost a LOWES account for being LATE and EARLY!!

I forgot about this thread,where are you at henboy1 ?
How is it going with Landstar?

Sifting through old threads, huh? You might find henboy over here:

bcoforum.com

Loadit dug it up I replied... 8)

I didn't mean anything by that.

I saw the comment that dispatch said LOWES would take the load early. I had to respond because that is a favored dispatcher lie to get you to move the load. LOWES, HOME DEPOT and WALMART are not going to take you early 99.99999% of the time. Those companies taking you early is probably an urban myth.

Thanks for checking Mike!
 

Just like LOADIT said you are right about those lies from the agents.Not dispatch as far as Landstar is concerned but the damn agents.
I have been lazy and I have been running local but I need to get up on my ass and go out there on the road.My FL bad experience keeps me local.I am really learning the business.For the big retail shots like the Walmarts,Home Depot, Kroger and Publix I make sure I am not late or else I will be behind the line and will be waiting for hrs.I am not taking routes like the experience in Johnson City TN.Yes, you are also right about BCOFORUM.com.I lurk there more and those guys showed me the ropes with Landstar.It is a shame because most Landstar drivers are fighting among these cheap freight.For ex...I found a load paying 1.72 ($800gross) to Ohio(good for freight because I would be guaranteed a trip back to GA).I called the agent and he said The FSC was all included.From Ga-Ohio is about 600 miles and I will only get about $1.09 TT.To make things worse those were carpets which are not palletized.
These days on all my bookings I call the shipper and the other end to confirm what the agent said.I recieved a load alert which leaves GA to Florence , AL monday morning and then returns from that same shipper to GA and it pays 1300 gross.Not bad for 2.10 gross/mile.It is still tough at landstar I am even staying away from dealing with lumpers and all that retail freight BS.FL will be out of my base plate in OCT.
I am OK for now with no Truck note and the strees from my previous container hauling.

Hang in there Henboy, i'm glad to see you havent thrown in the towel! How's the truck holding up? I know hauling those containers was rough on it.

He says he changed the oil. That's usually a positive step :lol:

Yes I changed the oil
 

I was scared when I chaned the oil and they found metal shavings on top of the drain plug.Through research on this site and asking my uncle mechanic it was more likely normal.Some of these TA out of school mechanics should have known that it was normal and not scare me.It is doing Ok for a $7000 truck that came with all the flat bed equipment and a former Landstar Inway truck from the previous owner.Just this pass weekend I learned to change the Hub Seal myself.At Landstar I sometimes haul 2000ibs, and the last time I hauled something over 40k ibs was 3 months ago.What a relief from containers!

Re: Yes I changed the oil
 

You should have an oil analysis run. You may be able to prevent a larger problem. What kind of engine does it have? I bought a tractor for $6000 once, ran it for 2-3 years and the top-end went. Cheapest rebuild I found was $10000 for B model so I sold it to the junk man for $3000. I wish I had kept it and fixed it later. My point is dont let that big problem sneak up on you and shut down your revenue.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Henboy, but it isn't normal to have metal shavings in the oil. You may have minute particles, but not metal shavings. Like Load It, I suggest getting an oil analysis. It isn't expensive and could point you to something that could be repaired now without spending too much money. If you wait too long to check it out, it could cost much more to repair. You may want to drop the pan and have the lower end inspected.

check out this link.I will get the oil analysis done.