No, you've heard him right! PA Pike, so is OH, charge you by the weight, they scale you at a toll booth. NY, charge you extra for 53' trailer.
Also, keep in mind, they charge you about $0.05 cpm for every mile you run in NY.

Sometimes, it makes sense go around toll roads, sometimes, it don't.
You have to consider, time, and miles. It's funny, how some people going around actually spend more on fuel, not to mention wasted time.
But that's simple business decision... :roll: :D

It's 3 A.M. and found a spot at the TA. This time works out good for me as the early crew, that is those that park early are leaving now to head out so I can find a space.

Tonight as I was driving I was thinking about how everyone, especially GMAN, always says you need to be good in business to succeed here. However I think that needs to be broken down a bit. I use to read when he wrote that and kind of glossed over it because I was thinking that I am good with managing money. I see a lot of people here come on and say that they want to be an O/O becuase they are good with money.

Really though, someone who is good with money, is the CFO of a company. The CEO is the one who is good in business (of course these are broad statements). I realize that I need to learn to negotiate and maneuver the truck to certain freight lanes like a piece on a chess board.
A business man needs to see the whole picture and put the pieces together. This worries me a bit as I think I make a better CFO than a CEO. The negotiating I am very uncomfortable with. When I buy a car, I'm usually red in the face and looking down and just trying to write the damn check and get out of there.

But knowing one's weak points is obviously a plus. The guy I'm working with is good at negotiating. The problem is I don't deal with him as much as I'd like too. He has a day job and I find myself dealing with the dispatcher whom I didn't know before this. Anyway I was talking with my friend tonight and I was going over the numbers of the past two weeks and he kind of got mad. Not at me, but for instance he said that the load I'm taking right now would not be on his truck therefore it has no business on mine. Going from a good area where I was to a bad area, I needed to get a better rate.

I will learn the freight lanes but like I said negotiating is not my strong point.

Solo379, you are right about the tolls. That's why I wanted to check out the Penn turnpike. I like doing the I68 in Maryland but when pulling heavy, it kills me to push the truck like that. I don't understand what it is about the truck that allows some to pull up those hills like nothing. Is it the gear ratio or the horse power?

Person, (by the way I like your handle) how does that website know what the carriers are getting for rates? I mean are these self disclosed and if so why would a company disclose that?

A lot of good advice on this board, I appreciate all the input as well as reading the stories of others. Another 7 days and doghouse should be out here so it will be interesting to see his experiences too.

By the way I was thinking another thing tonight too. I mean I often wondered how does a small guy compete with the big ones. But there I was tonight with the thermometer in the corn and not letting them put the stuff on my truck at that temperature. I can assure you that I wasn't standing on docks when I was with the company like I do now. Don't get me wrong some guys will but for the money I was making I just didn't care. I did routinely check the reefer and make sure everything was on the right temp and had a thermometer in the back vent which I checked but to go the extra mile and stand there and pulp pallets I wasn't doing.

Actually they couldn't get the corn to the right temp but the buyer okayed it to go on the truck with some extra ice and instructions on handling the temperature.

This is truckloadrate.com's statement comparing their rate service to Internet Truckstop's. I appreciate that you recognize your lack of negotiating skills. For a carrier to be successful that is a mandatory asset. So you have no choice but to rise above this. There is no doubt that the more you do it, the more it will become less of an issue to you. You may never like it but you will be able to do it on a regular basis. It can be as simple as saying "I need X amount per mile to make it." and then maybe add "and I'm x miles out from there." I know that a man of few words can go along way. And real important words can be "No thanks."

And what's so complicated about it? If you know the "fair market price", and your "true" costs, just tell them what you need, within those parameters, and if not, just move on!
And of course, it's actually imposable successfully negotiate, w/o knowing it! :wink:

Merrick....there are also courses on negotiating and sales that you can buy (cd's to listen to) that will help you in how to respond to certain statements and tones of voices that experienced brokers use to manipulate a situation.

You are your own CFO-CEO-Sales Manager-Purchasing Dept...all wrapped up in one....could be 8) or could be :shock:

Merrick, as far as my statement regarding my maintenance and inspection policy, I just came up with that myself. You're a smart guy so you'll be able to go into the FMCSA regs, read the requirements, and put your stuff together so you're compliant. In that same thread, I think Ron Fulton posted the pertinent regulations.

I'm really not a big negotiator when it comes to what we haul. I know what I need to get on a given lane that's the bottom line. I'm not always looking to get the most I possibly can on a load, nor am I willing to haul for less than my bottom line. There are times when I recognize that I'm in a position of strength and I will use that to my advantage, but I rarely turn every last screw. I prefer a stress-free environment.

Either a load is acceptable or it's not, if you go in with that approach, you don't have to do much negotiating.

A lot of good advice on this board, I appreciate all the input as well as reading the stories of others. Another 7 days and doghouse should be out here so it will be interesting to see his experiences too.


Sure will, I'm planning on heading out Monday the 13th to go get my trailer in Stanley Wisconsin. Nice long bobtail run :roll:

Well, Merrick4 hasn't posted in 7 days. Do you think
A. CAD shut him out again
B. He has a life outside CAD
C. We over suggested things to him
D. other (speak your choice)

He probably imploded from all the BS,... I'm not even going to make it out till the 20th because of all the crap that I missed.

He's been locked out by CAD again.

They lifted the ban again. This is silly. Anyway things still going all right. I got a good load going into central Florida from NC. It was good cause I got together for a few hours with my brother who lives in NC. Couldn't do that with the company. It was around $2.00 a mile. I'm loving this CH Robinson Quick Pay. Very fast the money in in my checking account.

I ended up getting 5 hours of detention time for that load too which came to $125.00. Better than the $10 I use to get with the company.

Then I got ripped off from the Freightliner dealer in Pompano Beach. I took the thing in cause I wanted the coolant flushed. Also wanted the dessicant air dryer filter changed and a couple of other things as well as the fifth wheel needed to be adjusted. Well to make a long story short they tell me I need a new fifth wheel for $1300. What do I know about this stuff so I called my friend who told me that that was too high. He told me where to get it and told me he'd help me put it on. So I call the dealer back and tell them to forget it. He tells me that it's taken apart and I will be charged two hours.

So back to calling my friend who wanted to know why it was taken apart. I called back again and he starts giving me this whole mechanical breakdown and then asks me if I know what he means. Well no I don't know; I'm not a mechanic. I did get a $100 off the bill but the whole trip was expensive. I'm embarrased to even mention the amount. But it's not over, I faxed the invoice down to the Miami branch and I'm going to get this sorted out. Apparently they are in rip-off mode as during the construction boom or near the end of it, someone got a bright idea of bringing in like 50 dump trucks which they now can't get rid of and are losing their shirts with the interest payments.

The mechanic by the way said I don't need the air dryer filter changed and then charged me $27 for giving me that info. The book says change it at 300,000 miles. I've been told twice now to pull the air release cords in the morning and I don't understand why not at night?

So I am now at 3 weeks as an O/O. In these 3 weeks I've acquired a Pavlovian response to fueling up. I lift the nozzle and the sick feeling comes on. If it wasn't for fuel... well we all know that. I pretty much stay with Flying J as I can just fuel at the pump and I know I'll be getting my cash rebate. I understand the fuel tax thing now and try and plan accordingly. But I guess you can't always go by that either. I'm on the same load as I had in the first place. Miami to Oklahoma with 2 other stops. According to the fuel charts it's cheaper in Texas than Louisiana but I remembered from the first trip that the Flying J in LA. was quite a bit cheaper than the TA in Terrel, Tx. Same fuel tax too.

I need to find a solution to the food issue. I spend like $150 a week and never have food. I don't even eat at the truck stops except for Subway. I'ts like at home I can go to the store and spend a $100 and come home with juice, water and cereal.

I read somewhere that after a while they will start calling you, the brokers that is. They already started, at first I thought it was spam phone calls. Someone called and I didn't hear what company they were from and they asked if I had trucks in the Atlanta area. Then another guy called and asked for dispatch.

I recently read that GMAN said we need to get back to dealing directly with shippers. The guy I work with won't deal with shippers as he says he has problems with them paying.

I'm still trying to decide where in this industry I'd like to go. Where's LoadIt? He said one time to think big. Get a truck and get a warehouse.

I hate to say it, but it's going to get worse before it gets better. When NC to FL is only paying $2.00/mile, things are ugly. And I know it's not just you, I've been watching the rates...from home.

Your buddy steered you right, $1300 is way to much to replace a 5th-wheel. If you never signed a work order authorizing them to start disassembling your 5th-wheel, you should get some money back. Unless they claim that all they were doing was adjusting the part.

The reason they tell you to drain your tanks in the morning is because as air cools, the moisture condenses. When you drain your tanks, you relieve the pressure but there's still air left in the tank. This air cools overnight and any moisture will have condensed to the sides of the tank. Since this moisture is downstream of the dessicant, when the tank is pressurized, this moisture will be carried into your lines. By draining in the morning, you'll blow out most of the condensation in the tanks. It's not such a big deal in the summer, but in humid climates like the SE you will have more water. Might not be a bad habit to get into.

Thanks no_worries and I apologize for not being clearer about the rate. I actually was surprised to find myself on, I mean unblocked, and am a bit tired as last night I was woken up twice and kicked out of one place so I didn't sleep so well. These people act like we are vagabonds or something.

Anyway the load was from Tar Heel, NC to Lakeland, FL. Actual hub miles was 619. I was paid $1800. This comes to $2.90. I had about 333 deadhead miles. Actually more but I won't count that as I went out of the way to see my brother. So that brings it down to $1.95. So that would be a more accurate description of the load.

I did get $100 off the fifth wheel adjustment. They had two hours and they dropped it to one. The coolant flush was $200 and change and there was an oil issue that they charged me $100 for which I should be getting back as I mentioned that before I bought it. The salesman has been a real pleasure to work with. I also had an airbag leak under the cab but that was fixed on warranty. Then of course the $27 for talking me out of changing the air dryer filter. Should have know better than to go to a dealer, but the main thing was I wanted the coolant flushed and the TA doesn't flush them.

In response to your question a few posts ago...yes, the rate they offer is usually just a satrting point. You should be prepared to negotiate your asking rate down also...so make your initial offer a little high.

I do have a few brokers that I have dealt with several times...there is very little negotiation here...we are past that stage. They know the rate I want/need and they are prepared to pay it when they call.

Well what ta hell....if I didnt have all these hassels I'd be just a dumb ol company driver agian....you know what makes it all kinda worth while to me....is when they insist I buy a lumper and I threaten to pull the truck out n go.....n they threaten to call my boss (lol)
Well I am just kinda warped there I quess...I almost lost two company jobs over driver unload issues....n the company would back my point of view???????????? NO way Jose!......now the company will lol!
I polietly inform them I AM the man....n I aint buying a lumper and I WILL just thow their crap on the dock any damn way I choose!....you want it or not? Frankly my dear I could give-a-damn.
I dont say it like that....try to be diplomatic, but I do get the point across.....been lucky so far I quess, when explained the cold hard facts so far both times the consignee caved.....course they dont want me back....n Im just fine with that cuz I was tricked in there with no warning from scum-bag broker what this would be, he said no-touch-freight.
Ive learned a little trick too....when push-comes-to shove they will almost all back down....cuz they are on a time limit of when you enter there facility and leave.
I have had many calls to OIIDA though to have them thoroughly explain what I can n cant do :p lol....They say about all this should have been in the aggreement beforehand (damn the biggest area I need improvement in. :p)
But once I do get hosed...what exactly am I accountable for legally (more calls to OIIDA LOL)...I mean its fun to threaten to sell their stuff on a street corner.....witing for them to expect me to lump their TV consols....woo-woo Pepe's big hot TV sale lol
Well cant really do that 1 but this it is my pet peev n I really push the envelope what I can do....i dig my heels in now n finally they see its in their best interest to unload me just to get rid of my ass lol
I am coming to the conclusion that most of this lumpimg crap these guys pull is mostly cuz they are use to dealing with company drivers, where in one call, the company will put their boot up the driver's butt, ....hmmm sorry folks, that doesnt work any more.

Hey Merrick, welcome to the club of learn as you go. Just rack it up to experience and you'll do much better the next time. It's pretty much the only way your going to learn. You can have people come in after the fact and tell you this and that but they were not there. I'm sure the next time you have something worked on you'll be a much wiser person and more observant.

Pepe, you have a huge attitude and my prediction is you end up in jail after holding some load as hostage because you refused to pay a lumper fee. You need to make those arraignments ahead of time and put on the rate agreement.

Merrick, if you are not mechanically inclined, it would be good to find a local mechanic, at a smaller shop, who can do some of your work. They are usually more conscientious and charge less. I don't go to the major dealers unless that is the only place where I can get something repaired. I also don't have work done at TA for the reason they charge a "shop fee" in addition to their high hourly rate. Most of the major shops use a book to bill you. If something calls for 10 hours and it only takes 5, they still charge you for 10 hours. It is a rip off, but that is how they do it. Frankly, they may get me once, but not again. I have one local dealer who cost themselves a truck sale because of this over charging. I would expect any garage to charge for their time in diagnosing a problem. I always ask before the work starts about how they charge and how much.

Merrick, do NOT go to the Pomapno Beach Freightliner, they are lazy ....they lie, too. I know 2 people who used to work there, but went somewhere else because the way they work there.
Whenever I call them for parts, they are either busy, no call back, or they don't have it. I call Riviera Beach, they have it and they look it up in their system and it show as available in Pompano.....go figure!

[quote=

Pepe, you have a huge attitude -lol...ya think?????????


and my prediction is you end up in jail after holding some load as hostage because you refused to pay a lumper fee.--
Not acordding to OOIDA, besides they all ready said if any law enforcement does anything to me illegally they will SUE! (lol) :D
Ill be a marter for the cause....Pepe wants justice from lying scum-bag brokers lol


You need to make those arraignments ahead of time and put on the rate agreement.--YEAh I said OOIDA told me that 1 on the phone, man when your out there things get going so fast that sometimes I dont check the agreement till after I pick up the load....n sometimes they pull a fast 1 :P
OOIDA was clear not to even move the load n till Ive looked it over with a microscope :-p yeah I need work there!
So being I am so green tho my big prob is what do I do when I screwed that part up?.....been finding out tho when push comes to shove their really running a racket that mostly depends on the consignee calling the company and getting the driver fired......beeen there done that, learned I have to kiss their butt as a Co driver the hard way. (yeah I wana be a CO driver again :-p) [/quote]

Pepe,

Put out the phone numbers of the crooked shippers and brokers and we can crank call them.

A can of gasoline and lighter helps on the lumper scam too. :lol:

SAy been doing this Sonney.....ummm having probs finding contact Info tho for HM Bay......any one help plz?

N TQL says they wont set-up ahead of time anymore :-p have to accept a load ahead of time :-p

HM BAY is reefer only

A Pavlovian response?
You mean you start singing opera?

Pavlov's experiment with the dogs. Conditioning theory or something like that. I see the fuel pumps and my brain is now conditioned to see pain as I know a hit in the pocket is coming.

Gman, if you don't go to the TA, where do you get your PM's done? I know you live in TN so I would guess it's easier for you to get home. As I live in South Florida I don't plan on going home for a while, so I was just going to use the TA. Any other suggestions?

As for the mechanic, there is a shop I can go to but they are small and I didn't think they had the pump to flush the coolant. The guy I'm working with told me next time I head to a shop to just call him and he'll go over it with me.

Sup, I went to Pompano as I live up the road from there. I bought the truck in Miami and they were very nice to me down there but I can't get home so easy. I could take the Tri-Rail but that is a pain. From Pompano I can basically walk home or catch a quick bus.

Pepe what ever happened with that deal you had where you were going to pay a broker to keep you loaded? I think so far this is working out good for me of course the guy isn't a broker but has his own trucks. That stuff with a lumper is something else. I don't even fill out the contracts, they do all that for me, the only paperwork I do is send my invoice. Of course I wouldn't mind doing more. I think the dispatcher was like let him take care of everything which doesn't work for me. I rather do things myself. So like I just got detention time, usually he would call up, but I just did it myself.

Today I was thinking that this trucking must have been something else in the early days. It was so hot outside today I was under the APU vent. Probably when GMAN started they didn't even have AC in the truck (not saying you are that old GMAN :wink: ) and with no cell phone but having to look for pay phones and how did people get signed up with brokers if they didn't have a fax in the truck? I know fuel is a lot higher in proportion to everything, but it seems like it would be easier to make money now as it's easier to find loads via loadboards. Of course more competition looking on the same loadboards too.

Hey Steve, where did you get those cross fire fittings you were talking about for the tires? I can't seem to find them.

Merrick, there are several options other than TA for oil changes. Speedco, Petro, other independent oil change shops. There are also independent garages and truck stops. The independents will usually do a better job and charge less than the big chains, anyway. There are a lot of Speedco's around the country. Most can do an oil analysis on the spot. If you don't want to pay the shop fee, just ask them if they charge one before the work starts. If they say "yes" you an walk. The shop fee will usually ad about 6% to the price. I will walk if they charge the fee. I usually have my oil changed at a near by truck stop. They normally charge me less than $200. Some shops charge upwards of $300 now.

By the way, we didn't have air conditioning in most trucks when I started. In fact, not all cars had air conditioning. Many had doghouses in them and we didn't really need heat in the trucks in summer. Power steering meant that you had big biceps to turn the steering wheel. In some ways it is easier to do business today. In other ways it was easier when I first started. Not everyone could get their authority. It is certainly easier to stay in touch with companies, brokers and family. Checking out brokers and shippers is much easier today.

Thanks GMAN. I'm sure as I spend more time out here I will find the little shops and more things in general. I see the Speedco's but I read recently in one of these threads that their oil analysis isn't as good as sending it to the lab. I'll look for the shop fee too. You know for old timers or people that have been around these things pop up and you know that it is BS. But for the new guys, I mean I thought shop fees were the norm. It's like any change really, the people that see it happen fight it and the one's that come after don't know any better.

I ordered the crossfires from www.iowa80.com.

Here is a link to the page.

http://www.iowa80.com/iowa80/shop?me...tid=TIRE-EQUAL

Years ago you dropped by the brokers office to sign papers, usually located in the back of a truckstop.

When I started there was, for me anyway, NO:

A/C
Cell phones
Power steering
ATM's/online banking
Email/internet
Fax
AM/FM radio (first few tractors)
private showers in truckstops

[/quote]


Pepe, you need to slow down long enough to take care of the paperwork. You are running your authority now. You are in business. It is up to you to make sure the paperwork agrees with what you agreed to on the telephone. There are VERY few brokers or shippers with whom I have dealt that I won't wait for the paperwork and make sure everything is right before I move my truck. If something isn't as agreed, either the paperwork is changed to reflect our agreement, or someone else can take the load. If you are going to be successful running your authority, there are some things which you MUST do, such as making sure the paperwork is correct. If you don't want to deal with the paperwork, you may as well go back to being a company driver.

I read over every contract that a broker sends me. If there is something which is in the contract that I don't agree, I mark through it or add my own wording and initial it. I don't sign anything which has provisions for penalties or fines. Some will include those on the confirmation order. I mark through them before signing and sending it back. Some will have provisions for fines or charging back a fee for being late, etc., regardless of a natural disaster or break down, whether there was a problem with the receiver or not. If you don't carefully read the confirmation order, you could wind up losing money unnecessarily.

Pepe, you need to slow down long enough to take care of the paperwork. You are running your authority now. You are in business. It is up to you to make sure the paperwork agrees with what you agreed to on the telephone. There are VERY few brokers or shippers with whom I have dealt that I won't wait for the paperwork and make sure everything is right before I move my truck. If something isn't as agreed, either the paperwork is changed to reflect our agreement, or someone else can take the load. If you are going to be successful running your authority, there are some things which you MUST do, such as making sure the paperwork is correct. If you don't want to deal with the paperwork, you may as well go back to being a company driver.

I read over every contract that a broker sends me. If there is something which is in the contract that I don't agree, I mark through it or add my own wording and initial it. I don't sign anything which has provisions for penalties or fines. Some will include those on the confirmation order. I mark through them before signing and sending it back. Some will have provisions for fines or charging back a fee for being late, etc., regardless of a natural disaster or break down, whether there was a problem with the receiver or not. If you don't carefully read the confirmation order, you could wind up losing money unnecessarily.[/quote]

agree 100% Funny way to seperate the shady n unshady is the shisters all try to bum rush you.....the more scrupulous are willing to wait, finding that out the hard way :D

Yeah didnt do it, but may end up regreting that, wanted to try and learn all these lessons myself and its been the school of hard-knocks for sure.

I must say that I did anticipate that I'd be making more money. The thing is you read here people always complaining that the sure way to have a million is to start with two and buy a truck. GMAN is the only one really that says you can do well. As I posted above you can go drive for a company as long as you want but you will never see the numbers. Probably I had a better chance at seeing that cause they liked me and they could tell I wasn't stupid. As I said earlier they brought me in the office and was showing me their customers (so I would understand why they needed trucks at certain places)

So I'm on my next load. I had to deadhead about 50 miles though I went another 20 to take a shower. It picks up in Oklahoma City and has 3 stops, one in Illinois and two in Wisconsin. With deadhead I'm being paid about $1.00 a mile. It's newspaper inserts so the stops should be real easy. I did not think as an O/O I'd be seeing a $1.00 a mile. What did I base that on? Nothing really. What could I base it on? Like I said how do you learn the money said unless you are brought up in it?

I think the dispatcher thought I was gonna get mad or something. He said he called both the owner and some friend of the owner who has 19 trucks and they both said they would run it on their equipment. That I just better be getting a good rate coming out of Wisconsin which means $2.00 or better all miles.

So far I do not regret getting into this. My wife has a good job, my mortgage is prepaid until November and I only really have a truck payment which is not that bad. If I had started out with nothing, I think I would be much more stressed out. I can see how one breakdown and if you are not prepared, there goes everything.

I think from reading here that people get into this, (including myself) without truly realizing what they are getting into. You see companies paying $1.00 a mile and you think if you get $1.30 you'll be ahead of the game. Well that thread recently about O/O vs Lease on really elucidated the differences. I remember Pepe asking what he was missing when he got $1.30 a mile or something like that from Schneider and he wondered why Lease on drivers would stay for $1.00 a mile. This insurance cost me $14,000. Next year it should be a lot less I'm hoping.

I have not failed nor am I writing this to say that people shouldn't get into this, this is not a post based on emotion, just the numbers. As I said I do not so far regret getting in to this.

Anyway, how do you guys get to where the money is? I mean honestly I really never thought about having to be in one area over another (which is why the company showed me what they showed me on their computer so I would understand that money isn't everywhere). So from what I understand now, reefer money is in Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan. They are booking me loads straight to these areas. I went previously from Pennsylvania (sp?) to Wisconsin but I thought it would have made more sense to go to Ohio and then over to Wisconsin as the path I took had me on the Penn Turnpike and thus made that trip unprofitable.

Do you guys move around like a piece on a chessboard to get to where you want? And if the money is in the Midwest what are the people in California or out west doing? Are they trying to get out to the same area as I am? I guess this would make sense as if you are based in Cali I guess you would have more of a chance of getting a good load out of there so you go to Wisconsin and head back to Cali.

I am less worried about the negotiating part now. Eventually I will know what's what and the rate will be what it is. Thus I shouldn't be worried about the negotiating but rather being worried about knowing the proper information to base rates on. When I learn that I think the negotiating will be easier. For example, when I am in Wisconsin and if someone asked me to head out for a $1.40 a mile, well no I won't do that. Out of there they need to pay me more.

I guess like anything time is what's needed. Rome wasn't built in a day afterall.

You should get at least 1.30-1.50 comming outta Wisconson I heard....hope Im right.

Y eah Ill move 500 miles or so, at a crap rate, as Steve mentioned to do, just to get a better rate in a better lane....as G-man said sometimes you gotta wait a day or 2 for the better rate too; I wouldve thought you could get at least 1.20 outta OK city, especially your refer....ummm right?....I know I can for 53 foot dry van....your using get-loaded and internet truck stop?
I pretty much know I always can get a good rate outta LA...then its chess game time :-p

You are lucky in one way that someone is doing the legwork for you.
And if you do leave that person to go on your own
It may be hard to come back?
You have to understand that reefer especially frozen food
Is the same shippers going to the same recievers over and over again
I am an o/o for 28 years with no reefer exp and
own authority for around 2 years with a reefer
The only way I got through it is that I had a mentor who knows his stuff
anyhow, unlike other freight, you can tell who the shipper and reciever are by the posted cities Westfield Mass....C/S Allentown...probably Millard or Americold there are a finite group of shippers/recievers
you need to get in a relationship with certain brokers so you are not running all over the place this winter
when you hit a decent load from a broker ask for it again and again
I did a food bank load for a guy a month ago
Every week I call for another load
This week they called me "we got a food bank load for you"
nice money etc
I hope to spend the winter banking on food banks

Unlike others on this board I contend its not that easy to make money as an independant and a lot of people inflate their independant earnings to save face. Or keep up their image
Most of the people I know who took the plunge either went to Landstar or
eventually went back to leasing.
There may be 2 or 3 left out of 10 that I know
and thats over a couple of years
A lot of guys got destroyed over last winters lack of freight
The load boards are way too confusing and signing up with brokers is a royal pain
Especially when you don't have a clue who they are
If you are under the pressure of feeding your family and attempting living the life of a normal person car pmt,mortgage, landscaping, soccer,college, Macy's, Home Depot etc you would be crazy to attempt your own authority without years of experience and a book of tried and true brokers given by a mentor
This is an area of trucking where you either have little responsibility except for the stupid truck or your wife is the CEO of a fortune 500 company
I've seen them come and go

as far as negotiating and not pulling cheap freight
I have a friend who has an account for 4 loads a week from wilmington mass
to downingtown pa
they weigh about 8,000#
it pays around 1.25 per mile
It is GOLD
An account every carrier would kill for
waiting for your price is a message board cliche
If you wait til you get your price in New England you will have one hell of an accent by the time you get out.

Well it's too late for that as I already talk like that. It makes for exciting times out here. Try asking for a Stahbucks in Louisiana. Yesterday I asked for an iced coffee at Mcdonalds and the girl actually called over the manager to help her. Still don't understand that one as there is no letter "r" in iced coffee but I guess in Oklahoma they say ahced instead of how I say it.

It's funny a couple of weeks ago I was delivering the cardboard to Delaware and the guy says to put the trailer "with the cahboard..." so I say, hey you talk normal where are you from? He looked at me funny as he was the owner of the place and I don't think was used to being questioned about anything, and says Maine. We ended up having a nice conversation.

Anyway Sonny, yes if I leave this guy I need to do it in a right way. I of course want to go on my own but would like to go with this guy's blessing. He's a nice guy and he's been a big help so far. Besides I am very quick at picking up things and if I find something that will be useful then I will bring it to him. Of course I pay him $600 a month but there are things that I can do that he can't which is how we became friendly in the first place.

I'm not in over my head with bills like you mentioned that a lot are. I started this with quite a bit of money (well it's all relative) which is now gone but I'm not so far in debt with very good equipment.

I'm glad the short time I did otr with a company was with a reefer company. I have some contacts that I've kept the info for and when I get a bit more settled I will be calling them.

I know what you mean about inflating the rate to save face. I don't even know anyone here and I was somewhat embarrased to put the rate I was getting for this trip. However I am a very genuine person and am doing this thread for 2 reasons: 1) to obviously seek out advice on how to do things better and 2) to put out honest info that those that are going to come next can read to make informed decisions. I have gotten a lot of information here and if I can offer some in return I would be glad to do it.

Well I'd like to write more but just stopped to make a sandwhich. I can't rest until I get to where I need to be or at least a lot closer. I'm neurotic like that.

I will say a few words about rates. i have hesitated to post some of my own numbers, simply because most who are posting their numbers don't seem to be getting the same rates. Frankly, the last week or so, rates seem to have taken a nose dive. I have been offered several loads today around $1.50 for a step deck. That is much different than a couple of weeks ago. I spoke with one company in the Midwest who told me they have been getting $1.85/mile for steps. That seems low to me, considering the high cost of fuel. There are areas of the country where rates are better some times and lower at others. For instance, in winter months rates tend to be higher in the Sunbelt, especially when the weather is bad. In Summer months, rates are usually better in the Sunbelt. The reason is because many people don't want to run in bad weather, so rates are higher. The same with hot summer weather in the South. It is cooler in the rust belt in summer. Lower capacity equals higher rates. Higher capacity and lower rates. I suppose it could be looked at like a chess board, as someone mentioned. You constantly need to be aware of where the better paying loads originate.

Sorry, double post. :oops:

Yeah ran into a guy with 4 trucks, own authority, in Idahao, n he constantly ges 1.70-2.00 for dry van, so I know the better rates are out there, he shared a few sources with me n we talked shop......he uses a little trick tho.

He owns no trailers, and he moves other peoples trailers, and loads his freight on them, so if you owned your own trailers minus the 40c or so he probably gets to move those trailers.

So what seems to be the main thing that makes people fail or makes them go back to leasing on or to Landstar is lack of good paying freight. I was thinking of your post tonight while I was driving and I think, as stupid as this sounds or maybe naive, that when becoming an O/O too much emphasis is placed on the aspect of getting the truck. I mean what is the truck but a tool to carry the freight. The truck by itself does nothing but look pretty.

I haven't studied the truck industry but it seems like from the little I read, a lot of these big truck companies started out with a contract. I think I read Celadon had some contract I forget with what I think auto parts though could be wrong. LCT, now part of Gainey, started with a couple of trucks hauling flowers. Swift, well that guy was hauling his own stuff I think. But it seems like they had the freight before the truck while a lot of us get the truck before the freight.

This honestly is my dream. I'd love to haul my own stuff. Buy things by the truckload and deliver it. I know it's far fetched but what the hell. Actually I know a guy who has some land on a main road and we talked about buying a truckload of Christmas trees and setting them out on his lot during the season.

A few months ago, a relative by marriage came over to my house with a friend that was staying with them for a few days. Well lo and behold I get to talking with this girl and she works for a logistics company in Ecuador. They ship flowers over here and all over the world. I was working for a company at the time and it was one of the ones that were hauling some of their flowers out of Miami. I'd love to get some type of contract straight with people down there to haul flowers (actually they didn't contract with the trucking companies here the importers here did that) I don't know I started asking a lot of questions but I didn't want to be rude so I didn't get to ask as many as I'd have liked to.

Yet the guy I work with doesn't haul for shippers. He deals with the brokers. He doesn't want to deal with shippers as he says they don't pay. Yet GMAN advocates getting work straight from shippers so I'm trying to reconcile the two points of view.

Also, as this guy doesn't haul for shippers which seems to go against the getting the freight before the truck. This guy though is born and raised in this industry so has a better chance at dealing with the brokers.

Really another factor I guess is how far in does one want to go. What I mean by that is if you have one truck, low overhead and know what you are doing as far as picking loads, then I guess you can do well. However if you have 3 trucks with massive overhead well that changes things quite a bit. Or even if you have one truck with massive overhead and don't know what you are doing, well that's heading for trouble.

I hope it's clear what I'm trying to say, as I guess I'm trying to say too many things at once. There seems to be many variables at play here and there is not a one size answer for all. Just as one person can live well off of $50,000 while another would go into massive debt on the same salary.

Low overhead and good freight I guess that sums it up. Quite obvious really. Finding the good freight can take time so I guess if you get the truck first then one should be prepared to live lean for awhile. I guess if you can get through the lean times then the money will come. I'm sure GMAN wasn't getting the rates he's getting right out of the box. I mean he's get many years of experience.

One final thought, these checks come in kind of large. I mean in 3 weeks I've billed over $12,000. A lot of people get money and they are thinking "what can I buy". I think "what can I pay". Money management is key here.

Pepe I'm planning on doing a lot better than $1.30 to $1.50 out of Wisconsin. Last time I got $1.75 and the guy I'm working with got mad with his dispatcher for putting that on my truck. And to answer if I'm using Getloaded and Internet truck stop, you might have missed it in the beginning but I pay someone to load my truck. I do monitor Getloaded though and try and see what's where. I have little patience with slow internet though.


Oh by the way Sonny as for New England I don't think the guy I'm working with goes there. He said he has a $500 surcharge for going to New York which basically means he won't go. Not only the rates and tolls he mentioned that it tears up the truck up there. As for me I have no desire to go there anyway. With the company I was with I was so happy when they sent me to Mass. I mean you are always going to be nostalgic for where you are from. Well I get up there and it starts to snow and I've never driven a rig in snow before and it's freaking cold and I don't even own pants really as I live in Florida and that was it for me. I never ever need to see that place again.

[quote="merrick4"]
Glad to hear it....you guys generally make a little more then we dry van haulers anyway tho....just almost panicked when you could only get a buck....what would I get 50c???? :-p hmmm no dont tell me...I gotta pay the broker for the privilage of having a load :-p

Yeah trying to get a Sureway load outa LA right now.....I can usually get 1.40-1.60 outta LA....but you refer guys consistantly get $2....but obviously many wont go to California tho....being a native I know the little tricks some dont to avoid getting hasseled.

Nothing is life which is worthwhile is easy. However, running your authority does involve more than driving the truck. Some people are better at multi-tasking than others.

I have also met those who have lost their shirt as an owner operator or running their authority. Not everyone should be in business for themselves. Some people give up their authority because they don't want to deal with all of the paperwork. I am not sure what is so confusing about the load boards. The main thing I would like to see changed with them is having the rates posted along with the load information. If you are cutting it so close as to not be able to feed your family and pay the bills, you probably didn't have enough reserves starting out. This can be a very unforgiving business. I believe you are correct about having a mentor to help you get a good start. Unfortunately, most are not willing to wait and learn. They would prefer jumping in and make their own mistakes. Doing so is a very expensive way to learn this business. I think that is one reason we have such a high failure rate.

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I don't consider pulling freight for $1.25/mile as GOLD. Your friend could make as much pulling a van for one of the low mileage carriers. $1.25 is not a good rate. It is consistent business, but by the time he pays for fuel and his driver, there isn't anything left for himself or profit. He is one breakdown away from bankruptcy.