:lol: :lol: :lol: You miss the coma...But that's not the reason, why I'm laughing.. :lol:

Yes, I agree with that. I think there are some people who argue that you can sit in a bad area and your rate will come along, that's just not true. I think it takes experience to know where the hot spots are and not. A broker will give you about 3.2 seconds to say yes and move on to the next available truck. I've tried calling back within 10 minutes and the load is gone. It's very fast paced sometimes.

I tried sitting once in Wyoming near Rock Springs instead of taking the $1.10 and the load never came up. I sat from Thursday afternoon till Monday and was just getting ready to head out when I got a panic call from a customer to haul an aluminum pipe for $2.00 a mile. It weighed less than 200 pounds but was 25' long. They called UPS but didn't realize it was longer than they could take.

I realize most of you have shippers and you don't differentiate between us carriers who work off the load boards and yourself. Myself, Merrick, Pepe, and soon, Doghouse represent the real world of load board carriers. I think I saw Pepe working the drive up window at Taco Bell by the way.

It would be nice to hear the real Private GI Joe stories from the grunts like myself who don't have any shippers or lanes.

I love what I'm going, roaming around the country and don't think I could do the same lane over and over again even though it meant a constant good rate. I've seen some pretty awesome stuff and people in the short time I've been doing this and wouldn't give it up to haul steel to California then onions back to the East Coast non stop.

I'm not complaining here but be sensitive to the fact that most of you have shippers and are not representative of the ones who are posting and asking questions.

dont forget us steve, we roam around too. Most of our loads come from the truck being posted on the load boards.

We have been pretty lucky lately and have gotten some good paying freight out of some really bad areas. Sometimes it is just being in the right place at the right time!! 8)

tootie

Now now Tootie. We know that your driving someone else's truck for someone else on this forum who's getting the loads. When ya going to give up that info....HUH HUH HUH

Gee I don't know. I think you guys are the exception.

Maybe what I will do is give my rates for load board rates only. I've posted a few stories in the past, but they are relatively boring by your standards. :wink: Since I don't drive much, I don't have 13 hours a day to kill. Even now I don't have time for this....I have a DOT audit in 4 days LOL.

I hear ya. I understand you don't have any lanes and I understand you like it that way. But that is a choice you make and it comes with a price as you understand. I beleive that those who ask questions want to make money...but maybe I'm wrong.

99% of my backhauls come from load boards....or at least they did at one time or another. One broker currently represents approx 50% of our backhauls. This broker acts as the exclusive Logistics Manager for a handy shipper in our lane. These loads are not posted any longer because we take everything we can so they won't post it on the boards....I believe we handle ~90% of their freight that moves into my home state. That connection originally came from a load board too. The other 50% still come from boards. It's always a gamble trying a new broker, but the bright side is that he may be my next regular "shipper."

As you know, we pay drivers and in that case, I don't think there is any money to be made by roaming around the country doing long haul....the exception may be LTL.

All the biggest carriers are LTL for a reason....Yellow, Fed-ex, Purolator, DHL....

Now, back to preparing for my audit.

And Rank! Just to make something clear(not for me, but "majority" :) )
Why does he give you all those loads, w/o even posting it on the load boards?
Is that, cause you proved to be reliable? Or he couldn't possibly move it cheaper? :lol: :wink:

LOLOLOLOL.

He got tired of carriers showing up late, not having the proper equipment, not scheduling appointments with the consignee, damaging the freight, double brokering....so, no he couldn't possibly move 3-4 loads per week cheaper with anyone that meets his criteria.....if that's what you mean
:lol:

Thanks Rank, good post.

Hey Rank, I understand you drive once in a while and I was wondering.

Do they other guys raze you as you pull out of the lot?

Do they write things on the back of your dirty van like "RCMP SUCK".

Do they tape pictures of clear lanes on your side mirrors?

Do they replace your Molson beer with Shlitz?

LOL that's a good one.

Yuck. That's not even funny.

Actually they treat me OK because they don't have to do the local leg of the trip. Or maybe it's because they dont want to tarp in the rain at the Port of Newark.

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

When Hell freezes over and pigs FLY!!......We will never tell...... :wink:

Merrick4; It took me 3 hours, but after reading every post in this very informative thread it was good to see your last post of 10/06 had an overtone of "Im fed-up and Im not gonna take it any more"!!!

If you are decided on keeping your dispatch service, they MUST perform for you. Sit them down and insist that you are not interested in going broke, or running for less than 1.45, or whatever number you need for minimum profit. Or better yet, give them an incentive to perform. For example, you are paying them 650 a month now, and I forgot how many loads you took in your first 30 days, but say 9? (lets use that for discussion sake) That is $72/load.

Now devise a scale for them, with incentives

net cpm 1.35 or less=unacceptable
net cpm 1.35 to 1.45= 60.00
net cpm 1.46 to 1.65= 80.00
net cpm 1.66 to 1.75= 95.00
net cpm 1.76 to 2.00- 110.00

You would have to adjust those numbers to suit your own operation, but offer rewards for higher paying work. And if they laugh at a proposal like this, drop them and look elsewhere, as that would indicate to me they are not interested in getting YOU good loads, but rather keeping them for themselves, and giving you the culls, and charging you good money in the process. You would be better to turn on the laptop in your cab and scour the load boards yourself when this dispatch service is slow, or low-paying loads are their only offering. Be patient, often times good things come to those who wait, and run a tight ship. Not being critical of you, I ENVY you, and want to see you go forward.

Dont be weak in any business. Stand your ground the first day in, or it will only get tougher. Im 54 and have not worked for anyone but myself since I was 25.

Best regards.

That's quite an accomplishment Orange Andy, congratulations. I started on my own at 23 and am 37 now, I hope to make it as long as you. :D

650.00 a month for a frickin dispatch service? :shock: :shock: There are dispatch services that charge less than 400.00 or 40.00 by the load.How about just asking the same broker ahead of time that you're hauling for and see if they have a load coming out of the area you are delivering to? One way to minimize the headache of finding loads and hiring a dispatch service is to build a good relationship with 4 or 5 reputable brokers and/or shippers and gradually form a running lane. As far as roaming the country goes,trucking is a business,NOT a travel show. :lol: The incentive should be to make a profit and stay within the lanes you prefer running and try not to step outside of those lanes. I usually try to book a load a week ahead of time by asking the same broker Im supposed to pick up for about what they have coming back out in addition to posting my truck on the boards. Most of the loads I have found never made it to the boards. Loadboards and dispatch services should only be used as a last resort or just to get an idea of who is posting what,NOT a sole dependant for finding all your freight. I am signed up with a dispatch service and they only charge by the load. So far I haven't had to use them.

[quote]Steve wrote: Yes, I agree with that. I think there are some people who argue that you can sit in a bad area and your rate will come along, that's just not true. I think it takes experience to know where the hot spots are and not. A broker will give you about 3.2 seconds to say yes and move on to the next available truck. I've tried calling back within 10 minutes and the load is gone. It's very fast paced sometimes.

I tried sitting once in Wyoming near Rock Springs instead of taking the $1.10 and the load never came up. I sat from Thursday afternoon till Monday and was just getting ready to head out when I got a panic call from a customer to haul an aluminum pipe for $2.00 a mile. It weighed less than 200 pounds but was 25' long. They called UPS but didn't realize it was longer than they could take.

I realize most of you have shippers and you don't differentiate between us carriers who work off the load boards and yourself. Myself, Merrick, Pepe, and soon, Doghouse represent the real world of load board carriers. I think I saw Pepe working the drive up window at Taco Bell by the way.

It would be nice to hear the real Private GI Joe stories from the grunts like myself who don't have any shippers or lanes.

I love what I'm going, roaming around the country and don't think I could do the same lane over and over again even though it meant a constant good rate. I've seen some pretty awesome stuff and people in the short time I've been doing this and wouldn't give it up to haul steel to California then onions back to the East Coast non stop.

I'm not complaining here but be sensitive to the fact that most of you have shippers and are not representative of the ones who are posting and asking questions[/color][quote][quote]

Steve,

I only have 2 cotton shippers, the rest of our loads are from the boards or from Brokers that I have developed a relationship with that call us on a regular basis. The cotton shippers do not always have loads for us on a daily or even weekly basis. We do not run the same lanes. One week we might be in the SE then the following week in the MW.

Whereever the truck is and before making a call to a Broker, I see what areas have more freight than trucks in the states that we run, then I concentrate on going to those areas. It takes a little more work to do what I do because we don't run all 48 but my truck is always moving freight at a good rate because I took the extra time.

I'm glad that you are enjoying the US - it's a beautiful country. I'm glad that you are in a situation where you can sit for days. We are not - this is not a hobby for us but our way of making a living for now.

Tried the Flying J internet, man it's fast. Cingular barely works out here in Wyoming.

Just to clarify things, I do not use an official dispatch service. As mentioned it's a guy who has 11 trucks and has a full time job and has a dispatcher and he supposedly had plenty of freight and was going to load my truck for the $600 a month.

Well turns out that the dispatcher is his brother-in-law and is not as shrewd as he is. A lot hasn't seemed right since I've been out here and slowly I'm figuring things out.

1) It seems to me he hauls mostly for CH Robinson for the simple reason that they pay fast. TQL pays better on the loads but he said they take too long to pay. By the way he didn't just come out and tell me this at first but I kept asking questions on why he is doing certain things. I can wait for my money. Besides that CH Robinson charges 1.5% so it seems to me that for another 1.5% he can just use TQl and factor the invoices but it's his business.

2) I keep ending back up in Florida and not for the greatest rates. Well today he admitted that another reason he uses CH is because they have year round freight in Florida and he needs to have that as his drivers need to get home. I don't need to get home all the time.

So in the end he needs to run his business different than I do mine. Anyway they went and got me a load out of Idaho back to where else, Florida. The money is ok, $4500 on about 2700 miles. but as I said this is winding down. I had my license plate loose and the Idaho State Troopers pulled me over. I guess they are DOT as well so he did a Level II inspection. I passed but he gave me a local violation for the plate.

All trucks were pulled over today in Wyoming and they wanted to see my logs. I told him I use a computer program and would be more than happy to print it for him. He declined and let me go. I like this Drivers Daily Log program. I didn't even have the last 7 days printed when the Idaho trooper wanted my log but I told him I'd print them and he was fine with that. He commented that he liked them as they are easy to read (and easy to fix :wink: )

One problem I see is I only have a few months out here and close to 1000 hours on my reefer. I have heard that the average should be 2500 per year but as I haul produce I don't know how that's done. Any ideas No_Worries?

I calculated today I have earned $38,900 for my loads since I started on July 21st I believe it was. I didn't think it was that much as I was home for a bit. Plus another $500 or so for detention and unloading maybe a bit more.

I need to finish calculating the fuel but I believe I have spent about $14,000 or so on fuel. I will finish catogorizing the rest of the expenses then put it out here. I know insurance for the year was $14,199.47. Those are the two major expenses anyway.

Thx for the update Merrick. Glad to hear things are ok. And I think you are only going to get better rates, more knowledge, and make even more money. You are approaching 3 months in business. Lets say.......

45,000 gross income or 180k annual
15,000 fuel, or 60k annual
14,000 insurance annual
7,200 fee for dispatch/loads
Leaves about 99K for depreciation, taxes, maint, licensing, and your wage.

Bottom line of 55k seems well within reach, and it would not take much improvement to bring that number up to 70K, imho.

Best regards

Glad to hear things are going ok for you. As far as reefer hours go, it will vary widely. If you're hauling almost exclusively reefer loads you'll really rack up the hours, especially with produce since you can't run start/stop. That 2500 number would be fairly typical for a fleet trailer which makes up the bulk of what's available on the used market. Most of those fleets are hauling a mix of reefer and dry freight so they don't pile up the hours. We were using running anywhere from 40-60% reefer and probably 1/3 of that we could run start/stop, so the hours didn't accumulate terribly fast. Over the last 150,000+ miles we've put 2800 hours on this unit. The long and the short of it is, if you're hauling produce the reefer hours are what they are. There's nothing you can do about it except understand what each of those hours costs you and make sure you're charging accordingly. Keep up the good work.

If you have reefer breakdown insurance
Check to see if there is a specific number of hours
they require to have the unit inspected/service.
Some require inspection every 1000 hours to keep coverage
which is a pain

well I cut the cord today. I don't need to be paying $600 a month to run for a $1.30 I can do that myself. Why this guy did this I have no idea. Sometimes you can't rationalize the unrational. I believe in working together and pooling resources which was supposedly what we were going to do but all he did was hand me on a platter to that unscrupulous CH Robinson broker.

Oh well. So I got my first load already and I'll tell you the danger of running cheap. I called on several loads and I can't believe what they wanted to pay so I declined. But then I spoke to another CH Robinson broker who offered me $1000 to run 700 miles from Kansas City to Grand Rapids, MI. All I could do was get him up to $1050 and I divided that by 700 and got $1.50 and said yes. So the danger of running cheap is when they pay you just above cheap it looks good. I got mad at myself after. They got me so use to running for $1.30 I thought I was doing great getting something without a 3 in it.

I will say one thing though, the other people had me deadheading a million miles to end up ruining the rate and end up with $1.30. At least I only have to deadhead like 15 miles for this one so less wear on the equipment.

Anyway just cut my expensed by $150 a week so that's a plus.

BTW a letter came to my house from Amex, they are changing the terms of the rebate agreement. From now on "automobile gas" (they can't tell the difference between auto and truck nor diesel) will not get the rebate of 5% for individual purchases of over 75 gallons or the equal dollar value. How they know the dollar value I don't know but I'll just shut the pump off around 60 gallons and turn it back on. Hope that works or I'll have to find another card. I've been doing real well on the rebates.

Merrick4, not all CH Robinson loads are cheap. Some pay pretty well. I would suggest trying to find two or three of their brokers whom you can work. You may also check with some other major brokers. If you have regular traffic lanes where you like running you may find that some of these brokers will give you better rates if they know that they can rely on you. If you don't care where you go or how long you stay out, you can also usually do much better on the rates. I am glad to see that you severed your relationship with the dispatcher. I don't think he was doing much for you for the money you paid him.

Thats a good move Merrick, Im sure you can get better paying loads, and like you say, less deadhead on your own, for a little more work on your part. But as time goes, it should all get smoother, and better. Just keep a focused eye on how to streamline the operation. Talk to shippers, etc.

As for American Express, I used their cards for years, but in 2001 bought a used trailer for $11k. Paid for it with the card, and when my statement came, it showed a "cash advance of $11,000", and they wanted something like 24.99% interest, or whatever, and never could get them to correct / change it. So paid them off, paid the balance, which cost me an extra $250 in un-warranted interest, and sent them their card back. No thanks Amex! Doesnt surprise me to hear them waffling on your 5% fuel rebate offer. watch them.

regards

I too, got that letter from Amex. I will fuel two times a week now instead of one, to keep it below the 75 gallons.(I don't do many miles). They will make more money having more transaction fees from using the card more often. Hopefully, it will work(I don't see why not), or they get the boot.

I guess I'll start putting my rates down cause I need some feedback. Now that I'm on my own I guess I am second guessing myself. Anyway I just did a load from Kansas City, KS to Grand Rapids, MI. It was a reefer load but start/stop and as it is cool outside I didn't hear the reefer go on once so that's a big improvement already as with the other guy I never shut the reefer off it seemed like.

Miles were 777 and it paid $1050 which comes to $1.35. No real improvement over what I was doing with the other guy except the reefer wasn't running which is a big plus. There was about 30 miles of deadhead but I'm not sure how to add that in cause really it was only so much because I went out of the way to go to a truckstop.

I got up this morning in Gary, IN and posted my truck but before I even got out of the T/A parking lot I took it off cause the phone was going and I want to be in front of the computer looking at stuff when I talk to them.

Yesterday I did get a bunch of calls from TQL but for decent money but to Ok areas and with the weekend coming up I wanted to make sure I don't sit for the weekend.

I called a company on a load very close to me to Kent, WA. This morning I called on a load from CH Robinson from MI to CA and it was only paying about $1.22. With fuel this way I don't know how people can do this, plus it was a reefer load.

So as for the load to WA, it is 2225 miles and dry and they said $3000. I got her only up to $3100 and accepted which comes to $1.39 a mile which for so many miles seemed good and from what I understand East to West is cheaper than West to East. I put it in Truckload.com and they said I should have got $3595.94 or $1.61 per mile. I'm not so sure this program is working right as the other day from Miami to Chicago dry it said close to $2.00 a mile.

The funny thing is and what has me confused is I put in a reverse run from Washington to Michigan and it said only $3081.40 or $1.38 a mile. For some reason they had it cheaper. I was planning on trying to get to the West Coast and stay out there for a while, but as produce season is coming in Florida, I think I might head straight back while the money is good. I haven't been home for a while anyway and need to take care of a couple of things.

Shouldn't West to East be more? Any comments on the rates?

I have rate mate from ITS and its just the rates that people report or put on the board any way.
I don,t think they get enough rates reported to them to get an accurate picture.
One very low rate or high rate can change the average drasticly

Where is the fuel surcharge in the rates ????

you get a fuel surcharge when the broker really needs you
otherwise"its in the rate"

So the OP is realistically hauling at about a 1.00 to 1.10 per mile.... :lol: :shock: :lol: :shock: I don't turn my key for less than 1.80.

This fuel surcharge has me confused. From what I understand the rate usually includes the surcharge, so if some roll it in and others don't then when they quote you a rate you are not sure from what side they are quoting. It's not a clear thing like I'll pay you this for that. Do you mean you will give me x for this load but does x include the y factor? You know what I mean?

I was talking to a guy at CH and he told me that for carriers that haul a frequent lane then they break it down with the surcharge but if not it's a pain to do for each load and they add it together. I'm not sure what he means that it is a pain.

So what do you guys do, ask does that include the fuel surcharge? How is the rate that I'm taking to Washington? I know that's a stupd question at first blush as if I don't know then I shouldn't be an O/O. But I never planned to just buy a truck and get going, I assumed that this guy I went with was going to show me the business but that didn't happen. So I have this truck and am doing my best.

Thanks for all the help. Sonny btw I know the H&M has a terminal in WA so I will call them when I'm there as I am set up now with them.

Just as an edit when I got the load from CH I did ask if they had anything left over for fuel which was more or less asking for the fuel surcharge and he said no.

Me neither
I just keep my truck running.

You neither what? you don't run for less then $1.80?

I know the feeling when you get screwed but I'd like to keep a good relationship with them. I bought the trailer with their cards and not only was $20,000 on 0% for 12 months but I got several hundred cash back for the purchase.

I know you weren't disrespectful with this comment but I think this is why people don't put their rates cause someone is always doing better. Again I know you weren't saying that or in that vain so I mean no disrespect neither but I'm hoping for some more feedback. Do you run reefer?

Just to add more confusion about the fuel surcharge I just found the following from an old 10Q from Swift:

our surcharge programs vary by customer


I wish I had a team of accountants and finance people advising me in this like they do. Of course the wife has the Series 4,7 and 24 but she doesn't know anything about trucking.

No disrespect towards you. I run reefer. But you need to get established with shippers directly. Since xmas tree season is just around the corner, you can get a real good rate for trees into the SE and SW. I have a long time relationship with a grower and I get 2.60 + FSC.

Thanks Big Diesel. You know I'm kicking myself in the rear cause the other day I made a delivery and I got to talking with the people there and when I left he made the comment to come back again and sorry he couldn't send me out with something. I was in a hurry but I should have stopped and left my info and at least got him to clarify what kind of areas he shipped out to.

But I guess that's the key to establish yourself with shippers. These load boards are something else.

Carry your little black book and always get #'s of shippers and receivers.
Sometimes they come through in a pinch.

Merrick,

Unless you do a regular run with a given broker with which you have established a rate, you have no need for the fuel surcharge. The FSC adjusts the rate up and down based on the current price of fuel. Since you are only doing one run on that day, the FSC does't exist for you.

Let's say lansdstar needs your truck this one time to show up at a shipper. there might be 5 LS trucks there and you. The LS guys that do this run all the time might be getting 1.35 + .20 FSC. You might get $1.55 + 0 FSC.

What this says to me is that the brokers are keeping all the FSC that they are getting from the shippers(believe me they are getting it) and they are not passing it on to the carrier,this is because their is always someone to haul the load,someone wants to go home,someone wants to keep moving for the weekend,someone needs to make a truck payment next week,or some just doesn't know how much it takes to operate the equipment.Or all the above.

I think you need to get with some shippers and cut out the middle guy,this will take some time and some patience,and hopfully you can survive during this period.

The reason the brokers are telling you that the fsc is in the rate is because they don't want to tell you that it pays .95cpm plus 27% fsc,people would be less likely to to take the load if they hear .95 cents,but if you hear $1.30 it sounds alot better.It's not but perception is reallity.

I wish you the best,but I think that things are gonna get pretty serious this winter and I hope things will work out.

As far as posting your numbers I think that is a great thing,just wait until you run the load then add in all the miles to and from shippers and receivers including deadhead miles to give a realistic picture of how things are going.

Thanks Mike. You know I was thinking, I remember the first time they got me $1.30 and I refused to take it but with time they got me use to it cause I trusted this guy (and it still doesn't make sense why he did what he did). It got to the point when I hear anything over $1.30 now it is great but I will get out of that.

I am not hurting to pay the bills. The wife makes good money and I have everything set up to manage. I know this will take time and I am actively seeking either my own shippers or even better my own product to haul.

I know that they are getting the fuel surcharge and it kills me to think that for a reefer I believe it is now $.34 so a load of $1.40 is really $1.06 and obviously that's not worth having my own authority.

I'm hoping that from out West to East I will do a lot better. Just a few times dealing with these brokers and I see Pepe's frustration (where is Pepe?). They were litterally offering me $1.19 to go to California. That's insane.

One thing is I am proving to be a reliable carrier and I am getting a lot of positive feedback from these people. That's all I have to offer is good service. I told the broker at CH that I will not compete with the $1.00 a mile trucks as they will not be in business long. They want a cheap truck, there is a ton of those. They want reliable service, well they need to pay for it. If they have sense they will choose the latter. It's easy to lose a customer which may take years to obtain. I'm hoping that's how they see it anyway but like you said there is always someone trying to get home.

Thanks again Mike.