Own authority: dont assume it has to be OTR
 

There is a small group of here with our own authority and a lot of people who dream of getting it.
You don't have to run 48 states.
You can make a go of it just running in your region
This is the reason I got my own authority to begin with
To stay close to home.
You can behome most nights
and still have your own authority

I guess it depends on where you live. You're up in the Northeast so a lot more things happening. I don't think I could do that in South Florida nor to be honest would I want to. (Except I would love to stay out of the cold)

BTW you know I read in one of your earlier posts that you live in NJ and are driving to Mass and such and still in your own bed at night. Man you must have nerves of steel to be sitting and driving in all of that every day. I tell you, you deserve every penny that you make.

I run between Boston and Harrisburg,York, etc
I have some catching up to do so I am sleeping in truck twice a week to stay legal
will only run 1900 miles this week
I prefer frozen ltl both ways
it takes 2 days to get rid of 5 stops
eg Tue my first stop was 3/4 of the trailer
my next 4 stops was 8,000# total
I prefer brokers who are freight forwarders
They have predictable "runs" on a weekly schedule
And sell that fact to customers
There is plenty of heartburn
doing ltl
But the brokers will kiss the behind of someone who can do ltl work
It took my quite a few months to put something together
I try to key my week on one steady load and then fill in the others
Unfortunately my key load picks up late fri and delivers Sun nite
So I have to baby sit the reefer on the weekends
and sleep in the truck sun nite
even though I only drive 3 hours away

Baltimore area to Toronto and back twice a week. ~2000 miles. $720 to the driver. Home 4-5 nights.

You have the right idea
I figure if I cant find a load......
I just go home.

What exactly is a freight forwarder? Is that like freight consolidation? That is a truck takes it to a freight forwarder's warehouse and drops it there and the warehouse puts it all together (several different loads) and onto another truck?

The guy at H&M was explaining the LTL thing. I am going to try it out. I want to explore many different things until I find my niche. I can't haul fish right now anyway as I don't want to ask the insurance company cause at it is they want to cancel me. (5 more months and I'll have 2 years on my CDL then I can choose a better insurance company)

I saw a load going to Stoughton, Ma today. A reefer load. Kind of surprised me and I was about to call on it but I don't think I could get out of there. It was a load from FFE.

BTW I have been meaning to ask, I don't know the new Boston (post Big Dig) but I remember heading into Boston from the South Shore right before the entry to the Mass Pike they had all the meat warehouses. I went there once to buy a case of meat. Are all those places still there? They made so many changes that I probably wouldn't even know how to get around Boston now.

Now that I think of it, BJ's is out of there, well Natick I think, and I know for instance some of their stores in Florida carries stuff that I would say for sure come from up there like Pearl Hotdogs. I think Burris Logistics does a lot of BJ's but they must hand out a lot of that stuff too?

Broker: A freight pimp that does not take possession of the frieght.
Freight Forwarder:A freight pimp that does take possession of the frieght.

At least I think that's how it goes.

A freight forwarder puts blocks of ltl shipments together.
For instance I go to an area and make a few pick ups.
Then go to a central location called a cross dock At this place the freight is taken off and mixed with other drivers who did the same
trucks are reloaded
and we are on our way
Boston is very easy post big dig
Not so much meat but refridge warehouses none the less
Boston is mostly frozen food
BJ's is in a mega complex in Uxbridge

That's what I'm trying to work on as well Sonny. I have time to see if anything materializes while I get the truck ready. Going all 48 isn't really what I want to do now, I want to see if I can put something together where I can be home most nights and still make good money.

Another reason is the smaller the radius, the cheaper the insurance.

rank, I'm going to try to pm you later this evening, I have some questions about border crossing. Also, does Canada have a website for border crossing requirements for CMV's? Something like our FMCSA?

Canada stuff. I think Rank sent me this pointer.


http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/tr...instnbc-e.html

Steve's link is a good one.

The thing to remember about getting a truck into Canada is that all the provinces have different DOT (in Ontario it's the MTO) rules. I only really kwow about Ontario.

-Truck wheelbase max is 244".
-Max overall length of truck and trailer including overhang is (going from memory here) 75'.
-no bridge law....more axles = more allowabe weight.
-HOS are 13 driving, 14 on duty, min 10 hours off per day (8 of which must be consecutive).
-Must have ON on your cab card otherwise you need a trip permit (that's standard stuff).

There are the customs laws also, but that is covered in Steve's link.

I'm local with Authority now. IRP for NY,NJ,PA,CT,MA,ME,OH,MD,DE. :D
The majority of my work is in Steves favorite spots, NY,& NJ.

WHY DID YOU LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG???

Those 2 letter abbreviations are all 4 letter words to me!!!

I am a newbie and have been wondering about regional work for some time now.

After reading through various posts of how some people dislike the OTR life and would like to be home more, and then of how many of you say that "shorter loads pay better", and the fact that 48 state insurance costs more, I wondered why more people don't do regional. I'm assuming its difficult to line up good paying trips in one area consistently and areas such as florida that has good freight in, but not out would be problematic.

I have started considering putting a company together that does only local, intrastate shipments. I live in cali so I'm not sure if thats possible or not, as at this point I have no idea how much freight is here to move. Plus I'd need at least a couple years expereince before I'd even think of attempt this.

Kevo

I've been crossing Ontario for the last 8 years and my truck is 270",I did get a ticket for pulling a 53' trailer because I was over 250",but pulling 48' never a problem.

If I was single with no children I would hit the road in a heartbeat. I would probably only come home a couple times a year.

I see long trucks up here all the time but I never know if they have a permit or not. I know a guy with a 379 that permits his. I don't think the local DOT are too sticky about that rule but it's there nontheless.

What do you mean you were over 250"?

loadit,you have a P.M. from 1955. :lol: Check your inbox,willy a?

can't be over 250" pulling a 53' trailer. $375cdn fine

Is that the tractor length with a 53 Mike? 250"= 20'10"

I've been researching the Canadian website for trucks recently and haven't come across that. I've found overall length, height.

I haven't found gross weight yet for Ontario.

Yes if you pull a 53' trailer in Ontario tractor length cannot exceed either 250 or 255",can't remember which,just know that I was a "little" over....lol

Nice enough MTO,but he did make me hold one end of his tape measure to find out how long I was,I even fudged it a little....not enough :sad:

250" from bumper to mud flaps? sonofagun. didn't know about that one.

Rosty,

try the MTO Carrier Info Center at (800)387-7736

Found it here also rank. I jotted down the number though, thank you.