Before the internet.
 

Dispatch gave me a broker load so of course I had to call the broker to get directions, ect. So as I'm sitting here in Tama, IA I got to thinking about the internet load boards. They havent been around that long and I was wondering how that worked before the internet. Was there a publication or something with broker contacts in them or something?

Back in the day
 

Great question. Back before the mid-80's we had to call brokers, we didn't have cell phones so we would have to stop at a truck stop or a pay phone and get out our little list of brokers. Most of us would have a list of brokers for each area that we were going to, and we would call before we ever got there to let them know when we would be there and empty. If we were lucky, they would have something lined up, if not, we would start calling all the brokers in the area letting them know that we were looking for a load. Basically, the idea of the search for a load on the internet is the same process; you call your favorites first then work your way down the list. There were a lot less brokers and people searching for broker loads. In fact, we were protected by law because private companies (manufacturers, etc.) were not allowed to take back-hauls, that cut down on the competition. If we took a load through a broker it had to be either what was called an exempt load, or we would have to trip-lease. Both of these are interesting subjects in themselves. Before loads were available on the internet, the truck stops had load-boards.The first that I ever knew of being available on the internet was DAT, which is the same company that had the load-boards in the truck stops. When I first got this in the 90's it was about $200 a month, and there wasn't a lot of competition for the loads that were available. Hope this all helped answer your question!

Thanks for the reply... where did you get the broker list from?

back years ago.. when you pulled into a truck truck there would be brokers out side all over approaching every driver with loads. you never had to get out of your truck. this is what I was told by a retired driver. and overweight loads? you did not even care if you got stopped, why ? cause the extra money made was a lot more than the fine. drivers used to carry type writers in their trucks for blind loads..

If a broker did not have a load for you when you called, was there any way for them to call you back or did you have to keep calling till you found something?

(I know it sounds like a dumb question, I'm just curious)

"call me back in half an hour..."

"call me back in half an hour..."

"call me back in half an hour..."



This was common when talking to dispatch or brokers.

They would call you back on a pay phone or you would need to keep calling them. Some of the old truck stops had broker offices on the premises or close by. Some brokers had parking for trucks to wait for a load. There are still a few of the older truck stops around that have broker offices. Even the Petro in Atlanta still has a couple of broker offices next door.

Then we progressed to nationwide pagers then expensive cell phones.
Ah, the good old days. If your old enough you remember enter lining(s) and co ops

I had a nationwide pager some years back. The problem was by the time I found a pay phone the load was often gone. :( Man, all the reminiscing make me feel old. :confused: Cell phones have really made a difference in this business. Only 10 or 15 years ago we had pagers. Now we have cell phones, faxes and computers in our trucks.

GMAN, what makes me feel old is going across N.M. and seeing signs to "Historic Route 66" !!!! He11 I remember when we used to run it !! I-80 used to stop and start to where you had to run 30 :(
First "Radio phone" I had was 5 lbs in a suitcase, battery lasted about 5 minutes, other than that stock up on dimes and head to a pay phone.