If you pull flats then you will tarp in all types of weather. We tarp in snow, rain, high winds or any other type of weather mother nature wants to throw at us. Last year I had to tarp a load in 16 F temps and about 3 feet of snow and more while I tarped. In fact, my tarps were white before I finished. If you only want to haul loads that don't need to be tarped then you will do a lot of sitting. If you don't want to tarp in winter then you may want to look at another type of freight.

No, not at all. You would run under their authority. If you get your own authority and buy your own tank then I don't see you making it. The big companies have this market taken care of andmost won't ship with an independant due to the nature of the biz and the hazmat materials.

Not too sure why you want your own authority when you can be a lease operator and make the same money with LESS investment???

You will still pay your own insurance, plates, fuel ect ect....... I'm just saying, the tank biz pays very well, but as an independant I don't see you making it. i know Dow Chemical for example has strict contracts with QC and Enterprise Oil. Also, don't forget that when running a tanker, you have big brothers eye on you the whole time (US Govt)

Now as for running a flat, you can deff do what you say you would like to with your own authority, just remember that there are about 20,000 other guys doing the same thing and you will be fighting for the same loads, and not to mention in competition with TMC, Maverick, Hunt ect ect..... seems like the only guys making money are the SPECIALTY guys, such as Heavy haul, wind-farm stuff and the hazmat transports.


You say you live in Alabama??? Have you thought about buying a used rig and trailer for hauling logs???? I know they seem to do well and with a $25k investment you could make out in a year or two and buy a brand new truck with cash then do OTR if you wanted to.

I spent an hour preparing a post with all my 2010 stats but the website times out and I lost it all. I ain't doing it again so here it is from memory. All loads picked up in VA, MD, PA, NY or FL and del to ON, QC, NB, NS or PEI

85 step deck/double drop loads
average rate per loaded mile: $5
average rate for all miles: $2.50
Loaded miles: 34,000
All miles:~68,000

7 flat bed loads
average rate per loaded mile: $2.47
average rate for all miles: $1.87
All miles:~9950

Next time you write a long post, I"d suggest you write it in a Notepad file on the computer. Then you log on to the website, do "COPY and PASTE" and all content is transferred to ClassAdrivers - without loss.

That's happened to me before as well.
Just hit the "back" button, and you pull the page back up with your post. Copy what you have, and log back in.

I was curious if any of you know how brokers go about deciding what they are going to pay for a load to be moved and what portion they are going to keep for themselves? I know that it depends on where you are going and what you're hauling but there must be somewhat of a standard right????? I mean I'm hearing anywhere between 20 and 40 %????

My wife used to work under a produce broker for a few months before we came back out to the road and they charged 8% flat... but that was AFTER they managed to get a load from another broker that supposedly was taking much more. I don't understand how that company did it and remained profitable but they did. I guess they averaged paying about 2/mile tho. If you ask me its a little unethical that an armchair bandit would make more than the guy doing the actual work..

Oh I know. My husband has driven for 22 years. We've heard of some that actually double broker like that. It's so sad an I see a lot of guys who are not making it any longer and are planning on shutting down. There is no sense in driving if you're only paying for fuel. We all know that there are many more expences involved.

Experience gives them a pretty good idea of what it will take to broker the load, then they will add their profit. Hopefully (for the broker) that amount is low enough to get the shipper to give them the freight.

They are guessing! One agent i did a load for emailed me today asking if I could tell them what a good rate would be for this particular load. It was for a VAN trailer from Montana into SK, Canada... I'm pulling a step, so I told them, "I"m not an expert on van loads, but I'd suggeest - around $2/mi." They thanked me and said it'd be their starting point for negotiations with drivers :)