VIPangel i actually think their business model is to get good o/o's and the lp is a way to do that. They dont handhold, they make some money off l/p's but frankly other than the maintenance pool (which im not sure they profit on) it looks like their $$ are the 25% off the top. For that o/o's are where the money is.
First days in the truck. Picked up loaded flatbed (BRAND new) from hurt driver. Was planning to hammer down and get to de by 6pm and sleep in their yard (wouldnt have worked anyway despite what google sat says). Still worried about the oil but it seems to have cleared up. Jumped in to get on the road and... hmm air leak. Only happens when i MASH the brakes but im going down old fort mountain.. i may be mashing. Add in that the jake seems to suck half the time and kick butt half the time. It "jerks" the truck at low speed/high rpm and doenst do jack at lower rpm. (this cleared up too). Have to drive 12 miles the wrong way to pay TA $55 for one (OUCH). should have called maintenance but paid out of pocket to get it done. Headed down old fort at low speed (20mph.. then faster) and it handled it without sweating. Lot of pain in the ass delays and i get to delaware... there aint jack in delaware folks. Note i made IDIOTIC newbie mistake #1. I went to bed with my lights on. Dear god i feel like a moron. Truck started!!! I love my truck a tiny bit now... Delivered the load to inside dock.. great guy workin the dock. Driver musgt have used every bungy on the damn truck to secure. It was pretty but damn man overkill. Hit a $24 toll to DE (really... youre gonna charge everyone leaving/entering your state.. and you wonder why more people/business dont show up?). So thats another 50 off my net grr. Still i think this load paid for the fixed costs.
Had dispatch put load to Beech island , sc. 5 hours later i get a call from the broker who says they need all 48ft of trailer, an 8 foot tarp (was he trying to get me off it?). Bunch of other pita stuff so i told them to pull it off me. I'd be motivated to jump on a load in the morning but dispatch has kept calling and i need Sleep! so im going to look again in the morning when the good loads show up. Theres a load to manhattan from nj that pays about 4 a mile. Problem is -manhattan. Plus the tolls are INSANE around nyc. You can easily drop 200+ in tolls up there. Some to calvert city, ky from nj that pay garbage ($1.44 or something no fsc). I MAY end up taking but i doubt it seriously. Im not running your **** load through hellroads because you know someone desparate will take them.
Ok theres a load that is SERIOUSLY tempting me. All you o/o's and heck.. the rest of you are going to laugh at me. New kingstown, pa to ruskin , fl. Basically Tampa before you get your maps out. Better than miami of course... Our load board doesnt have much >3 days out so no idea on loads out. There are a lot of hops out that would get me back north to ga, sc etc. There are some nice paying loads to texas from there but two bad freight areas in a row doesnt seem like a good plan. also : theres no way in h*ll im getting home for at least another week if i do it. I'm sortof ok with that though this is the first time in trucking ive EVER felt like i was in control and it was an adventure! (i actually sorta hate trucking most of the time). I know me and ill bet i end up taking the florida load because i'm something of an idiot. If i want a paycheck friday i need to deliver another load by tuesday evening and get it all transflo'd in. dont think thats gonna happen. but the one after that will be SWEET if i can run (everything now til monday is fuel + .15cpm.. everything else is profit).
Im at a truckstop in the boonies of delaware (its actually a nice place to shut down). I think im gonna relax, get some sleep tonight. When i wake up in the middle of the night ill hit all the other open load boards and see whats up. Honestly crst's freight board pays hella better so ill probably end up sticking with it. Im gonna sign up to getloaded though looks like they have some sweet loads (when im making $$$). The landstar board is just.. not great.
What i learned:
1. Dont act like a damn newbie swifty (no offense guys just a joke) and leave the lights on lmao. Seriously that was mindnumbingly stupid.
2. Safety head warned us the first 90 days would suck moneywise but after we got the system down we'd bring in $$$. I see why now jumping in headfirst and working the system is where its at. For instance if i werent a dumbass i'd either a: take the nyc load (not gonna happen) and pocket at least 500 for the day (maybe more) or id jump on that cheap freight to kentucky to get out of here.. not gonna happen .. probably.
1.48 or whatever a mile is a joke. I'd ACTUALLY make profit but when you figure it weekly... that kinda run pays me like 20 cents a mile to run through **** roads and lots of the worst cities.
3. this not idling is kinda cool when your truck is set up for it. Ive got more weight in blankets,comforters than in tools.
4. TOOLS!!! Carry tools and spares. If i hadnt brought my tools id have still been on the way to this load and maintenance woulda had to fork out a few hundred.
5. Shouldnt have let them rush me. I have a pockmark in the windshield ill probably have to just eat and pay for in the future because i didnt INSIST on having the truck set up from the first. I should have insisted on an oil change and the windshield being fixed. (DOT wont get me for this it's not cracked. It will though). The reason i didnt is when you start a new commpany they dont know who you are and i dont wanna be "that guy" from day one when the term manager and broker NEED me to take a run for them. That stuff pays off in my experience.
6. DONT RUN THE NORTHEAST. (This was foisted on me as my first run). I'm used to chicago so the traffic etc is no biggy. Im from wnc and lived in ky so the hills are nothing. FREIGHT is the pita. From what i see you have three kinds of loads: GOLD loads that pay killer and are a frickin nightmare to nyc etc. Crap low paying garbage that will get you out. Good loads that get you out of the ne and pay well.. but are fought over. Ya.. i think that broker had one of his boys in mind for this load. Hell if he'd just said that "i had that load planned for one of my guys to get out/home/runs it regular if you'll drop it ill make it up to you" id have done it in a heartbeat. Relationships are what all business is really about.
6. Honestly i live in freight central strangely enough (near asheville, nc). There is a good amount out of charlotte, greensboro, winston etc of course but SC is positively loaded with good freight. I knew electrolux and paper were down there but checking the load boards its pretty easy to get in and out of SC from anywhere. Once i get near home so i can really run my own truck i plan on being within 100 miles of the house every day or three and home every weekend unless i get greedy.
7. I cannot run this business like i ran as a company dry van. Just running balls to the wall wont make you extra $$... it will just keep you running your ass off with no sleep for the SAME money. I can make more money sitting 2 days and getting that extra .50 a mile than i can running for cost + .20 on the theory it gets me somewhere. (then again honestly for somethign that got me to nc/sc/tenn by tomorrow evening id probably run it for 1.50 or less .. wont happen thoug)
Also If youre willing/want to stay out a lot you CAN run texas and florida. Just remember SOUTH florida and EAST texas youre going to be dropping some $$$ on deadhead. You can run cali but dont plan on coming back east for weeks. Once you get that way your best bet is to run the state of cali til you get burned then start heading east. Ive been working the load boards
Now... to write 1000 times in notepad "I will not take a run to florida.. i will not take a run to florida"... man.. tampa sounds sweet right now...
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