ok so today started off normal enuf....got up, went and freshened up, did my pretirp and drove to chicago...everything was good, dandy one might even say
i get to the shipper and find out my appointment was at 830 am, not pm as i was told, didnt matter the guy says to me, we dont really go by them anyhow, so i say sweet where do you want me? he says go sit in yer truck and we'll come get you...rut ro scooby
5 hours come and go, finally i get called into the loading area, 2.5 hours latter im loaded an off to go tarp, .5 latter im gettin wieghed, then in to get paper work...sweet im finally outta here i say....bull butter.....i was locked in the yard and sent to the wrong gate, so after a 1/4 mile excersice in safe backing procedures im at the right gate....which even opens im told, 15 minettes later it does open and im off, let loose on the downtown streets of chicago with terrible directions to the interstate.
yes boys and girls, its true
i pulled in at 1115 am and left at 835 pm.... i thought flat bedding was supposed to be fast...but not at wheatland tube it aint
but i dont feel to bad...the guy ahead of me had to wait 6 hours to load and he was on time for his appointment

so now that im done ranting

326 miles with big lumber load
336 miles D/H
190 miles with a load of pipe and a case of onryness
for a total of 852 total miles since last fuel stop
i added 115 gallons of #2 here at walcott
so i got 7.4 mpg in the last 2.5 days

what a long day....
talk to you tommorrow from grand island

Once in a while you'll have nonsense loads like that. I always hated that.

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that's pretty much wheatland's standard operating procedure. the one over in sharon, pa. (?) is the same way. leave you sitting for hours, but if YOU'RE 5 minutes late they tend to raise hell. either way, you wait. also, i think they are union, so if break time comes with one piece of pipe left to load on your trailer - guess what?

i've found the best thing to do is to try for a middle of the night loading time.

I have read many O/O's say the same thing.....2.00 minumum. However, those guys are running on their own authority and therefore have a few more expenses.

I'm sure it's somewhat more expensive to run independent, but i wonder exactly how much more? - especially if you own your own trailer and still lease to a company. Maybe someone could tell us?

And I've been looking at online loadboards for a while - which some on here say is a sure road to bankruptcy. But it's sort of confusing (to me anyway - duh) because a lot of it seems to depend on WHERE you are. Example - I live in New Mexico, and it appears that nothing but cheap freight leaves here. However out of Chicago, $2 a mile freight (or close)seems pretty abundant.

A little help please?

P.S. - I know this is broncrider's thread, so I apologize, but he may find this interesting also. If I should take these questions elsewhere, someone please let me know.

thats the west for you....cheap frieght's paradice...look in the nieghboring states as well, they are just as bad
another thing that doesnt help rates are the brokers cut....one day i hope to go outlaw (independant) but my wife had better be my only broker....silly girl actully wants to be a crook, uh i mean broker
basicly anything in the west is cheaper than in the east, except fuel prices....im sure theres a reason for it but i dont know what it is

well with this load my average cents per loaded mile is sittin at $1.42, i know i need to add in my empty miles to get my true number but i dont have all that data in the truck so bear with me

ran 764 miles 2day, added anouther 115 gallons...it comes out to 6.64 mpg
bear in mind i did run nebraska and the little part of wyoming at 70ish mph, iowa was at 67 mph for the most part....i was being a driver again, not an owner, i really need to lose that habit

wyoming T/A's get my vote for worst parking lots...one guy here bent a tie rod in a massive hole, another backed up to far, went over the edge, ripped his reefer fuel tank and a xmember out of his trailer, i tried draggin him out with my truck but all i did was slide the nose of his truck around so he is callin a wrecker, man his boss is gonna be angry

as for wheatland pipe, yes they are union and i have nothing against that being in the ibew myself, but i never had a problem in sharon pa, was always done fast there, but this was my fist trip to the one in chicago and well, it sucked

runnin into evanston 2morrow to do my reset so if anyone from here is there ill buy ya a drink of yer choice


well im gonna watch smokey and the bandit parts 1,2 & 3 tommorrow and see if i cant get this trucking thing figured out

as they say in broncriding.....lift and charge!!!!!

I have never understood why TA is one of the highest priced fuel chains around, but can't/wont do a blessed thing with their parking lots.

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I agree. I refuse to go into a TA for anything unless I absolutely have to. Fortunately, where there's a TA, you'll usually find a Flying J, Pilot, or Petro!

I've enjoyed reading your posts broncrider. I wish you the best!

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~Robert~ I only wish I was rich!

so i ran across wyoming yesterday, 373 miles, added 58 gallons at the hook in evanston, got 6.43 mpg at 70 mph

so i get here in evanston an get ahold of an old army buddy, go to his house an drink a few beers, next thing i know im at the bar buyin komokasie's, wiskey and more beer, dang i had a good time. next thing i know i m wakin up in my truck , feeling like i got runned over by a herd of elephants an the last one stopped to poop in my mouth, with an empty wallet (spent over $100 in the bar) and one heck of a headache, now i remember why i quit goin to bars and basicly quit drinking. now dont get me wrong, im not complianing, i did this to myself, had one heck of time and even did some dancing with a pretty girl or two, but man it was nice to get out of the truck and go visit with folks.

keep it between the ditchs

whadda ya guys think about the lease plan with prime inc. I am thinking of jumping back in the saddle again for the last time? I hated the force dispatching thing. but I want to make enough to get my own truck My retirement savings are depleating quickly. would really appriciate your inputs.