cheap freight vs dead head

hey, its my right to deadhead from Albuquerque back to Columbus, its my truck, I own it

on a related note my trucking company is having financial problems I wonder why that is

 

I'll dh in heartbeat for a better paying load. Even its 200 miles and it tears that rate down to or close to that cheap c$$p that I'm close to. That cheap c$$p can sit on the docks til the cows come home.

 

That stuff doesn't sit on a dock. Ever call on one of those loads when your in a crap hole? Lets say it's advertised at $1.25 a mile and you say you need $1.35 then the broker says nope!!! Why? Because a company driver will be forced to take the load. Big companies don't dead head. The drivers don't have a choice. They want those trucks moving and out of the area.

This past late summer and into fall I was hauling pipe to Williston, ND from Illinois to stock up the pipe yards before the snow started to fall. They paid us enough to go up and come back empty and get another one. I did it non stop until they were done. I was on the same schedule as 3 other guys that were always waiting to load first thing 2 days later.

Most times when your going to a crap hole you get paid very well. Some have a goal of $2.00 is good. Getting $3.50 to go into that crap hole gives you a lot to think about.

Like taking a load into Denver for $3.50 a mile. The only thing paying $1.50 is a load of hay 200 miles away going to yet another crap hole. For a flatbed you want to get back to lets say Bloomington, IL which is a great area for freight. That's 1,000 miles away. There is freight heading that way but not all the way and it pays crap so you could do that non stop the whole way back and waste a LOT of time. You could dead head back and take another load and average $1.75 and keep your truck running non stop. Many do. I know a woman at Landstar that does this for an overall average of $1.50 and she does very well.

Now from Denver you could dead head to Omaha, NE 500 miles away and a lot more freight but the stuff heading to Bloomington, IL is going to pay crap so yet another decision. You can take a load from Omaha to NJ for maybe $2.00 a mile but your in another crap hole and you didn't get paid really well to go there.

I think most need to ask themselves what is a good rate. If a good rate for someone is $1.80 and they can run non stop it's easy to figure out when to dead head out a long way. For someone sitting for 2 days waiting for another $.50 cents a mile doesn't cut it. At 500 miles a day for two days you've lost $1,800 in gross revenue your not going to make up with that $.50 cents a mile extra.

DubbleYellows thread is a good example where he posted all the facts and figures. Everyone boasts getting $5.00 a mile and DubbleYellow posts those figures also once in a while but he also posts his not so good loads and the dead head miles and calculates his overall average which 99% of you DON'T. If anyone wants to know the real world they should print out his details and go from there.

The bottom line is what is a good rate for you if you could run non stop? If it's $2.00 a mile for a flatbed you'll be dead heading a lot but your hitting your mark. Everyone must admit dead heading is a very nice ride with the cruise on going up a 6% grade pulling nothing.

 

One more example. I have a friend from NH that takes bailed cardboard from MA to OH for $1.25 then OH to NH for $3.50. This is the only thing he does and he does it non stop and does great. Me, I cannot take East Coast driving. It would drive me nuts.

If you do the math he drives 1,200 miles for $2,850 which comes out to $2.40 a mile.That's non stop and he can jump out anytime and go home.

 

DoubleYellows thread page 17. Good numbers!!! You can see his dead head figures are rising and the effect


http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ows-company-driver-independent-thread-17.html

 

ironically enough , I started doing way better when I realized cheap freight is something I don't want to deal with

 

My 4 cents is that if nobody hauled cheap freight there would be no cheap freight!

 

Yes, but for a large carrier it doesn't make good business sense. They want those trucks out of there. Making enough to operate the truck and pay the driver at $1.25 is better then getting nothing at all. It's a fact of life. It's also supply and demand same as it is anywhere on the planet.

 

Yes I know it not going to sit there but as far as I'm concerned it can until the cows come.
I wouldn't and have never called on load for 1.25 I don't care if I got 4.00 going in I'm not touching it.
Fortunately I don't deal with brokers anymore. I never could stand the back and forth with them.
I would like to continue but my I'm a little tired and my thumbs are getting cramped.

 

You type with your thumbs? That spacebar can be a real B**ch