How far would you O/O's dead head to pick up a load? Would you sit and wait for a load less or more than 300 miles or would you just run that 300 miles or more to get a load?
How far would you dead head to get a load
Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by jugg, Dec 21, 2007.
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If the area had a reputation of cheap loads, I would take a cheap load to get me into position for a better paying load.
If the area had a reputation of good paying loads, but either had none or had a few cheap ones, I would wait.BUMBACLADWAR Thanks this. -
Roadkill just say no to cheap freight. I've heard all the arguements but if you figure in your extra time to go load, haul and unload that cheap load MOST of the time you'll end up paying the customer to haul their freight. Often times barely making fuel money.
When I was pulling a flat bed I would often have to dead head any where from 100 to 500 miles for a load. The longest I dead headed was from Las Vegas in February 06 to Ft Lewis WA. 1200 miles to pick up a load that had over 2700 miles on it. After looking at all my options and not expecting any decent freight closer I chose to get on the road and get moving. Some of the guys I was in Vegas with waited until the end of the week doing nothing but looking for a load and then STILL ended up dead heading 900 to 1000 miles for their load. Mean while I already had most of my 2700 miles under my belt.
You just gotta weigh the pros and cons and make a decision based on the area and freight available.
When I was OTR I would often DH over 200 miles in order to pickup a load paying over $2 a mile, rather than take $1.40 a mile to some place that didn't have any better rate.BUMBACLADWAR and Terry270 Thank this. -
My truck doesn't move unless it is getting paid. A dispatcher from one of our other terminals called me Tuesday and said she had a load going from York Pa to Chambersburg Pa (about 75 miles one way) and it paid $550. I said to her that that would be great if I was from York, but I am from Suburban Philly and York is 120 miles away from me.
About 1 minute of silence
So she says " so you are turning down the load, it pays 550 for only 75 miles" I laugh and say yeah I'll let that one pass.
I wanted to tell her she better call the guy that is sitting in York with a Landoll, but figured that might be better left unsaid.
The crazy thing is some bozo probably took the load just so he could brag that he "made" $7.33 a mile. My way of looking at it is 390 miles at $1.41 a mile.
Not on my truckBUMBACLADWAR, x1Heavy, villageidiot and 1 other person Thank this. -
Joe count your blessings. OTR freight is not like that.
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Yeah I guess should count my blessings.
I moved a forklift that day for 300 bucks to the truck. It took me 3 1/2 hours from the time I rolled out the gate until I rolled back in. 42 miles total. Profit was about 250
If I had taken that crazy load that the dispatcher offered I would have been gone all day and ended up with about 90 bucks for my trouble.
This carrier has to go, Bad enough I have to put up with their irritating petty BS but if I have to find my own freight giving then 24% of the take is just a little too much to stomach. -
I dead headed from Detroit to Los Angeles area during the produce rush when there is no freight going out. But that was when fuel was $1 a gallon too.
Joe Dan Thanks this. -
I deadhead sometjimes up to 700 miles to get loaded, But I pull a tank and we just can't go around the block for a load....Hell there sometimes I got deadhead 300-400 miles to get my trailer washed out.....
str8t10 Thanks this. -
The only deadhead mileage this year that wasnt to get from the yard to home was from Chicago to Byron Center MI about 175 miles or so. 99% of my loads are round trip. But I would not be apposed to DH 300+ miles for a good load paying over $2/Mile. BTW brickman is correct if you hauling anything on the cheap you are losing money to be successful you must know when to just say no and head home.
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2500 mile deadheads are not rare, 1000 mile deadheads common. Last year I had 43% deadhead miles.
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