Expedite HELP

Discussion in 'Expediter and Hot Shot Trucking Forum' started by LA RAIDER, Jun 19, 2012.

  1. LA RAIDER

    LA RAIDER Bobtail Member

    38
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    Jul 18, 2010
    Backwoods Louisiana
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    Need some advice. I'm thinking of doingthe expedite thing and need to see if you all can answer a fewquestions for me.
    First off a little background on me. Ihave my Class B license already. I drove a little for JB Hunt back inthe cab-over days before the CDL thing came along. When the CDL thingcame about I was driving a bus and the company I was working forwould only pay for the Class B and being the dummy I was I didn't paythe extra to get the Class A. I moved on to a career out of thedriving field for over 20 years and got laid off from my job becauseof down sizing in 2010 when my job was eliminated. I have kept my CDLall these years, drove a few buses through the years for the kidsschool trips and our church. Now I am wanting to get back intodriving but really don't want to spend the time and money to get myClass A if I can just drive with my Class B and make decent money. So here are my questions:

    1. Would I be better doing the straight truck thing or sprinter van? I would eventually like to buy my own van or truck.
    2. What are the better companies out there to work for?
    3. Which companies would you stay away from?
    4. The straight trucks go by all the same DOT regs as tractor trailers right? (logs, weight stations, etc.)
    I guess that will get us started, I'msure I'll think of other questions as this discussion continues.
    Thanks in advance to any of you guysthat take your time to answer these questions and help me out, Ireally appreciate it.
    Raider
     
    The Challenger Thanks this.
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  3. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    Jul 22, 2008
    Owensboro , KY
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    Straight truck pays more than Sprinter and you sit less. It's best to start out as a driver for a fleet owner and you have to be sure to get good references on the owner.
    Straight trucks are subject to the same regs as semis.
     
  4. LA RAIDER

    LA RAIDER Bobtail Member

    38
    4
    Jul 18, 2010
    Backwoods Louisiana
    0
  5. LA RAIDER

    LA RAIDER Bobtail Member

    38
    4
    Jul 18, 2010
    Backwoods Louisiana
    0
    Question # 5

    Are there fleet owners out there that are good to work for, that will hire someone like me, that is licensed but has no recent commerical driving experenice and no expedite experenice? If so who?
     
  6. LA RAIDER

    LA RAIDER Bobtail Member

    38
    4
    Jul 18, 2010
    Backwoods Louisiana
    0
    Oh also I want to run solo.
     
  7. SlickLizard

    SlickLizard Bobtail Member

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    Jul 28, 2011
    Warrior, AL I-65, exit 294
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    If I could run solo doing expediting, I'd get into that myself! But very few truck owners and expediting companies will let a driver run solo. Reason being, expediting means getting it there in a hurry, and that's hard to do while the truck spends ten hours in the truck stop while the solo driver sleeps. With team mates, one drives while one sleeps and vice versa, but the truck rolls on regardless. Good luck.
     
  8. shawner

    shawner Bobtail Member

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    Jun 19, 2012
    Peterborough ON
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    Straight truck would be better because it's dock height and a lot of companies do not like vehicles hauling skids but are not dock height. Also, I'd suggest if you're going to run solo, make sure you are equipped to do business (cell phone, laptop, email and access to fax.) I also suggest using one of those services that will give you a 1-800 number for a low price and the ability to send and receive faxes online, like efax.com or ringcentral.ca. Bolt Express is a good company that I know of from Ohio. You should sign up with NLM Logistics but be prepared to give regular updates. The trick with them is not to have service failures (not updating their website with pickup and delivery status counts as a minor service failure - being late or not doing a load will really get you in trouble.) Same goes for Ryder Logistics. Hope that helps!
     
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  9. Motownfire

    Motownfire Light Load Member

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    Nov 17, 2010
    The Great State of Texas
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    Go get your Class A CDL. It only takes a couple of hours including the road test. I did the road test using our truck & trailer. I think the total cost was around $65.00 give or take. Having the Class A CDL will open up a lot more doors for you.
     
  10. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    Jul 22, 2008
    Owensboro , KY
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    A Class A CDL with no experience won't open many doors . An expedite straight truck will pay better than many Class A jobs .
     
  11. gmav44

    gmav44 Bobtail Member

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    Nov 22, 2011
    MI
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    Came out of CDL school this past March. Skipped the idea of HAVING to run for a TT trainee company for .26 a mile. Was fortunate enough to show a response from an Expedite O/O in the Michigan area. While I have the utmost respect for TT drivers.......will only run straight truck Expedite now. The only draw back for me is the whole team thing. It has not worked out, but trying to reach the 6 month experience window for solo qualification.

    As previously mentioned, most companies want team drivers for obvious reasons. However, there is a demand for solo Expedite. You will not get the nice long runs and decent pay which accompanies, but you will get the short runs nobody wants. Personally, I'll take the short runs for solo vs team trade off. Solo driving for Expedite will wear you out on occasion. If you run team and one partner has their head where it don't belong.......your going to wear out in many different ways.

    Good partner=team=money=tranquility.
    Bad partner=headache=brain strain=misery.

    Solo=whatever you make of it, for a little less money. Already expereinced line two from above. Can't wait for solo.
     
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