Originally Posted by skateboardman

demo, yes i do have a blue kw. you must have seen me in the tampa area? i delivered two hospital construction sites there friday.

well , i deadheaded home to check on my dad. he is getting around better, but his mind isnt that great, possibly alzheimers, but we wont know about that for a couple more weeks.

anyways loaded some aircraft items 40 miles from home, had to tarp the crates, a little warm for that, but 4 foot tarps aren't that bad.

headed to wichita area, 15,000 pounds of parts in wooden crates( the dreaded wooden crates) , got two straps on each crate ,8 total.

just a normal everyday flatbed load, nothing dramatic or hard to handle, just routine freight. i would post pics but i dont know how, do i have to put them on a photobucket or something like that? if someone would tell me how , i will put pictures with the storybook.

stopped right now putting on 2 steer tires bridgestone 287a, my national acct price 426 each out the door. the old yokohama's had split in one spot about 5 inches long in a tread and the rubber was loose all around the split, i caught it in a walk around after i loaded drove 40 miles to the t/a , i decided to replace both in a set, a shame these were about 55 per cent tread.

i deliver wednesday, 1082 mile trip, 1042 to go.

Love those wooden crate loads in Wichita. I made the mistake of saying Smokxx Poinx once while at the Mercer house in Wichita. I was almost not invited back lol.

Lessons learned...

well delivered in kansas wed morning, the folks at the receiver helped me untarp, fold my tarps and unstrap the load. then as they began to unload another guy brings me out 3 pcs of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, a biscuit and a cup of iced tea. they were having a comppnay lunch and he fixed me a plate and brought to me. i ate while they unloaded the crates. kansas hospitality.

drove down to okie city and reloaded, heading to columbia,sc for monday. load goes thru home, this one weighs 12,600 , no tarp, 10 straps and 2 chains. route will take me i-40, us 78, i-20 . again just a normal day in the flatbed business.

the revenue will be off a bit from last week. but from monday to monday will be 2200 miles and revenue of 4027.00 on 2 loads one at 15,000, one at 12,600, i will have 9 days of fixed costs and maintenance fund of 1080 dollars and fuel costs of 1200.00 , which leaves 1707.00 to the truck with 4 days of the nine at home.


thats a little under 2.00 a mile this week for all miles but it got me home again to check on my dad.

these numbers i am posting are frankly a lot more realistic than numbers you see quite often posted on some sites. one thing you have to consider, at mercer, is many of the samll expenses charged back to O/O are not charged back to us, like fuel taxes , mercer pays those, we dont have to worry about buying enough fuel in each state to cover the tax.

but with that said , if we do have a fuel tax credit they apply that to the next years tag, but if we have a deficit they pay it . last year i got a credit of 78 cents on my tag, what that shows is without even trying my fuel purchases were spot on. i guess its just old habit from when i did my own ifta for so many years.