My journey at Landstar

Discussion in 'Discuss Your Favorite Trucking Company Here' started by runningman0661, Jul 7, 2021.

  1. Bumper

    Bumper Road Train Member

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    I have a buddy who is a LS BCO and his goal is to never be more than 350 miles from home.
     
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  3. Old_n_gray

    Old_n_gray Road Train Member

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    Good for you!!! Been watching your thread for awhile. Had a few friends that work for Landstar. Great place to lease on.
     
  4. runningman0661

    runningman0661 Road Train Member

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    So this shows you how crazy the fuel prices got in March.
    January $4702.13
    February $ 4299.06
    March $8100.08
     
  5. Upstatetrucker

    Upstatetrucker Bobtail Member

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    So I'm going to sign on with Landstar this month. I have my own authority now but going to give it up for personal reasons, I have my own trailer and a new Wabash on order that is suppose to be built in June so is it best to bring your own dry van or just use Landstar's?
     
  6. F4T6UY

    F4T6UY Medium Load Member

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    You get 7% more of the cut with your own van, but you miss out on any of the drop and hook action.

    Where I live, there was a lot of d+h freight, so I decided against getting my own van at the time. Only real reason I wish I had bought a van couple years ago is because of how hard/expensive they are to obtain now. But truthfully, the d+h game keeps me fluid and flexible out there.

    Everybody’s game is different.
     
  7. runningman0661

    runningman0661 Road Train Member

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    Clover, South Carolina
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    @F4T6UY pretty much answered it spot on, it really depends on what’s more appealing to you. This week, just about everything I’ve done has been drop and hook.

    I ran from Charlotte to Texas d/h, from Texas to South Carolina d/h, and then I’m staying out this weekend and picking up a preloaded trailer tomorrow going to Pennsylvania
    @F4T6UY is spot on, it’s what’s the best fit for you. This week has been mostly drop and hook on one end of my trips. Some weeks it might be all live load/unload. I feel like without a trailer it gives me a little more flexibility right now.

    I do see a good amount of BCOs running their own trailers. If equipment prices drop in the coming months, I might buy a trailer and set it up to be able to do pad wrap loads I see occasionally, or carry a pallet jack with me. I see loads that pay really nice, and it’s because the customer might not have a pallet jack and the load requires the driver to move the pallets to the rear of the trailer.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2022
  8. fishonron

    fishonron Medium Load Member

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    Just curious on how often you grab an empty that has the abs light on or other trailer issues that you had to deal with before you got rolling again?
     
  9. runningman0661

    runningman0661 Road Train Member

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    Occasionally an abs light on an older trailer, but for the most part over the last year I’ve had good luck. I think twice I’ve had to get trailer issues addressed after hooking to a dropped trailer. Ironically enough, the trailer I picked up yesterday in Texas had a tire that was looking pretty rough, I hooked to it and ran with it, when I stopped for the day I had the tire replaced. I didn’t want to leave for it the next guy. It had the inside wearing pretty slick, and in a few spots the steel belts were showing through.

    One thing I will say about Landstar breakdown, if the repair shop has virgin rubber available, they want the tire replaced with a new tire, not recap when possible. I heard breakdown specifically say that lastnight with the Loves tech.
     
  10. Pigbacon

    Pigbacon Road Train Member

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    How are the rates at Landstar? Are they dropping like a rock?

    Some of these spot rate brokers have lost their minds. Posting stuff for $2 a mile and folks are snatching it up. I don't understand it. My fuel and def are close to $1 a mile.
     
  11. F4T6UY

    F4T6UY Medium Load Member

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    Rates are still good far as I can tell. That being said, there’s stuff posted so low that I don’t know how they are moving it.

    Even last year, I saw multiple agents posting stuff 1.85 a mile where I’m at!?! (And that’s 1.85 a mile before Landstar chops it!) I don’t search the boards for less than 3 personally (different strategies for different locations), and I only saw that cheap stuff cuz I noticed I hadn’t seen a load I used to take regularly and did a search with no parameters.

    I truly think the only reason I hear people struggling at Landstar the last couple years is because they don’t know how to be flexible and think outside their box.

    Cheap rates and @#%$& agents are everywhere, no matter what loadboard your on.
     
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