Rates are crashing and fuel to the moon!

Brilliant!
Wonderful!
Eureka!

Now that you mentioned it ... instead of saying go away, you can do something good and come to the rescue.

From what I see, aquiring a step deck today is relatively easy. I think 40 grand can get you something decent(?).


Actually, adding a step deck to a van could be quite a practical combination.


Could you offer some advice here to all the struggling dry van o/os, for rates are dropping down towards 2.0 per mile these days and as you were proving in the other thread you can't survive on that at all, on what else to aquire other than a naked stepdeck trailer....or maybe a regular flatbed trailer would do just fine too?
Chains, straps, bulkhead, tarps...? How about cargo securment? Are there any classes at any local college for continuing education where I could sign up and get some drill on that? Lol. Most likely not but how about organizing a cargo securment camp and showing the others of what to do and what not to?
Could it be life endangering to climb up the cargo to tarp and what one has to do not to fall?
Does it really require a person to be very physically fit? Is it really such a demanding labor to secure and tarp cargo?
Can you confirm that switching back and forth between a van and an open deck device is a good method to optimize the revenue?

Maybe, if more poeple are encouraged to do open deck freight, the dry van world would get some relief?

 

They're all doing the exact same thing you did...moved from dry van to flatbed.

 

So you went and stole van loads before coming back, and now you are back to stealing open deck loads?

 

Unfortunately, it's been like that long before this rate bubble happened. Lots of really bad load securement out there.

 

Nobody wants to haul for 2 dols per mile, so they may jump to the open deck segment. A certain degree of physical fitness, and at times getting yourself wet and dirty may present a natural discomfort barrier to some reefer or van operators, but if the money is abysmally better, then not as much and not as many.

Therefore, I propose the creation of a number of threads that would provide certain basic guidelines for prospective flatbed owner-operators, so that they can jump on the wagon of the elitarian segment. Maybe this way, we'll contribute to the don't haul for 2 dols per mile problem.

 

There are already quite a few threads in the flatbed section.

Flatbed Trucking Forum