Running With Schneider!

Yeah, Sticker shock! lol

They were straight up with me! But I knew what I was getting into because friends of mine were IC.

Answers

1. I look at my deadhead as getting paid because I pick loads that will still meet my overall average including deadhead. Some guys get hung up on this because they tell you they don't pay deadhead. Basically it is included in the load amount. Plus I get great MPG running MT : ). I have deadheaded 500 miles before and made good money because the load paid that well. Others will sit and wait for "that load" with lowest deadhead. mean while their wheels aren't turning so they are not earning! Obviously I always check for the loads closest to me and expanse my search out from there. It is best if you can get under your next load asap but sometimes it pays better to deadhead.

2. $1.50 is a good amount to shoot for. I will take loads generally between $1.25 to $1.80 and up to average around $1.45 to $1.50.. ie.. this week i ran 3130 miles took 2 long loads one at 1.26 and another at 1.68, plus a couple of 100 mile short loads at $2.58, all these include deadhead miles. My average came out to be $1.51 this week.

3. Depends on area, ie ..Laredo is probably one of the worst. It helps to have the wife scanning but most of the time I do it myself because I like to plan and pick my loads. A buddy of mine brags because his girlfriend does the dispatching for him. Either way works i suppose. Me, I will ask my wife to watch for certain loads that I want coming out of Laredo. That is about the only place, sometimes will ask her to watch an area I am heading to just for what is coming. For me the Key is knowing the times of day when the new loads come on. Usually I will stop the truck at those times and pick my loads or sometimes I do it on my 10. It's not overwhelming competitive but sometimes you do have to be quick about it. The short answer, I wouldn't always pick my loads at end of day on my 10. Better to stop and do it or have the wife do it during the day.

4. If I run over 50 miles out of my way to get an MT they will pay me $1.00 a mile up to about 150 miles. Anything above that will be maxed out and have to discuss it with your ICA and come up with a reasonable solution. Usually you will find an MT before then. Anything under 50 miles including time wasted is on us. I don't like it, but there has to be a cut off some where I guess. Most of the time they find me an MT in route to the next pick up.

 

On view page I select it, copy, paste to word doc and save as a pdf file on my pc. Email it to the wife, she prints it out and puts a hard copy in a binder! Copy on the pc is probably sufficient but I like in a book for reference.

 

End of another pretty decent week. Hope you all had a great 4th! I'm in Texas now (imagine that! ) Going to b bop around here for a few days. Got 4 loads picked out and the week ahead is planned out! Will see how this goes. Hopefully none of the loads will get cancelled and all will be good.

Going from Fort Worth to Laredo. Laredo to Hutchins TX. Then Grand Prairie TX to Webster TX and then Houston TX to Ontario CA! After that I got to get back home to PA somehow!

Enjoy your day!

 

Did a quick check and there were 77 loads available with in 150 mile radius of Chicago from today till Monday. Most of them outside Chicago.