mercer transportation

I've only hauled 1 container it was a nightmare, everyone kept asking me if my RFID was working then why don't I have 1 I don't even know what it is, no one told me I was supposed to go to the port police department b4 going to the Newark port Mercer sent me a paper to fill out and just said give it to them when you check in, it was a rough day

 

I would surely never hoped to load a container on my flat, heck worst on a step and with a Conestoga I'd be looking at premium rates and that's for sure.
btw did I mention I'm on my way back to cali at $2.05.
some guys need to start looking outside the box, I deliver monday, then park it and fly home for 3 days, then back and ready to load out friday. Stay put, I'll tell you about my next load out.

 

only cans I will haul are military

 

I'd be more than glad to pass on what I know over to you.
I was a noob once and now I still get to learn once in a while.
Is this your own truck you're bringing? How long you've been pulling a skateboard?

My biggest recommendation at orientation is ask questions. Anything and everything said on orientation is a way to conduct business for you and mercer, after that it's you. I was overwhelmed by so much given from mercer at orientation I kept asking questions just to make sure I was hearing right.

PM me if you'd like, be safe out there and I hope you enjoy what's coming.

 

I've been running a lease truck, pulling a reefer, for the last four years. This company has never treated me wrong, but I believe its time to take the next step in my career and one towards my ultimate goal of owning a small fleet one day. I know Mercer is mostly flatbed, and while I don't mind doing work, I have been spoiled with just bumping docks and don't think I want to have to deal with the tarps and chains/straps in the winter time. I was wondering if Mercer's dry van division is as good as their flatbed side. I have never really heard anything bad about Mercer in general, but was interested in some insight into the dry vans. I'm not going anywhere until March, if I even go then, just trying to do some research to find out from those of you who are there a few answers. What kind of rates I can expect? How hard is it to find freight (since you mostly run skateboards)? And I guess just some in general insight that you may have for me for taking the step from leasing to owning. Thanks in advance for any help you may provide.

 

I like how guys that have only been around a short time start giving advise to new guys, let's do a recap.......first go buy a new truck with a warranty that way you can go to California,
2nd a stepdeck is better because it's closer to the ground and easier to secure and tarp loads,
3rd make sure you get ramps, levelers, 8ft tarps and don't worry about your next load just worry about the one you see now!!

Please I hope the new guys don't take any of that advice, a $20,000 15/year old truck is going to bring in the same revenue as a new truck with a $2,500/month payment for the next six years. There are at least 20.1 flatbed loads over steps I pool both trailers so I can vouch for this and I have levelers and ramps.

also i'd like to point out that many shippers will not load on levelers any more, most pipe yards won't i've been turned away on several flatbed loads one in particular was only 10 foot long but they wanted to put it on a flatbed instead of a step I don't understand it but that's what happens. Now I got my stepdeck back in 2004 rates were better than flats some loads as much as $.75/mi but everyone caught on and ran out and bought step deck trailers driving down the rates, military freight use to pay $3/mi to the truck on almost every stepdeck load now your lucky to get $2/mi, yes sometimes you get lucky and a load will pay better but from what I see rates are close to the same. One other thing I would like to point out most stepdeck loads need to go on a step because of hight which in return has more when drag and it's almost like pulling a parachute behind you, most flatbed loads are low most under 4ft and can get better fuel efficiency doing these loads.

The last saying I would like to talk about is covered trailers Conasoga trailers are nice but I would never recommend pulling it for spot market freight, I have had the opportunity over the last several months to pull one and I learned real fast that lots of shippers will not load them trailers some simply do not know what they are and are just simply scared to damage them. If you have a dedicated shipper that uses this type of trailer that might change things because at that point you would only be using the load board for your return haul, I damaged the one that I pulled on my fourth load had some stuff stacked and when going down the roads a 4x4 started shifting and before I realized it I had damaged the canvas.

Haven't posted on here in some time hope everyone is still being profitable and had a safe holiday stay safe out there!!!

 

Well here it seems this is meant to me since I own new as well as others so I'm forced to reply in here for your education.

What sucess is to you it may not be to us, or any body else, heck there maybe thousands who share your $20,000 truck is more truck thn $150,000 truck mentality. I won't get into details as to why a $100k to $150,000 is more truck than your $20k given I'd have to list every single part that wears out on your 20k compare to my 100k-150k and I am not sure how many seals, wires and roaring parts a truck have for sure, it could be thousands which we could multiply by thousands of repairs or perhaps from others' point of view an Owner Operator just "HAS" to be a mechanic too.

Now I'll jump onto the California thing, sure you can buy whatever truck and not run California, but dear sir would you stand tall and tell US IN THE FORUM that CARB is going to get turned off, farther more, "Could you please convince us others states won't follow in the coming years?"
now where do you think your $20k and those pretty glider trucks would stack up next to my almost paid off 2014-'15 by when this reality kicks you on your rear? Now you'll be forced to either go out of business or buy new since you won't trust 2008-2015 right?

Allow me to jump here to the MERCER board. I am profitable at mercer because I can play with the board, yes I play with it, it is a game and you get better at it the more you do. Could I kindly ask how often do you play with the MERCER board? Are you a mercer running O/O?

Now with all due respect I must point out that years ago I could buy milk right straight from the stable, now it is not possible. Times change and so do rates, freight lines, customers, laws and regulations. That $3 mile you saw years ago is gone. I've been driving for 14 years (a very short time) now and I never saw it. Heck my family has their own company with over 20 trucks I dispatched for them for 2 years and even with their customers again, I never saw it.

So experience is irrelevant when outbeaten by practice, what you know from back then doesn't apoly to today or not on the same operation that you run. It is simply not there.

Suggestions on the tarping system; I'll go out on a leg here and dare myself to say that 70% of my loads are "Tarping loads"
most of the areas I'm at, stepdecks have a clear advanTage over my flat. Again, I play with the board and I make my calls so I come on top, but a less savvy person with the board won't be so happy about it. Heck we read about them every day.

Cargo is cargo, and equipment is equipment, any accident for minor that it seems in our industry is over thousands, i do not know of your operation but I'll tell you this about mine "NOTHING HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME" and I sure as he ll say neither to those guys in here with new rigs.

We hustle, sweat, bleed and starve on our operations just like you and any other bad mutha trucker out there. We are from a different barrel, our generation or way of thinking is totally different, we didn't come to this world or industry to live or work mediocre.

Life is too short to drive a beat up ugly truck.

Hope you're doing good and keeping safe out there. Shinny side up.

 

That new truck when it's paid for is going to be in the same condition as my truck is today, they're only knew when you drive it off the lot. In 15/years I will still be able to sell my truck for what I paid for it.....can you say that about yours? Next thing I'd like to point out is I can still work on my truck all those things you talked about I can replace on mine without going to the dealer!!

not long ago you almost threw the towel in you had a meltdown and I was the there before you went back and deleted your original post, after all those years your family has been in the trucking industry didn't look like they were much help in steering you in the right direction. As far as freight rates go if your family or you have never hold three dollar plus mile freight then you're doing things all wrong, I can show you invoice after invoice after invoice for the customers that I run for and the load im doing right now I'm getting $1,750 on 420/mi so don't think these are magic numbers that people just make up.

You are running a flatbed and keep saying a step has a clear advantage over a flat where do you get this clear advantage from because obviously it's not from experience?

 

And Lucar if you think I'm full of BS you just stop on by one day I'm just down the road and I'll back up anything I say about my operation, so before your blood pressure starts going up call Rick and ask him about me he will tell you😎

 

The drag isn't that bad on a stepdeck trailer I get pretty good fuel economy