Heavy Haul Miscellaneous Thoughts, Ideas and Questions

Not a good photo for what you are needing but it is a good looking photo. Here are some 55k boxes that we hauled last summer.

 

Thanks guys that's perfect. I knew I was over thinking this process. I have a tendency to over kill and over think things. Be safe and God bless.

 

Where have you guys found the best prices on 1/2" G70, G80 and G100 chain at? Truck and Tow is my normal go to, but just wondering if there's a better deal out there.

 

Crane and rigging supply places. Or some guys use a place in Granite City Il. east side of St. Louis.
Read through the forum. I believe there have been numerous post on this same question.

 

If you ever get to Corpus or even Houston I've found the best pricing from Kennedy wire rope

 

Oscar--I saw on another thread that you weren't running a lot because the rates you were being offered weren't great. Do you just leave it parked and their company trucks run everything?

What do other heavy haulers do? Leave it parked until you find a good load? In this scenario, do you just deplete you warchest? Are you able to put away enough during the good times?

Currently, we can shift trucks from various kinds of work if something is slow. If we go to a seven axle setup, it will require a heavier truck and trailer and take some of our flexibility away. I am concerned about having enough work in slow times to keep a good driver happy.

 

That is interesting, but not terribly surprising. At the beginning of the last recession we still did some brokering, and they brokered some loads from us. I was really surprised, as I thought of them as a bigger more experience specialized company. The rates you are talking about are part of what scares me about devoting more resources to heavier hauls. I have to believe that is relatively close to what the market is. Out of this area I would think that type of rate would be for a 52K load...based on assumptions I am making about percentages, etc. I am not getting much spot bid freight, which leads me to believe I am in the same boat as you...higher expectations than our competitors.

 

Although sometimes you have to lower your expectations in order to keep your cash flow up. Or have enough trucks in other markets to support playing in a specialized market with increased equipment costs and downtime. I had lunch today with the owner of one of the bigger HH outfits in my area and the topic turned to supporting a 400k HH trailer his advice was to have 7 or 8 other trucks running flats and steps in order to support that trailer. I know you guys aren't talking abouth that kind of equipment but the theory holds true especially when breaking into a new market.