Rates on Loadboards

Man, sorry for 3 posts. Had issues with those screenshots.

 

Even more so than rates, not posting pickup and del times drives me more insane. Does DAT Power and ITS do the same? What a waste of time calling on 10 loads only too discover none off them work for you time wise.

 

On DAT Power most of the positing do not have that info either. Maybe 1 out of 10 will tell you the exact pickup and del times but t is not up to the load boards but those who post. I, for instance, would want to know the commodity kind as well, it would save me some calls, as I will not pull recyclables and anything that compromises a new food grade trailer. Sometimes, however, this info is not determined yet at the time of posting, perhaps making in/out times more flexible for the one who will book it.

 

Thank you for calling "Awesome logistics". If you know your party extension please dial it now, if not choose one of the following options (lists options).
"All our dispatchers are currently assisting other customers", music playing "la la la"

"Hi, this is Joe Smith, can I help you?"

"Yeah, that load picks up at 21.00pm, delivers 3 days laters and paying $900 on 500 miles. Would you like to book it?"

Me:" Sure, just hold my beer".

 

Heck, you're right. I never thought I could be played like that. You see I never experienced rates at this fuel price to be much over $2.00 for distances over 500 miles. Maybe Chicago - York, Pa, and further east, which is not my beloved region. But yes, I've been influenced by the rates they offered and not to mention that 90 days average, which, by the way has seemed hard to attain anyway. But you know, once in a while I am looking at Chicago - Kansas City and I will say 1100 and they will always decline. I am still waiting for that killer shot $ 4 a mile on a 800 miles run, but hopefully it is not going to be Chicago - Maspeth, NY.
However, it must be said, I still get most of the loads by making calls rather than receiving them.

 

That's why I hate posted rates. And I am even moving away from ever asking any of them what their offering. Those 2 things cause you to lower your expectations whether you realize it or not.

 

I never base pricing on weight. I don't even care what the weight is. A 45,800 lb truck load will get the same quote as a 45 lb truck load. Scheduling is what determines if it is a truckload rate or LTL.

If they are trying to book a 53' van to move a shoebox that picks up at 5pm and delivers tomorrow at 6am that is a full truck load rate. I never quote that lower. I just completed a power only run that was 750 miles round trip. 1 pallet going out. They were supposed to reload me with empties for the trip back. They had none so empty all the way back.

Had I known that in advance that it was 1 pallet and empty back it would not have changed my rate quote in any way at all. I'm one of these drivers that doesn't care if it is heavy or not. It's funny how mostly light loads come my way and I don't even specifically rule out any load heavy or not.

I don't understand why guys get upset over a heavy load. It affects my fuel mileage about 2% heavy versus light which is a tenth most days, sometimes 2. That's nothing. And these thing average out over time anyway. Quote for profit on every load and don't worry about the weight as long as it is legal.

 

I'm new to o/o. Do these loadboards require trailers all the time or are there loads where the trailer is loaded and ready to pickup? I guess in short, do I need to buy a trailer too?