How are O/O making a living at $1.00 a mile

Dry van

Auto and tractor parts, haul medical stuff, MRI machines, CT scanners, x-ray machines.

The auto parts thing can be very good, very good for a JIT manufacturer like Ford or Toyota. The Megas do not have a lock on the stuff but you will have to knock doors and use up minutes on your phone to get in.

The big medical equipment also takes hard work to find but it is out there too. Most of those places also make other expensive specialized things, some of it even winds up in space.

It's real hard to get your foot in those doors but when you do, it was worth it. They also lead you to the shipping managers at the places that make the stuff that they use to make the stuff.....

 

Flats are good in the summer end of October rates drop off. Imo

 

It gets easier, James. In my third year now independent. First two years stuff can be overwhelming.

 

lmao

 

Ain't it great to be crazy?

 

I understand. Ive got a reefer parked beside my barn. It makes for great storage but ill nevet pull it again.

 

i did reefer ltl for years,from all sides,family business trucking/warehousing. warehousing,driving,and dispatch. i dunno what it is about having that little diesel engine and compressor hanging on the front of the trailer that makes people treat you like pond scum,but the phenomenon is certainly real. the only thing worse than delivering with a reefer is scheduling the load.

when the family business went under-well,as it became apparent it was going to-i got my operating authority,and related in order,and got my project truck road ready. late winter/early spring of 2015. i couldn't handle the reefer biz anymore so i bought a van and started over independent and no contacts,all my contact were in temp controlled.

my wife had just had her thyroid gland removed due to cancer about a year prior,5 kids aged 3-11 at home,and starting from scratch aint as fun as it sounds. my paltry savings were used up getting ready. and freight rates were in the can.

that summer was a nail biter. unproven truck, had to buy a trailer,and a newcomer on a crowded field. i would wake up at nite and lay there wondering how this was gonna work.i was not gonna run otr all over the country and be gone all the time,be it for myself or someone else,and local jobs don't pay the bills. but i do a good job,i run the same lane and i started getting a reputation. a good one.

now its over 2 years gone,i'm still broke,but i can at least relax and breathe now.and i get decent money. i don't pull the cheap crap. all my freight comes/came from the load boards but i don't touch the 95% of it that is no money garbage freight. the bulk of my freight is repeat stuff that never hits the board.you gotta find the good stuff that hits the board on an emergency,and then hang onto it. there is good stuff that gets posted,but its a little rare and goes fast.

it gets easier/better guys. pray hard.

 

You're first problem is thinking/believing that. I have two vans and a flat, I haven't pulled the flat all summer. I have direct freight out, and use brokers to get back to my direct stuff. There is really good money to be made pulling a van. But it takes a great deal of work to find it.

 

Absolutely oscar. But the problem is its SOOOO much harder to find that good paying van freight. While in comparison its really easy to find it with a reefer or open deck trailer.

 

Once you figure out where and what time of day to look it's just as easy IMO.