For the most part, but also be careful the short loads pay well. But watch the dwell time. It may be a killer rate but if you blow a whole day loading and unloading not such a good deal
Rates in GA on DAT load board question
Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by MoeCharms, Dec 19, 2020.
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joseph1853, 86scotty, Opus and 2 others Thank this.
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I find a lot of short hauls have either strange unload times or you spend alot of time getting loaded an unloaded. Not always , sometimes you get a straight through fcfs type load but the odds are against you.
joseph1853 Thanks this. -
Be careful with the short hauls, always sounds great on a per mile basis, but they are time suckers. Just be sure your ok with that being your only load of the day. If it’s enough for your day rate then all good.
joseph1853 Thanks this. -
Man you guys ragging on these short hauls, most of you don't have a clue what your talking about. That's all I'll say. It takes due diligence and planning running local 350-400 miles a day.
This here should be common sense but stay away from the big DC's and focus on mom and popsjoseph1853, jason6541 and rollin coal Thank this. -
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joseph1853 Thanks this.
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My advice is to use one of the cost-per-mile calculators out there and come up with your absolute bottom line you can drive for. Now take that number and turn it into a day's drive (say somewhere around 5-600 miles). I think you'll find that daily rate is more than what most of the advertised rates are for those short runs. As has been said here many times already, pretty much every load is at least a full day's work. If the load doesn't provide a full day's pay, don't take it.
86scotty Thanks this. -
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Now you're talkin' Moe. Figure out what your truck needs to average in a day and then go from there. But, there are a million factors here. As an O/O, you've got a lot more to do than just drive. Most older guys will tell you that the driving is the easiest thing they do! I'll give you a little example of how I do it.
I like to average $1k a day and be home on weekends, all while staying in a good market so I look for a longer load (for me) that pays more every other day or so. Monday, hit it hard with negotiations and miles from home with say 1000-1500 on 400-500 miles. Next day I'm probably in a market that paid good going in so it might not coming out, so go for a short load that pays as close to $1k as I can, hopefully 250 miles or so. I really like to look for direct/straight throughs on my short days. They are out there. Next day, bite off some more miles for more money. 4th day out I'll lose a little money if it starts pointing me home.
This is just an example. There are a million ways to do it. One thing is for sure, no one will dispatch you the way you want to run except you.
Get your mind around gross $$$ per day over miles. There's a ton of work in Georgia and the Carolinas. You can run short stuff and make a living easily if you want.
Remember that the truck and all associated costs are gonna eat about half of your gross every day.Shanebklyn, Michael H and RubyEagle Thank this.
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