Currently pulling dry van.. I’m wondering what about Refrigerated

Well said.

 

Bingo. Used to be, reefer DID pay more, I went to a lot of warehouses, and there were always large cars on the "cold" side. I think megas have general rates so cut, unless you have a special deal, I don't think it's worth the hassle. Why would these shippers use a fancy O/O when Swift is right there for 1/3 the rate. IDK, today, a flatbed is about the best deal. Generally, megas don't do a lot of flatbed, because it takes a little extra common sense and training, AND, the best part, people usually are waiting for your freight, not t'other way 'round.

 

Most of people around me use reefer but they are leased on or closely attached to their brokers, more or less on exclusive terms such as getting the same lane every week. I don't know anybody with a reefer to live off the spot market the dry van style where every load, even from the same shipper to the same receiver, is a separate deal. I've had this self induced idea about getting a reefer as means to upper the game for a long time now but it's never been backed up with any realistic income/cost forecast, not to mention home time and stress level but only presumptions.
For instance, hoping that June-July - cherries out of Oregon/Washington will pay exceptionally good going to the East Coast or that Yuma, AZ produce will be all right in December. I mean, I'd feel really fooled, if refrigerated freight would not give me substantially higher income than the dry box with the same intensity of work.
On the other hand, I've become quite complacent with the dry van. With age, more and more I value the peace of mind. I've nothing to worry about when I park a loaded trailer over the weekend for Monday delivery...whereas with a load of strawberries, or even frozen meat, I'd feel somehow obligated to pay attention to it.

 

If you can't do at least 25% better you're doing it way wrong. Me and a buddy of mine from Chicago do exclusively spot market reefer freight from brokers for the past 5 years. Prior to that we were killing it with dry vans until the bottom fell out. Or at least at the time we thought it was killing it. I got rid of my van a few years ago. It was largely a distraction from the real money I was making pulling the reefer.

It's so much easier to book a profitable week of reefer loads compared to van that it's not even funny. In slow times when you want to scratch by on a $2000 after fuel, pre-tax net week you'll bust your ### all week long trying to find van loads making that happen versus doing it in a couple or 3 days then right back home with a reefer.. I never sit around without a load even in slower times. Usually I'm booked up 3 to 5 days in advance normallywith 3 or 4 loads one after another. That's how you dispatch a truck imo. My buddy plays the game where he waits for the absolute highest dollar on the day of to book. I think that's a waste a time and my way is a better means to an end and more consistent. Sometimes I do that game when its after a storm or DOT blitz week but probably 90% of my loads are booked way in advance. I used to operate that way (waiting until the last minute for top dollar) always with a van. I felt like it was the only proper way to make money with one and still think that is the truth.

I'm leased on and self dispatch. The only real difference between you and me is you're getting your full cut of the rate con, minus factoring, versus me getting a percentage of that within 24 hours of submitting paperwork. I operate exactly the same manner as any independent working spot freight. I don't get orders from anyone go here, or go there.

Another difference between van and reefer the longer runs always pay better. You'll be doing more 500 mile hauls or longer and only rarely bothering with sub 250 stuff. There's too mamy idiots in reefer who will waste a day on a $650-$800 load on the short miles. Sort of like the mostly lousy $400-$600 van hauls of the same length of haul. With a reefer you'll learn where a the DC's and types of shippers if you're running consistently the same lanes. I dont know WTF goes on with cherries on the west coast and don't GAF either but I know exactly whats happening in the midwest and southeast. Sometimes I even run some east coast stuff.

I'm loathe to post finer details on exactly what I do. It's foolish and probably I have posted too much here already. I have been burned for being generous with info I have worked for. The peanut gallery would eat it up but more troublesome to me is the fact that competition benefits from the hard knocks that took me time to figure out. The best you'll get from me as far as that goes is some vague areas I run in. I'm not sharing rates info or any of that. You'll just have to take a leap of faith what I'm saying is right.

 

You *think* megas have the rates so cut? Just how far removed are you from booking loads every day out here on the spot market? Really it would be fair to say you haven't done this in a long time wouldn't it? Like Joe said this is about money not feelings. OP was asking about money and I would assume be looking for input from drivers out here actually running like he plans to do.

Swift/Knight trans have very deep pockets in markets like right now. I work exclusively with 2 brokerages (not Swift/Knight), for the most part, several years going but now and then I'll stick it to a mega like Swift on the blitz week or some such.

I don't see any megas at some of the places I go and see a lot of them at others. That's never been indicative of what I made on a load though. I don't book it if I'm not making money. And I see lots of large cars too. You'd be surprised how some of them guys will work cheap. Not always of course but you can't judge things on the surface like that.

 

With all due respect, yes, I have been out of the loop, but some things never change, I'm sorry, so far in 3 pages, few are defending reefers. Of course it can be done today, and I can only assume you've been doing reefer for a long time and know what to look for. New hires don't have that luxury and get the bottom of the barrel, across the board.

 

Mega's or single trucks, both cut rates. To think any different is pretty naive. Same type of thinking that the more you pay the truck the better the service is.
Seems like most who dis-like reefer worked for someplace that didn't care where the freight went. Or how long someone sat waiting for it.
Reefer requires thinking, that eliminates quite a few. More thought than just shut the doors and forget about it.
But please, shy away from it so those that are successful at it don't have to deal with more that have no idea what they're doing.

 

If I didn't do reefer, I'd keep quiet, and again, I was glad I was paid by the hour. I wouldn't have done it otherwise. I went to them all in the midwest, and they all fit the same MO. Picking up wasn't the issue, they love to get their freight out the door, it's receiving that was ALWAYS a chore. I went to these places everyday, or every other day, I knew them, and they knew I got paid by the hour, and got a little better treatment, but for man,y 1st timers, I watched, the despair of these drivers, they claim they don't have room, and they were their "cold storage" until someone complained loud enough. Roundy's, Certified, SuperValu, they were all the same. I'm sure there are reefer gigs that pay well still, but to start out fresh, they will get what you and the megas don't want. They called produce out of California "garbage" for a reason. You had a high paying cheese load in, the only thing out was garbage, and I doubt much has changed. The anxiety today, with loads valued at big bucks, heaven help you if you have a claim, for me, it just wasn't worth it. I agree, reefer does take a bit extra, too bad with the pool of drivers today, you won't get that "extra" thinking. IDK, do schools spend time on the various aspects of trucking, or a "one size fits all", and out you go?

 

Yes, I think, it takes an extra personality and patience. I don't know if I have it in me any more...
I did 8 years reefer and the last 11 years dry van (7 of which as an o/o) so my reefer recollection are also from a driver's perspective only. It is all definitely true about the inconveniences and added stress at the receivers, mostly being concerned that they would reject the product on a whim and you stuck with it another day or two. Dry van is 99% easy and the stress level, compared to the reefer freight, is negligible.
However, during the reefer years and it was mostly produce from the West Coast, my understanding was that most independents were focused on that type of work...almost as if it was either that or an open-deck...I remember being somewhat dwarfed in my company's old beat up Freightliner Century, while their shiny Petes with a 100 lights reefers were standing tall. "Now, those must be businessmen!", I thought.
Dry van freight was looked upon as nothing serious - entry level at best and in the long run, a road to nowhere.
I don't know...I can't say I've made a fortune with a dry van and I can see that with the market swings, the vans are the most vulnerable. As a solo, you can't find any more or less permanent ties with brokers and so called direct freight seems unattainable. Having said that, if what we experience on the spot market now, could be projected onto the next few years, a reefer would be the last thing on my mind but I don't think that this market will stay at this level for that long.
A few days ago, I called Utility and Great Dane dealers around Illinois, and Wisconsin about new dry vans and they are all sold out until 1st QTR of 2022. They don't accept any new orders until further notice. That's unprecedented. But that also means that as soon as the current market sinks, dry vans will be easy to find at Ritchie Bross. Auctioneers.

 

I am that buddy from Chicago who @rollin coal mentioned, 13 years into trucking, 10 booking my own freight...My last few loads, all spot market, loadboards (both ITS and DAT) reefer freight with absolutely ZERO connections, relationships etc...One thing, we are leased to stand up guy who runs tight ship and have 21 years old authority (about double that he's been in business) so somehow we get respect... from reputable brokers of course... that's gets us outstanding rates...

WI IA 387 loaded miles...2000$
IA NE 276..1800$ (dry load)
IA IL 484...3300$
IL NE 463...2200$ (dry load)
IA WI 481...2400$
WI IL 87...1500$
WI IN 330...2500$
IN IN 173...1800$
IN WI 246...2400$

from my parking spot back to parking spot total mileage...(loaded, empty, runs thru home)...4796 miles
loaded miles 2927 miles
empty miles 1869 miles
61% loaded, 39% empty
total gross 19900 $

total rate per mile 4.14 $ per mile
loaded rate per mile 6.79 $ per mile