Should The OM and I get a Stepdeck??

Personally I try and run west as much as I can
No tolls. Not as much traffic etc

I do good going in and out of California and Seattle areas I usually do good going out but that’s with customers and not on a board

Maybe a conestoga is a little different as I get machines like med equipment or? That they want covered but not with a tarp so I’m not getting the same loads as an open deck

 

Good to see someone has done good out here. Lots of guys struggle with it including myself. And I haven't been east of i35 since early 2020

 

I’m not sure how you run or what you have for a trailer
But a huge misconception is to be always loaded and heavy
I will DH 1000 miles for a load paying $$$ going just as many or more miles than I DH

For instance
You can load out of Florida most days for $1.50 going to Chicago
One might think. It puts me in a better place but now you’re loaded passing all the better freight in Atlanta or ??
Many times that last 800 miles pays better than the entire 1500 if that makes sense

I was in California and offered a decent load to Ohio but I took a load that was paying much more going half the distance to a normally dead area
Agent asked why I’d take the dead area load. Because. I’m still making more even if I deadheaded the rest of the way to Ohio which was another 1200 miles away
In the end. I basically had a 1200 mile wiggle room to DH if needed

 

Mid-west and west you could wear a step-deck out and never haul anything but Ag equipment. That accounts for a lot of it, along with oil patch and construction gear. My step came home from the west with a big fat farm tractor on it more often than not. I liked those, big enough to move at oversize rate but not too big to move on an annual permit on a step, and not overly heavy. Sometimes you can even get a little LTL on there with them and really build a payer out of it. Some shippers shy away from steps and want flats though, because they’re not comfy with loading on stands. I’ve encountered that a few times.

 

The last several days, I have seen lots of flats and steps with a blue star empty. Sitting at various truckstops.

 

If I have to eat fuel to move a truck, I’ll pick eating the fuel to move an empty one every time.

 

I just have to ask...

If you get a step deck...

What will you do if it snows?



Sirscrapntruckalot -

 

if it snows with a step deck. that means chipping ice out of the winch rail and frozen straps/binders and frozen tarps. all of which are great ways to invent new cuss words

 

lol

I should have just linked to the thread.

Sirscrapntruckalot - Still enjoyed the answer though.

 

fighting frozen tarps is like fighting a bear. its bigger and stronger than you and when it hits you in the face, you are gonna regret you ever started that fight.