Intermodal, Containers, Piggy-backs ?

For what its worth....if you look at the typical truck pulling containers....do you think they are making any money?

 

You'd better be able to speak spanish and work for peanuts...

 

You can take a hint from signs in the intermodal yards. They reflect the predominant immigrants in the area: Spanish in LA, Russian in Vancouver, Polish in Chicago, etc.

 

Few years back you could pocket $1500 a week now $700. Talk to btt if in your area they are the largrest of the intermodal and probably have the most runs. From what I have found tankers make the most. Liquid transport hauls container tankers, maybe dana.

 

I lasted a whole 4 MONTHS at pulling containers when I tried it.. My wife worked in the corporate office and rubbed elbows with the big wigs there.. I even knew the big bosses well.. (I was renting a room to the vice president of the corp..) So I figured I was gonna get treated a "little" better than most... Dam, was I wrong...
I had to run my little butt off (like 3000mi. in 5 days type stuff) to even think of making any $$. About the only guy I knew who made any real money was the guy who shagged trailers in and out of the port for us road guys. He never went anywhere.. His truck was a piece of junk, but hey he only went 4 mi. in and 4 mi. out of the port. That was $35 each way. On a good week he could pull 60 or so ROUND TRIPS! That was $2100 for driving 240mi., BUT there's a catch here.. Only HE could pull #'s like this, he knew everybody in the port, he stashed chassis allover in hidy holes and knew just where to run and grab a say 20' heavy 3 axle if he needed to find one in a hurry. If me or you tried to do it; it would have taken us all day.. Others tried to do what he did but could only pull 1/2 of his loads... still not too bad.. BUT you've got to deal with all that BS all the time all day long. (Takes a special type of personality, or some special drugs to do that haha)

Intermodal is in my opinion the bottom of the barrel. Your treated like crap.. your always running heavy and not getting paid more for doing it.. (I got lots of fines.. company paid them.. they were always over gross, I tried to tell them that they were overweight.. we would argue, wouldn't issue a overweight permit say customer wouldn't pay for 1.. So I'd cross the scale.. When asked why I didn't go around.. Simple, I would just respond, I'm NOT PAID to "go around" so I cross them... If you want me to go around them you'll have to pay me to go around the scales..

Tires are a drivers pain in the arse every chassis company has their own particular policy for dealing with a flat.. Some demand a NEW tire be put on, BUT only from certain venders and only with a PO# issued during business hrs. & you must return the old tire... Others demand caps only, no return required, PO# yes... Others only certain tire venders can change tires on their chassis.. THE thing is you are going to have a mix match of boxes and chassis.. The box may belong to 1 and the chassis another steamship line.. so there is always a different interchange agreement in effect according to who's box is on the chassis.. Sound like fun yet??? To top it all off YOU are the one they are going to blame FIRST your gonna have to prove yourself innocent because everyone is going to immediately going to try and make YOU BUY THAT TIRE.. saying driver ran it flat, or driver busted the sidewall on a curb... I also spent $60 in lights in those 4 months trying to keep tail lights working on my chassis.. (Yes, I tried to steal, and "borrow" everything I could from neighboring chassis... Sometimes there wern't any chassis that had lights like mine.. So I like lights on my waggon... I bought them)!

If your not discouraged yet, PM me I'll try and tell you even more deeper darker stories! But, I think your getting a pretty good picture of things now hu?? (Logbooks...Hahaha, what's that??)

 

I run into the Chicago rail yards. I talked to a couple o/o 1.05 cpm,plus fsc. There trucks are junk, containers beat a truck up pretty good. If I were to buy a truck it would be a Mack with a small sleeper, because the trailers are heavy, and a older Mack engine will run on anything. The highest cpm I saw on craigslist was 1.20. In Chicago you have Mexicans,Polish,and Russians, the worst junk you,ve every seen. The loads are around 120 to 200 miles into wi., there,s not alot of money in it, that,s why o/o drive junk, in the rail yards. Some yards are full of deep pot holes, not a place for a fancy boy truck. If you like old mack trucks you see alot of them.

 

Sorry for the double post. Gonzo sums it up pretty good. From what I see, it,s all about the train. If your live loading and you tell the shipper to put a single in the front they,ll double it to the ceiling. The trailers are loaded front to back, to the ceiling, be VERY carefull opening the doors if you have to live unload. All the customers have it in there head, it,s going on a train so who cares how it,s loaded.

 

funny stuff. i've pulled cans for 25 years, still do, refuse to run junk, and yeah, my tractor is old, but kept mechanically as near perfect as i can. in the last 6 months i've put on new brakes complete with drums, seal and bearing, new clutch, pressure plate and both bearings, and tires. i also keep the truck as clean as i can, and with just over 327,000 on a major, i expect the detriot to run for awhile longer. i see alot of fleet trucks beat to hell and patched up in such a fashion i would never let mine get into.

oh yeah.......i speak a fair amount of english (my high school teachers might argue that, but i get by). i run for $1.16 plus f.s.c.. not enough, but better than the .90 alot of guys who pull automotive or general freight are running for. maybe some of you forgot about that. if some of you would install an airweigh gauge on your tractors, you might a clue the box is overweight so you can do what i do. set the ###### thing right back down. i refuse to pull a can out of the yard that has a bad tire or lights. it's a pain in the backside, but i wait in line for the mechanics to fix those things. if you are one of those "hurry up, gotta go" types, then yeah, you will have problems. if you pull a bad can out of the yard and didn't inspect it first and mark down anything you found wrong, then yeah, you will have problems. i turn down loads all the time. the thing is, there is always another. my dispatchers (you know what the weight is... it's posted on the computer screen) now won't give me a load they know is overweight. if i get one out of the yard that feels heavy on an axle, i cat scale it, and get paid to take the box to be reworked. i just drop that box off, and go get another, and get paid to do it.

after fuel, i make usually 1,600 to 1,900 per week. not what i used to make, but enough to get by ok. i've thought about buying a newer truck, but i like what i have, it works well for me, it's paid for, and makes the same money as any other truck new or old. the trick is to stay on top of the maintainence, and take care of the equipment. you guys rag on the can haulers, but man....the stuff i see hauling steel......

this game isn't for everyone. no game is. i look at reefer haulers and think "no way", but it works for them. same for flatbedders, rock haulers or whatever. some folks just get along better than others at different things. that doesn't make anyone wrong or right. as for the "english" thing, i happen to be a pima indian, and have a problem with ###### near every one of you being here, so go home. we were fine until you came here with your funny dialect. now nobody speaks the proper language of the only true americans, and our tongue was replaced by a bunch of archie bunker clones (or clowns) who complain about everything like women.

a person can make a living doing what i do. just because you couldn't figure it out doesn't make you better than me, or me better than you. there's better money out there, and i keep looking, but i get a helluva deal on insurance and plates, get home often because of where i live, and i don't have to fight to get paid. i don't have a problem with tire vendors since i take a picture of the tire they removed right in front of them. in years, i've had 1 dispute, which was instantly cleared up with a picture. today, nobody questions me as they know what i will do.

ya just gotta think things through. it don't matter what you do.

i hope this is a link and not the actual picture. no, it ain't the best, but the old girl is as safe as i can make her, and so far she's been good to me. she passes inspection every 6 months and i insist she be actually inspected. one mechanic found that out the hard way when i found something he missed, but shouldn't have (the reason for the complete brake job had to do with a cracked shoe i found) and went yelling at his boss.

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx229/97freightshaker/oldtruckandmore026_00.jpg

oh, i almost forgot. feel free to critisize or make fun of anything i posted here. just remember i'm still standing, ain't even close to bankrupt, still make a decent living (but like everyone else wish i made more) and run as much or as little as i want. nobody makes me do anything, and get told "no" if they try. i work with a bunch of guys who think like i do, and hang with them. the others, i have no use for and shun them just like you do. junk trucks, unsafe drivers, and assorted other shouldn't be on the road. with that, i think we agree. honestly, i see as many beat up and patched werner trucks as anyone.

 

was curious on hauling cans. is there a website with a loadboard, also do most of you own your trailer. just wondering what its all about.
thanks