besides schneider and landstar

I had to alter my name a bit due to someone else taking it before me. I am on a couple of other loadboards. You must be in a unique situation with Universal. I know several people who have been leased to them. The fellow about whom I referred to pulled a flat. He goes on their loadboard all the time. Another guy I know pulled one of their vans. He had a rough time for the first few months until he got on a dedicated account for them. It was a really sweet deal. They paid him by the hour and he didn't put many miles on his truck. Neither of these two individuals pull loads for the agent to whom they were originally assigned.

When you start with Universal you are given a password when you are at orientation. It will get you on their loadboard. I have been on their loadboard. I don't care for the way it is set up, but most agents post their loads unless they have trucks that need to be loaded. Universal doesn't have any of their own trucks. Some agents do have trucks. In fact, they prefer to recruit agents who can bring trucks with them. I have spoken to some of their agents in the past. Some will not post their really good paying loads because they are deluged with calls. They prefer to find their own trucks to haul those loads. You can post your truck on Universal's in-house board just as you can with Landstar and some of the other carriers.

If you have committed to a dedicated account it might be difficult to go home when you want unless there is someone who can fill in during your time at home. The guy I know who is on the dedicated finds it difficult to get home. Other than someone being dedicated on a particular account you can work or sit as you choose. My friend who pulls a flat mainly runs for one particular agent, but he is not assigned to that agent.

You can haul for any agent that has a load you want. If someone told you differently, you should get in touch with their operations people. But, it sounds like you are pretty happy with the way you are running.

 

Most of the smaller companies have "loadboards" but you don't actually book loads off of them like Landstar..

The smaller companies are like the one I work at.. I'm with Mercer and the public loadboard is for the most part loads are stuff nobody else wants OR in an area with not enough "company" trucks.. That's when they're put on the broker board..

The company's private loadboard where you sign in is there for a tool to see where thte loads are for the most part.. You CANNOT book loads off of it, loads must be "ran down the board" based on your position determins if you are even offered it or not. Your position is calculated by your empty date, type of trailer you have, weight you can haul, min. rate per mi. you've set in the computer as 1 of your permanent preferances , & more... ALL loads MUST be ran accordingly. It is to ensure fairness and none of the "good buddy" system like Landstar is known for..

No company is perfect.. everyone has their faults.

 

I'm actually not in love with universal and I'm wanting something more profitable. Has anyone heard of wlx llc. Western logistics express out of topeka ks? I called them and the guy said they were much better than universal, paid more, and hometime was totally up to the driver/owner op. It sounds like a too good to be true situation . Just wanted to find out more about this company. I looked them up and it looks like another mostly flatbed company. I pull vans. The guy said they had a lot of van freight out of Memphis. If anyone works for them or knows about them . Please post a response.

 

So universal's "freedom" of pick your loads, do what you want at your choosing, is just another shyster recruiting gimmick and you're actually forced dispatch by hook and crook? That sucks makes you wonder about Landstar and Mercer if they pull the same dirty tricks. Lots of guys on here have never implied that they do. I suppose you have to deal with a certain amount of that to make more money..

 

Landstar works as advertised~you pick and book your loads. No forced dispatch PERIOD. Agents might call and offer you a load but, your free to decline if you wish.

 

i called landstar. the requiter basically said i have to give my left arm and first born child to hire on there. she might have been having a bad day who knows. i don't like the fact they have satilites on their trailers. the lady i spoke to said you have to log as the trailer moves down the road with the trailer or you will get points and ultimatly get fired. plus i would have to get a haz mat and i'm not thrilled about getting one.

I also called mercer. they said mostly what they do is flatbed and i would have to get my own van or pull one of theirs for some unreal price. i can get a van i dont care but i would have to know more about the company since i don't do debt and would have to pay cash for the trailer.

I am wanting to know more about this wlx...western logistics company. They guy is super nice on the phone and doesnt act like a requiter. hes actually got a personallity and speaks to me like a real person. not someone reading off of the computer. I just never heard of them. he said they only have 160 trucks. i would much more enjoy than than dealing with the corporate universal or landstar grind. i'm not much up on corporate america.

 

You can get home any time you wish with Universal or Landstar. It is a matter of whether you can find a load to take you home or you want to take the money out of your pocket for fuel. No one will twist your arm to try and force you to carry one of their loads. When you OWN the truck noone can force you to take ANY load. If they are paying your deadhead, as with some of the mileage carriers, then they may want a say so as to where you go since they are buying the fuel.

I have a friend who is leased to Universal and he gets home almost every weekend. He just closed his books for last year and I believe that he said he did just over $176,000 with them pulling his flat. That is to the truck, not gross. But, he is willing to go anywhere the rates carry him. If you only want to run in a very specific area you will limit your income and opportunities, no matter what carrier you lease to. When I was leased to Landstar, I could go home at any time, but would expect to do so at my own expense.

If I were going to lease to another carrier, I would look for one that paid percentage rather than mileage. Something to keep in mind when you do lease to a percentage carrier who is agent based, you will need to be pro active in order to be successful.

Mercer has a unique program. They have a load board, but you still need to go through your dispatcher to book the load. With Universal or Landstar, you can go on their load boards find a load, contact the agent and book the load. Although you are assigned to a specific agent with both carriers, they are not obligated to dispatch you or find loads for you. It does help the agent to have trucks that he can load from his office.

 

Landstar is very anal about safety. It usually takes several weeks to get on with them. You have to jump through a lot of hoops. It doesn't take much for them to not lease you on. It also doesn't take too much for them to cancel your lease, especially with the new rules coming down the pike. Landstar does a lot of government work and they need to make sure they have a good safety record. Bad drivers can really mess up a safety record. As long as you log as you go and about 3 mph under the posted speed limits where you run, you should be OK with them. They do require a hazmat endorsement, whether you haul it or not. A few others also require hazmat, but mot don't.

I don't know much about Western Express. I believe that they are based out of Tennessee.

 

I understand Universal a lot more now that I'm leased on. Universal has several different sides. I don't pull a flat so I really don't fit in with what Universal is all about. They are around 70% flats and the rest is split between containers and vans. Vans being the least of their overall loads. I have never done flats and most people on here that are posting that are with Universal, Mason Dixon, Landstar and Mercer, pull flats. It's like comparing apples to grapefruit.

When I leased on with Universal I was told exactly what your saying Gman. I was told I pull what I want go home at my expense when I want and leave when I want. I was also told that I could take a trailer home or drop it at a yard or leave it at a shipper. This is all true. The problem is. There is no shipper or drop yard within 150 miles from me. I was lied to and told by several different ppl that their was tons of van freight coming into and out of Memphis Tn. This is not the case. My best that I can come up with is the dedicated account that I am on. I get home on the weekends. Usually it's home Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon and leave back out. I'm running around 2800 miles a week average and it's very little down time thru the week. I have to struggle to get my oil changed or a belt replaced. When I was down last week to get my clutch replaced I was on hold for over 30 mins while they tried to rearrange freight so I could get home and I WAS NOT UNDER A LOAD. Plus I'm barely hitting $1000 a week on average paid to me after fuel and deductions. Most weeks it's less. Universal is good freight and steady miles. Just it's a rush rush rush deal with very limited hometime with the dedicated deal I'm with. I have been told by several that I would take a huge hit and loss if I ran the load board because the van freight is very slow on it and most loads just barely cover fuel. Overall Universal is good just not great. I'm looking for a better overall deal.

Western Express Logistics has nothing to do with Western Express out of Tennessee. The Western Express Logistics I'm referring to is out of Topeka KS.

 

I was posting on the other trucking forum a lot before I purchased my truck. What I was saying on there is what I'm still looking for. I want the freedom that landstar gives without all the massive corporate grind you get with them. The requiter I talked to even said Landstar is working on switching over to electronic logs because It's easier for them with less expense and they can monitor the drivers at the touch of a finger. This is exactly what I'm looking to get away from. I am looking for a small company that I can run when I want...I do run hard by the way. And one that I can get home without a lot of hassle just say I'm ready to head home and spend a few days there. I don't want to have my pay cut down to $600 a week or less to go to work for a company like this.

I have a friend that works at a hospital here in town. She works three 12 hour shifts. Off everyweekend and brings home over $700 a week. I don't see why I can't run 4 to 5 days a week and be off a few and bring home the same. I would be happy with running 2 weeks and being off a week as well. I just don't like the idea of me owning my truck working 5 to 6 days a week, begging for time off and getting paid the same or less than a company driver. And still dealing with the same runaround the company drivers put up with. I was always off on weekends as a company driver as well.

If I don't find a company that will pay me and offer me the freedoms I want as an O/O. I will go back to company driving. It wasn't that bad of a deal for me. I was just looking to step up as an O/O. So far it's not been that way for me.