What Companies will sign on a truck with over a 300" wb?

I am the dispatcher and fleet manager of a small 12 truck company and have 1 truck leased on there as well. The show truck is the boss's toy and he does what he wants with it. It almost never makes sense to have a truck that weighs 25,000lbs unless you want to do LTL or have some other type of freight that allows it. To me it makes no sense to pull that RGN but I'm leaving the company on the 26th anyway. This was my 1st job in my adult life. Working for someone else is not for me. I could go into a long story about how I was brought in to turn the company around and get it making money - which I did and after that how things changed, blah blah, blah, waaa, waaa, waaa, but I'll save you the details. So, at least for now, it's back to the O/O life for me. I have a 7MPG 379 Pete and RGN/DD trailer that weighs in at 36,000bs with 6 axles.

 

Are you going back on the road in your truck? I thought you had a driver in it?

 

wheelbase is measured center of the front hub to the center point between the two rear tandems. on everything. the reason the columbia may look the same length is because it has a set back front axle and the pete has a set forward axle.

the set back axle has greater distance from the front of the truck then the forward axle

 

$The truck being referred to here is a total of 208" sleeper. A 170" double eagle was added onto the existing 38" sleeper. The "mudroom" on the front makes it great when you are tarping/untarping in the rain and snow (so saysthe original owner. He retired from Southern Pride. Yes, most in this company have big houses because we are sitting at times on runways and in airports where we have to wait for an engine to be run-tested. Believe me, it is almost necessary. We currently have a 120" sleeper, and we are on the small side compared to most. Before I go any further, I will say we too are considering that truck because we homeschool, and 3 people in a 120" sleeper is tight. I will say we know things Shelby has taken off the truck, and we know of issues he will not disclose. We found out the hard way what type of man Shelby is. Ifthings don't go through for us, I wish you the best.
Now, let me caution you. We got this 120" and at the time signed onto Mercer. We were misled on the rider policy and thought we would be fine, and were not. Not only did we spend a year struggling with the truck, and finding out Shelby lied, we also spent a year making provisions for our daughter. We have been with Southern Pride for three months and love it. Mercer is a great solo flatbed company, or for people who have a retirement income to supplement what they make at Mercer. We found it difficult to match our income at the starter company we started with. Going from ANY company situation to an owner operator situation will bring changes you can not account for, regardless of the best planning. To then throw in getting a big bunk which will limit the loads you can take, and companies you can lease onto, and a hefty truck payment and insurance (because you need to do a stated amount policy), it is difficult. In the first year we sunk $40k into this truck and the insurance sunk another $15k. We know that truck needs about $17k worth of work, all of which Shelby is aware of.
My suggestion, and no this isn't because I am trying to scare you away, would be to buy a "starter" truck and lease onto Mercer, Landstar, Aviation Express, Southern Pride, or a similar company where you CAN have a house at some point. Once you get your feet under you (6 months to a year), start looking for a house and saving the truck payments you would be making ($2,000 - $3,500). I know everyone will judge my comments as though I am just trying to scare her away, but after the year of he## we have had (that some on here know of), I am trying to really give honest feedback to a situation where they would start over their head and know no dofferent.

 

My suggestion was that also to cover the learning curve associated with going to a company like Landstar, etc.

 

We have a "learning" curve?

 

As an FYI, big bunks have a tendency to be heavy on the steers. 16ply tires are strongly suggested. The Powertec generators are based on a Kubota engine, which is strong, however the generator portion tends to have bearings go out and our radiator split. We have retrofitted a Nissan radiator which works better and was cheaper. You can usually dump at Flying J's. Just use the pump closest to the rv pumps (usually our pump closest to the building) and then the dump fee is $3 with a card. Some rest areas have dumps as well. Get at least one hose from the rv area at Walmart, you will need it at times for dumping, and many times for filling. There are quite a few other things we have learned the hard way.

Good luck on getting a warranty from Shelby, and if he is supposed to give you ANY maintenance history on it, make sure you have it in hand BEFORE you sign for the truck, or it will disappear.

 

I heard the same things about Shelby. As far as I know none of the companies you mentioned will lease an O/O who has not been an O/O for at least 2 years and some of them more.

 

DEMO, I do have a driver and I am going to buy a second truck and trailer. Should have the 3rd by spring.