CRST MALONE {not bad BUT}

how are you looking/finding loads? im considering leasing on to them as an o/o and would like to hear why youre having troubles.

 

They are leasing on far more trucks than they have the freight base for. I was leased to them about 9 years ago and they were a great company to be leased to but when i leased back on with them about 6 months ago i found out fairly quickly that they are deffinately not what they used to be. they have very little freight, not enough fleet managers( if you need to get ahold of one you had better text because they seldom answer), and a lot of the freight they do have is cheap so you will not even come close to averaging 2 dollars a loaded mile to the truck as they claim.

 

You pick and choose what loads you want to haul. My truck has not pulled less than $2.04 loaded mile. For the most part my truck is pulling $2.34 loaded mile on average. You have to get in good with agents and not rely on the loadboard.

 

Well I guess i should have said I live in NC so I'm not right in the middle of a great freight lane like you are. If I had tried to hold out for freight paying over 2 bucks a mile I would have never gotten away from the house but even when i did get to the areas where the loads paid better I was very seldom able to get a load going from one good area to another good area especially in the last couple of months.

 

Please explain "get in good " with an agent..do you have to be good in the sack with the dude or what ? How does it work there skippy ?

 

Don't expect to ever see any of that "performance bond" they take out whenever you quit if you do. I took a load to Louisianna paying over 1500 bucks when i quit just so i could get their trailer back to them in Birmingham after I delivered. Not only did they keep about 700 bucks that they had already taken out for this bond they are not paying me for the load I hauled other than the fuel advance of 775 that i took so they crapped me out of the remaining 600 bucks also. Real classy bunch there huh!

 

Spooning....

 

There isn't a company that works for everyone but I am doing okay and like you say I do live right in the middle of freight. I started out this week Tuesday night loaded for West Virginia payed me $2.20/mile. Reloaded up the road going to Newtown, OH paying $2.04/mile. Deadheaded up to north of Cincinatti area and picked up a load going to Southern Indiana paying $1.99/mile. Deadheaded up to Terre Haute, Indiana loaded going to Indy paying $3.88/mile. Deadheaded back over by the house today and loaded for a monday delivery going to Monroe paying $2.53/mile. Now booked a load going from by the house to Cincinatti going to pay the truck $4.12/mile. All of these figures are to the truck after they take their 25%. I am getting ready to bring another truck over since the company I have it leased to is talking about jumping on the EOBR bandwagon in July. I have been averaging 1500-2000 miles a week. I will say I set up some stuff with a few shippers I have dealt with prior.

What I mean about the agents is they have the guys they are use to running the loads and most of the time they aren't going to give the new comers the good paying freight. You have to run some "crap" loads and prove to them that you do the job and run hard. They don't want drivers that sit at the truckstop playing video games or sitting at the restaurant. The grass is always greener elsewhere but some places just work out well for you.

 

Hey, I am wondering if I can chat with you and get some much needed advice. I am very new at this and don't want to make any bad decisions. I want to own a truck and then trucks...just want to be smart.
How can I find agents? I am in the Detroit area.