Not as hard as it seems?

ever think about going flatbed?

 

Am I the only one that thought of the old saying,
"If you want to be a millionaire in trucking, start with 2 million."

?

 

I started on flats in 90. I doubt you would have much success getting me back onto one.

 

If you do that don't ever count on hauling for that broker ever again. You just stole his customer. If you can absorb that, go ahead. Better KEEP that customer too or it won't have been worth it.

Many factors play into a "good paying load." What is the source state and destination? What is the commodity? How bad does it need to get there? Where is your next load coming from after you deliver it? How much time will it take to do the load? You need more experience to learn these things. There is no one, simple, right answer. Time and experience will eventually reveal your niche.

 

January and February have made a couple of use realize that "rules" like that will smack you down when you LEAST expect it.

The best rates we have been getting are those that do exactly what you describe NOT doing.

There is no "niche" there. You just sit there and scratch your head going, "Why am I going to this place?" and as soon as you post your truck headed someplace that you know you shouldn't go, you get a killer rate out that makes the rate going in look sick.

 

I've seen the year of a truck being a problem more that once.

I don't understand what that has to do with anything.

A well maintained 20 year old truck could easily be better than a brand new one.

Hell, a 6 month old truck could have been driven off a cliff and put back together half-hazardly.

I've heard guys complain, for example, that the new Volvos are not as good as the older ones for reliability and such.

I think that asking a guy over the phone how old his truck is an ignorant question.

An in-person inspection would be the most responsible thing to do.

When I was running my shop I asked a car dealer if he wanted us to straighten out the misaligned body panels on a late model BMW so he might be able to sell it.

He says "That car only has 16,000 miles on it, it can't have been wrecked! I personally looked at that car."

Er, yeah, O.K.

He called me the next day to go pick it up. I told him to deliver it. He did.

 

Paid 22k for a new 53' dry van 8 months ago; 20k the year before that

 

Reefers only break when you're loaded and in the middle of nowhere at night or on the weekends! Or to make it simple, they won't start or cool at the worst possible time imaginable.