Flats, Refers, or Vans ect..which is best for O/O?

Well, the money is good pulling a bull wagon. But its a trade off. LOL You wind up doing wash outs at least twice a week, and theres always the danger of a rouge cow coming after you, or three. Hubby got trampled last week by some skiddish feeders. He was a hurting unit. Then you get one that gets loose in someones pasture, that should have gone into a receiving pen, and you have to go find it. Special loads will require you to have a fresh was out and either wood chips or straw put in the bottom of the trailer.

The up side is, your waiting on loading and unloading isn't near as long as you deal with at a shipper/receivers. There was only one time that he had to wait so much time in the heat to unload, that he actually lost a cow, but it is very rare.

But I can tell you that he has never hauled a load for less than $2.20/mile, and thats the low end and that was when he first started hauling. Most loads average more like 2.60-2.70 after the brokers cut.

 

1. Well, where we are, there are many wash outs. Some are on the honor system out here. Meaning you wash out yourself, and you leave a check in the box attached to a pole. You need a good rain suit, if you are going to do it yourself. Not a cheap dollar store one, but a GOOD one. LOL We have a wash out here in town, so at the end of the week, he drops the trailer at the wash out, and brings the truck home. And inside wash out will cost between $45-90/ depending on where your getting it done and how sterile the trailer has to be.

2. Hubby doesn't run many loads over 600 miles. So most of them are reasonable to get there the same day. Also, he made it clear to the broker that he would not run illegal or without his 10 hour break. Some brokers don't care if you get sleep. Also, some places will try to load you real heavy. So you have to watch that. On the up side, most DOT don't want to craw under your wagon. We have special permits that allow him to haul in certain states at 90,000.

3. Yes, he only hauls brokered loads and gets the $2.70/mile. Meaning the broker has already taken his cut, and the truck gets the $2.70. Most of these loads are contracted by the broker. Meaning, the slaughter house calls and tells him where the load is, and he tells them he will have a truck there.

4. This all depends on the amount of trucks in front of him when he arrives. But the wait time is NOTHING compared to reefer/van loads. Its much quicker with live loads. The longer those cattle are on the truck, the more chance of loosing one or two. But you also have to stop every 100 miles or so and get any that are laying down, to stand back up. Its a dirty job, and he has a box on the outside of the truck that contains all his clothes for crawling up or in the trailer.

Well, hubby runs mostly SD, IA, NE, KS, OK, TX, MO, CO & WY.

You should be able to find IL loads, you might have to look a bit.

We have been told that hogs pay better than cattle, but he's really not wanting to try hogs. Cattle is bad enough. LOL

 

You had your own trailer and your own accounts right? I think that, that's where there is such a big difference in what you used to do and what hubby does now. And you are right, they will run you ragged, if you let them. Hubby has talked to many other bull haulers, and they say that they don't get much sleep.

Pete, yes, we have our own authority, we haul the brokers trailer.

 

I thought thats what you had told me. LOL Yeah, hubby just got lucky with the broker and the fact that he would listen to him. There are drivers that will do the Montana runs, but the broker knows better than to ask my hubby.

Those runs are for the young pups.