How do I stop running empty?

Preplan your loads in advance for the city/town your delivering to so you can reload in the same place. Maynot pay well but may have to take a low paying load from time to time to get to a better rate/load area. Just have to weight out the pros and cons. Sometimes loads aren't even worth it and will actually cost you so deadheading is the only option. It varies on time, location and freight demand.

 

There's nothing wrong with deadheading so long as the loads you are going to pick up justify it.

Are there better or equal loads closer available ? If not, it's the right thing to deadhead.

Only thing I could say to help you is maybe you would want to look at longer hauls. 100 miles deadhead on a 1500 mile trip is going to lower your percentage vs. 100 mile deadhead on 300 mile trips.

 

Running empty is NOT the problem.

Not getting paid for them is the problem. Running empty is actually to your benefit. It's easier on fuel and easier on equipment.

I'll just link to it instead of typing it all over again....

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...perators-can-be-profitable-3.html#post3473436

 

I don't know of any owner who wants to run empty. Unless you always pick up, deliver and reload to the same place all the time you will do some deadheading. The last few years I have been doing much more deadheading than in years past. I won't run my truck below a certain rate. A few years ago I averaged just under 10% deadheading. That is no longer the case. You can stay loaded more if you don't care about the rate. Regardless of how much you deadhead, it is important to show a profit. If you can make the money you need even with more deadheading, you are better off with the deadhead than hauling freight for free. Reducing deadheading may also be as simple as changing where you run.

 

I actually been running substantial deadhead miles, but keeping my over all cpm where I need it, running empty is good if yourdoing it to get to your 3/4$ mi freight.

 

I have never really worried about dead head as a percentage. I consider the market of where a load goes, and if it's not a good area, I take into account how much in fuel it will cost me to relocate to a good area, that factors into if I take the load or not. I regularly bounce 600 miles empty doing this. here is an over simplified example of what I mean: a load is going from Gary, in to Fargo, nd. pays 2200 on 700 miles. I know fargo, and Minnesota, is very hit and miss on good passing reloads, it will cost me 300 bucks in fuel to d/h ask the way back to Chicago if needed, so I look at that loadb as really paying 1900 and requiring an extra day, and then decide if I want to run that load or not

 

your going to run empty. it's the nature of the beast.

finding loads isn't the problem finding loads that pay, IS. you can bounce across the street for a load. but it probably only pays 50 cents per mile.

when i was company. running western regional. it wasn't uncommon for me to average 1000 miles a weak EMPTY. and the sad thing. it's always WOOD. the most popular load out here. and most times won't even pay a buck.

 

Actually the load you are under that is causing you to deadhead should be worth it. Not the one you are going to pick up. Before you ever accept a load you need to research how many loads are coming out of the area you are delivering to. If you are going to a dead area like MT, CO, ND, SD WY, etc you need to make sure the load going there pays well because anything you get coming out is not going to pay much. It also depends on the type of trailer you are running. The above examples are for flat bed. You need to calculate miles from that dead area to the nearest hot area and make sure the load taking you there is paying enough to cover that deadhead to get you out of there. When you do it this way you do not have to care about the deadhead because the broker has already paid you to get out of the area. If the broker is only wanting to pay you $1.50 per mile and you have to deadhead 800 miles to find a decent paying load then you need to pass on that load. I never go to a dead area for less than $2.50 per mile and usually not less the $3. Since you are deadheading so much I am sure you are taking what you think are good paying loads to dead areas and then having to deadhead long distances to get out of it. Just figure in your deadhead when you calculate mileage and you will see it is not really paying as much as you think. For example, I get offers to go from Birmingham to Lubbock all the time. $2 per mile at 984 miles = $1968. But when you add in the additional miles back to Dallas, which is the nearest city I could find any freight, that brings the mileage up to 1330 which is really $1.47 per mile which is an incredibly low rate for flatbed out of Birmingham. So whenever I do go to Lubbock from Birmingham I never go for less than $2.50 per mile usually closer to $3. As a result I do not care about the deadhead back to Dallas.

Like Danny said, there is nothing wrong with deadheading, its a necessary part of the job. You can get some really good paying loads because of the deadheading it will cause you. The trick is to always make someone else pay for the fuel.

 

good way to explain it, texas. took me a month before that kind of math donned on me. also took that long to figure out the DEAD STATES. once the travels were made to those areas.