Flatbed work around CA, AZ, NV, NM?

Let me edit my response by saying they cannot haul cheap freight & continue to live in my neighborhood!! Need to make a pretty good wage to live here.

 

Have you talked to them? Are they leased on with anyone? What do you see on their trailers? How often are they home? All of these might give offer some clues but talking to them is probably your best bet. I live in Mesa, so I'm watching this thread too. I do know there is always copper coming out of the mines in Marana and Globe areas, going to Amarillo and Denton, TX. Not the highest paying load but it's consistent. Until you learn the shippers in your chosen area, leasing on with Landstar might be a good way to get your feet wet.

 

That pay is crap. You are required to have $200,000 in cargo insurance. That temporary bump costs about $200 per load. Not worth it anymore. They use to pay real good and that stopped this summer. I use to do it all the time until they dropped the rates way down.

 

I'm not going to advise anyone but I'd stay away from it because the big companies have most of it sewn up. Was leased to one and we would run to LA wit roofing material and to the bay area with building materials and paint the go up and get a load of wood beams going to the east coast. 65 ft beams and it paid OD, no escort under some agricultural deal, then a load of bronze out of the port of Baltimore to Sea. Ran like crazy but it paid well without the hassle of finding the load.

 

Not only that, but you will put ridiculous amounts of wear and tear on your tractor running those grades at those weights. It's a beautiful drive, but not good for a tractor-trailer!

 

Ya, no kidding. Do I go right and it sucks or do I go left and it really sucks but shorter

 

I live in Buckeye, one neighbor I talk to frequently is leased on with Dutch Boy, also in Buckeye. They run off load boards-they have an office girl that finds all their good paying loads for them. He likes to run up to Wisconsin and back-has family there.

The other guy I don't get to talk to him much, but I see his truck home in the yard every week.

Most times I see steel on their trailers. Most times they're empty cause they've already unloaded when they get home.

 

Just last week I saw 2 England Equipment trucks running together East out of LA with brand new step decks(still had temp tags on them) with some kind of transformers on them. EEC in in Cashion/Avondale area.

Week before that I saw a Swift truck with a brand new step deck.

Must be an increase in stepdeck freight if these guys are buying brand new trailers.

 

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961)]Considering buying my own trailer soon. Been wondering if I should go step or not.[/COLOR]

 

I was was asked recently to increase my cargo coverage to 250k from100k- insurance company said for a whole year that increase would be an additional $468...