dead head miles

Negotiating "an extra $50 for deadhead" pans out a lot better than "an extra $50 because I said so" in my experience.

 

I agree with barroll, it's a go to for negotiation. You want to feel out the broker, most of the time they have an extra $50-$100 to put on the table and you just need some excuse to get it. deadhead works pretty well. Come to think of it, I don't think I've been within 100 miles of a load for quite some time now....

But it is also common for me to get it when I have a customer with short capacity, most of the guys I know were getting deadhead pay for a couple months last year to get back for the next load.

It's also very common on loads going to bad areas, I used to deliver gen's to CO paid deadhead back. Working on a bid now Minneapolis to ND, gonna be deadhead pay involved. very, very common. As a lease operator you may not always see it separated out as a line item.

 

More common with open deck. With a box it's usually easier to keep deadhead down. No-one likes to pay it but going to some areas you better believe everyone is charging to cover it or steaming out the ears after the fact if they didn't. One time a broker asked me why my quote was so much and the only thing I could think to tell him why was "I have deadhead to cover". I don't even recall if that was the reason or not actually there are many things that determine a quote there in the moment. He told me his customers only paid for loaded miles. I said really? So if that's what he wants to think who am I to tell him different? It's like a shop that charges a rate of $50 an hour but takes twice as long to do the job or does it in time but marks up the end price in other ways. You have to cover that deadhead somebody has to pay for it. Some customers more than others at times.

 

I thought this was about the movie "Deadhead Miles" from 1972 or so, watch it on netflix, very strange trucking movie, but cool trucks.

 

we pull a 53ft step and we figure in the Dh if they pay we haul if not we keep looking