Start out reefer or van?

There is a lot more hurry up and wait with reefer but you have the option to haul reefer or dry freight.

 

For me the neg about reefer is you have a lot of late appt like after midnight.Many of your loads goes strictly by appt time.you deliver to grocery warehouses and some can be very tight backing.Alod of loads have lumpers and you could sit hours before you gt unloaded.the sound of the reefer never bothered me .far as babysitting the unit its not hard it pretty much does itself.

 

I think the big difference between any company is if that company generates their revenue from freight or are they hauling their own product. It makes a large difference because the company does not relay on the freight in the back to make or break them. There's more control of the truck and you against sitting there hoping you get a load. I've done both as well as most of the drivers and it's a lot more relaxing for me knowing the company has the information on the load from start to finish.

 

It's great that the OP is looking at the difference types of trucking but I believe you can go further. You can sit down and make yourself a list of goals and what you want and expect to be a year, 5, 10, on up to retirement. Look at all the benefits a company offers and fit the best to your needs. Your needs can vary from what type of freight to what type of load. Find the best for you and go off of what you have found and not what someone has found. Every driver is different and you'll be much happier down the road later on.

 

Lightside, if you are starting out, you may be forced to go to a mega reefer company. At least for a year before switching to a dry van. True, with dry van your shippers and receivers have "regular" operating hours so your sleep schedule will be during normal sleeping hours. No waiting in line for trailer washouts. More drop and hooks with dry van. The two major advantages with reefer, are steady freight year around and longer hauls. After all, people gotta eat!! Hope this helps. Best of luck to you!!

 

Do flatbed, it's the best!

 

The most work, too. Sure do admire you guys.

 

Yeah it's more work, but pays better too.

 

Why may the op have to do reefer first for a year?dry van isn't any better then reefer.theirs as many van companies as reefer and some have both divisions. Reefer isn't any less or more work then van.you might get paid a little more hauling reefer but you're not going to see the difference on your checks.