Anyone leased to AW Transport out of Glenview, Il?

Post your $8 mi loads,.. I'll post mine.

Mine are from load board broker loads,.. so nothing you cant find yourself.

Good example,..
Two 20ft Tanker containers from Quakertown, Pa to Newark, Nj. Approx 92mi,.. paid $600.

Two scisorlifts for United Rental from Oakmont, Pa to Braintree, Ma. 580mi,.. paid $2100.
Then picked up another load for United rentals in ,.. A german made boom lift from Smithfield, Ri to New Castle, De. 340ish mi for $950. Then back up to Newark for a 40ft container to the Ritchie Bro auction yard in East Md,.. paid $500.

So hate to brag,.. (Yeah right,.. psss burn) but I'm doing just fine.

Hurst

 

First of all congratulations on your $2.50-$5/mile loads. What company are you with?

Second, he never agreed to run for that rate, but every time, they'd say, "This is all we have, we'll make it up to you on the next run." So he gave them chance after chance of them saying that exact thing and after 5 months, we decided enough is enough. He was promised he would get nothing under $2.50/mile if he stayed up in the Northeast. He did the ENTIRE time besides 1 1/2 weeks of home time (not all at the same time either in the 5 months he was there).

No offense taken. We were shafted and have trusted so many bad companies on their word and then I started coming here to find out more about these companies before signing up and when I got more than at least a few good words about some of them we tried them and it was bs too! Come to find out most of them are recruiters that made $$ off of new driver sign on's and was promoting the company for that reason. Others just must not have many bills or a family to support. It sucks, but living in a town where it's basically nothing but the oilfield and then during a recession with hiring freezes all over, our choices are very limited!

 

Right on. How hard is it to get on with them? Do you own your own truck? Do you pull wiggle wagons? That is something he is not willing to do, besides the fact he doesn't have that endorsement...

 

Carrier I am leased to does nothing but Stepdeck and Oversize RGN loads. No vans.

And as for the stepdeck loads,.. its nothing but loads off the loadboards. So in all honesty,.. its nothing that any other carrier cant give to you. My carrier is nothing special. No real perks to speak of. Just honesty and a tenacity for landing profitable rates off the load boards.

Have you guys considered running your own numbers? With the exception of a few guys who scored some good direct shippers,.. I have never heard anything fantastic about Van rates.

Truth is,.. these carriers are business men,.. and as such they are out to make a buck. My carrier has tried to weezle me into some different arrangments,.. mainly trying to change our 80/20 split,.. getting me to buy my own liability insurance and he would increase my cut to 87%. My wife thinks we would just break even or the profit not worth the headache to increase my existing insurance,.. so I declined.

This is a business,.. and you guys have to work it as such. Do not agree to anything not signed on paper,.. do not operate for anything that is not profitable. You have to know your numbers.

Hurst

 

We want to get our own numbers but not sure how to go about it without having to file for our own authority and what not. Not sure how that works. Been O/O's for 6 years but never looked into it because there was better pay and less stress then. Now it's come down to brass tax and we have to do something or we will drown and take our children with us! LOL (won't be laughing when we finally go under I know)

 

With 6 yrs you should know exactly whats involved and how much is needed to remain profitable.

The only reason I stay leased is because I do not like paperwork,.. I have a good working relationship with my carrier. I know when to call BS,.. and I pretty much do what I want,.. come and go as I want. Eventually I will run my own numbers and book my own loads. For now I will ride this train until it runs out of tracks.

You guys need to either find a carrier you can live with, or start researching to get your own authority. They are all snake oil car salesmen. Learn to read between the lines. Learn to ask the right questions before signing on. If they run nothing but loadboards,.. then they can not guarantee you any kind of rates. You are at the mercy of their ability to be able to watch those boards like a hawk and pounce on any loads that pay well and stay in good freight lanes. If the carrier is unable to do that,.. or is discovered after the fact to not do what they promised,.. you walk. Your only hurting yourself by operating for less than what you think you are worth. Know what the rates are for the lanes you are in. Knowledge is power.

My carrier gets lazy sometimes and tries to pawn cheap loads off on to me. I've spent weekends stuck at a location because I refused to take a load for $1.55 going to another bad freight area. I keep my truck full of provisions, Generator, Fridge/Freezer, Microwave, Forman grill, AC/Heat. I am prepared to hold out for something better. My carrier gets tweaked and twitches when any truck sits. Usually by Mon morning he has a much better load for me. That,.. or keep a list of brokers that he had run loads for. Call them to see what they have available and be prepared to negotiate a rate. Then turn it over to your carrier to complete the confirmation process. I have negotiated many loads to get out of a bad area when nothing was being posted on the boards. In fact,.. I have been called directly by brokers to see where I am because they want me to do a load for them. Reputation goes a long way in this business.

Things are tight everywhere. You guys need to get into survival mode and not be afraid to knock on some doors and get out there and hustle. No one is going to do this for you,.. and no offense,.. but I am not going to hold the hand of my competition and give away my koolaid.

Hurst

 

Well now I do take offense to that. Being O/O for 6 years and should know.
It's not that simple. We didn't know we could call the brokers themselves to negotiate prices/loads or I would've been doing that already. Figured being leased on with a company you have to take whatever they can find or go broke waiting for something better. It's not like we're just kissing #####, we try to make it work. We like to give people a chance to prove their trust and worth. Apparently we just need to become ######## and start demanding #### see if that gets us anywhere. I apologize for having wasted your time. Have a good day.

 

Sorry hun,.. but the cold hard reality of this business is learn everything to stay ahead of the curve or be swallowed by the larger fish. Ignorance is no excuse.

I've only been an O/O for 3 yrs and I am still reading and learning everyday to keep on top of everything. I have developed a close circle of like minded friends also in the business and we trade info and secrets to help each other along. You guys have 3 more years on top of me. You should be telling me what I need to do in order to better myself.

Its a shame if you found offense with my comments. I am not going to sugar coat it for you. I dont think that would help you at all. The brokers post loads on public and private (Monthly subscription fees) load boards. They do not work for your carrier nor do they owe any favors to your carrier. You can call any of them. You represent your carrier. Never call as an individual O/O,.. you call as a driver working for the carrier, calling on a load or looking for a load. Thats the proper etiquette I practice.

If you guys are missing out or falling behind then you need to figure out where you are lacking and improve. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. But perhaps if more people told it to you straight,.. you would get a fire lit under your butt and start getting a little more business savvy. I assume you and your husband are in this together. As such,.. you need to be there for each other and be strong where the other is weak. Thats how my wife and I do it. I am far from perfect. But together,.. we make a perfect pair. Thats how you guys should be.

Hurst

 

Ok...I don't want anything sugar coated. I asked because I didn't know, however wasn't prepared to be insulted in the process. You said so yourself, you trade secrets to help each other out. That's exactly what I came here to find, not to be told I'm an idiot and need to figure #### out on my own and should already know it because I've been in it longer. Exactly how in your mind is that "helping out?" You have given other actual helpful advice but you can't do it without being condescending and I for one do not appreciate it.
We make a perfect pair, but again, I told you earlier that I've looked into subscribing and paying for load boards to do it myself for when we have our own authority but until you have your own numbers, that's what I was asking is if you can put your carrier's numbers or if you have to have your own, otherwise you cannot even look at the load boards and never got a straight answer for that.
I've researched and read and read and obviously have resulted to this forum for answers, I would just like to get sound advice without being poked at with a proverbial hot poker if it's all the same to you.

 

No CC is a single 53. Expedited freight and super professional nice people . They even have a no cursing rule down from the VP. Run by a woman by the name of Virginia Albanese , CEO. Temp control division better opportunity for higher rates . You could do worse . Steady . Give it a shot