Farm2Fleet/Covenant Fleet - O/O's

I went through a different leasing company for my second truck, and working with them was fantastic.

http://www.exceleratetrucks.com

 

I'm sure we'll be turned around by the end of the year. Check in a few months before you plan to buy and your transition should go smoothly. We're always looking for quality partners to sign on, but it can take a few weeks to really get a feel for a person to see if F2F is a good fit, so I want to make sure you're all set up when you're ready to roll if F2F ends up on your short list when the time comes.

 

Thanks, I come from a family of O/Os. My cousin on my dad's side has his own authority and I may lease onto him, but his work is specialized..... he hauls trailers out and cars back into georgia on 4 car trailers with trailer tracks.

We run a team truck so my biggest concern there is whether his trailer plants he works with will have enough freight to keep us moving, as we'd be taking his longer loads. (Ga-TX, GA-MO and beyond).

I know van pretty well, but am considering reefer because it blends well with team and has a little more specialization to it which gets it a higher rate, but also gives you more things to go wrong, and a bigger potential to lose a load through no fault of your own.

I've run reefer for a month or two at my current company and pretty well understand it front to back, even done a little roadside maintenance on a reefer unit since I keep a 300 pc toolset on the truck. (MT trlr I had just picked up that wouldn't operate.)

Do you guys have any reefer teams there or is the dry freight more plentiful?

 

We're mostly dry van, but there is some open deck and reefer in the mix. Easiest way to get on doing reefer is going to be to bring your own trailer, even though I've heard rumors of getting some reefer accounts. That could change in the next 8 months.

If I were in your shoes I'd get a truck, sign on, go through orientation, and spend a month or two running with a trailer rented out of the dry van pool just to get used to the broker side of the games that shippers and receivers play then weigh that against buying a reefer. I'm sure you've heard stories in retrospect from family, but there are some jaw dropping phone calls you'll need to get used to being on the receiving end of running spot market.

I've always run flatbed (outside of an odd PO load here and there) at F2F and 99% of everyone I've worked with has treated me well, but I've heard nightmares about shippers, receivers, and brokers on the dry van side almost weekly that aren't anywhere near a reality for me running open deck. The last thing I'd want if I were in their shoes would be a reefer running on a low tank waiting for a dock or a reefer breakdown thrown into the mix, especially starting out.

 

Fair enough. I was just considering reefer as an option. If rates are decent, I have no problem running van, I will have the money to buy a van, but like you say it's better to rent one if possible and get a feel for freight first. That way I know what kind of set up will work best for what I'm doing. Save the money and wait until I get a handle on things and then buy the trailer I want. I should be able to afford a nice 2-3 yr old great dane.

 

Sounds like a good plan.