How to find backhauls?

Cut throats have been around this business since the stage coach days. In order to succeed you have to be willing to adapt and find a way to make it work, else just sit back and whine about everything you dont like. Blame everyone else who comes into the business and takes a drink from what you think is supposed to be just your cool aid. Sorry,.. this is what truckers have always done and will continue to do.

BTW,.. I have considerablly more than $100k. I cashed $100k from Sept to April. I had cash before that cash,.. and here we are in the middle of July and I'm still hustling my class 8 truck cashing checks that you wish you had.

How do you work for $18hr and gross $250k? I'm not the smartest man around and even I can figure this out. $250,000 divided by 42 weeks comes out to $5952.38 a week. Lets say I max out my hours and miles,.. 70hr a week. Thats $85hr. I suggest you find your school teacher and slap them for not teaching you correctly.

I have my really good weeks and some not so good. Its a grab bag of mixed work. The thing is,.. I stay consistent, I stay working, I dont whine and complain when I have a bad week or when something comes up. I dont blame others in the industry when things dont go my way. I grumble,.. I dont like it. But I deal with it. I work around it and move on. I think the old saying is,.. "If you cant run with the big dogs, then stay on the porch". So while you are sitting there on your couch passing up work because you think you are above it.. I'm out here working it and hustling it successfully. In my opinion,.. if I gross $8000 for the week,.. I'm not breaking it down to if I had an easy week averaging $4mi,.. or a hard week at only $2mi. I still grossed $8000,.. the only difference will be my NET profit. Worst case scenario my NET still wont be less than $5000. I dont believe in wasting my time sitting around because I believe my time is only worth $4mi loads. I will run what ever I feel will be in my best interest. That could be a $1.87mi or $3.87mi. I'm not at home,.. so sitting around out here not making money makes no sense.

Factually,.. no one maxes out their hours/miles week in and week out. Save for maybe the LTL and Mega drivers on dedicated routes. I dont. On average,.. I do between 2000 - 2500 a week. Sometimes less,.. sometimes more. Depends on what I have going on. Now with that information,.. you can do the math and figure out the rates I am running at. And mind you,. 99% of it is from load board brokers. So its nothing anyone else cant do either.

Having your own authority obviously does not automatically make you rich,.. just like simply owning a truck wont either. You have to have a realistic workable business model. Expecting to make class 8 money/rates while working part time taking partial loads is not realistic.

Hurst

 

hurst is actually right theres no such thing as a backhaul I met a guy today he told me that he rather drive empty than taking a so call backhaul he says he starts heading home if he sees something in his route for the right price he takes it home enjoy his weekend then Monday he gets back in his truck

 

Not true. It's just not found easy and usually doesn't go in a box. Not trying to say something is won't with you dry van and reefer guys but the reality is every tom dick and Harry runs out and buys a van worth his brand new mc number. It's tough to get the real good rates when the market you operate in is constantly being over saturated by guys that won't last a year before going out of business.

 

I usually get a pretty good rate coming into Fla for when I go home.

Coming out,.. now there is the challenge. My home state sucks when it comes to out bound rates.

Thing is,.. I'm home. Feet up on the cushion,.. A/C on high,.. watching loads on the board. I'll dead head 4 - 5 hours out and grab a load in Ga for $2.40 mi before I take a local load out for $1.30mi,.. just on principle. I'm in no rush when at home. And like I said,.. I get home when I get home. If I see a good paying load going close to the house,.. well,.. its home time.

What a lot of people dont understand,.. especially when they see the outside of my truck. Black hood and all. I am perfectly set up to stay out on the road with all of the creature comforts of home with the exception of toilet and shower. I have the taj mahal set up in here. Satellite TV with 42" 1080p HD TV and remote, Hibatchi grill, forman grill, hot plate, coffee maker, dorm size fridge with freezer large enough for dinners, ice cream, frozen meats, microwave, gaming laptop and used to have an Xbox in here,.. but I gave that to someone else who needed it more than I did. Generator with portable AC and heat,.. no need to idle the truck.

My truck is paid for. I've reduced my operating costs,.. I can actually make money doing loads at $1.40mi.

Hurst

 

@Hurst hurst there are some people that will never see things logically. They think with emotions not logic. This debate you've gotten into boils down to you are doing something succesfully that someone else failed at. They can't do it so they think it's not possible you, or i, or anyone else, can do it. We find a way to make it work. They whine and complain and make excuses.

 

Whining and complaining is a very important part of trucking. Pretty sure #####ing and moaning is in a driver's DNA.

 

i agree for the most part. there is such a thing as free enterprise in this country. so jolly big man can come along and say hey i'll do it for .90 cents a mile just to get the freight. so small guys get put out of it. and when the big guy guys screw it up. the big guys csr people smooth it over to keep the freight. i have lost a hazmat account to a big guy. I would keep tabs on it and wait. the customer comes back. why? because they realize what is true. cheap is never very good quality.

 

Some of the people were ones I helped out when I had an extra load. The results were the same a year or so later the were out of business. I don't covet what others have, so your bank account has no meaning to mean. I'm a little skeptical though that some forgotten tid bit passed you inclusion there. I mean really if someone wanted what you have why not just get in a hooptie and give you the old brake check, so you could pay for many doctors visit's? Now if you really looked you'd find I've limited my work so I could attend college to get started in what will be my retirement career possibly. With that said and my lowered income I'm dependent on people like you to work hard so my pell grants will continue. So you're my secret hero thank you for your hard work as I'm counting on you.

You're wrong there it's 70 hours in eight days which equals 192 hours and using your 3500 claim a week that equals 20.78 and hour, I missed it a little first time, there again I suspect there is a little something missing.
Have you factored in the experts claims that truck drivers live ten years less on average than other males?
So with all that saved up money someone is going to have a good time after you're gone. They do find drivers expired in their trucks from time to time. Maybe I could retire to florida??

I've made some pretty good money and I've worked the load boards as well. I think I've just grown tired of all the games and BS. I'm probably most tiered of people who will give up rights and income because they are to useless to stand up and fight for them. Last real truck drivers I remember were those of the 70's and 80's The strike 79/80 was the last ride of the last American cowboys, I've always held out hope it would happen again.

 

I hear ya man! I'm the same way anymore. If i could find some one to buy the business i have. I would retire from trucking. and go back to school for something else. that has alot less stress. I never wanted to own a business much less a trucking company. after finding out in '07 that i would never be able to get into driving jobs 85% of get into the business for. that's when i became a trucking company owner. don't regret it that much. made alot of money. sometimes wonder where all went. then i'll have one of drivers call me. and i remember where all the money went.

 

Where did I claim I only made $3500 a week?

You better go back and re-read exactly what I said.

I said AFTER I paid all of my bills,.. all of my expenses,.. from Sept through April,. I managed to stash away $100,000 cash. Thats not an annual gross or net income. Did you forget to take your meds or what? How could you possibly interpret that as me only making $3500 a week? Just like your failure at trucking,.. you have failed to accurately account for my cash assets and income.

Difference between you and I? This is my retirement plan. I've got 10,.. maybe 12 more yrs at this and I am shutting it down. I will have enough cash to live out my days very comfortably. My wife will probably work a few more yrs than me. She has a six figure income herself. So I am pretty much set.

Theoretically I could park the truck tomorrow and never work another day. She would be fine with that and we would still be very comfortable.

You seem to be stuck in the past. The way things used to be. Get over it. You could die tomorrow and no one will care. Life goes on. I look to the future and mine looks wonderful.

Say what you want about Fla. But,.. you dont see people from Fla retiring up north.

Hurst