Landstar Reefer

if you don't do a lot of drop and hooks you are better off with your own trailer ..... I am close to 50 % drop and hooks so I would have to change a lot to get a trailer .... I do mostly (80%) landstar loads .. I don't like to double brokered loads. ... I think if I bought a trailer I wood get a drop deck or maybe a flat . never get another reefer

 

I run a reefer here at LS and this is my busy season. Winter. Its all great paying PFF hazmat until April 1. And I do run some dry loads that also pay 75% to the truck. When I lose a dry load because I'm a reefer it is either because the freight needs a wooden floor to block and brace, or because my width is 97" instead of 102". That extra insulation takes away 5 inches. I added 2 lines of etrack and I carry load bars.

Spring is also good because it's produce season. Summer sucks balls but I am working on getting an in with the ice cream reefer division as my reefer is a 2017 with a Precedent reefer unit so I can go to the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia for life. My truck is a 2016 Cascadia and I definitely tell all my agents my equipment is late model so they know I won't be broke down somewhere.

I took the entire month of August off and this year I will take August and September off in 2019 as those are the 2 slowest months.

Pretty happy with my financial results. I gross $27.5K per month and I should pay taxes on $165k in April. And I don't work that hard. All my equipment is paid off and I don't have a penny of debt so I'm happy. I'm 55 and I think I can do this for years and not get burnt out. In my 60's I'll probably just work October 1 to April 1. Got no real complaints. LS leaves me alone.

Also I'd rather have an archer put an arrow thru my eye socket than run either a Wal-Mart load or a cold storage load. Won't run them, don't run them, and there is no amount of money that could change that.

Would definitely recommend buying your own trailer, either temp controlled or dry. Don't pay LS $1400+ per month rent to pull their vans. Makes no financial sense. You can finance a brand new dry van for $400 or so a month. There, I just earned you a minimum of $1000 more per month. And that's before you depreciate your equipment on your taxes. Remember hardly any maintenance and repairs in brand new equipment.

 

I was talking to an agent last week that was trying to get in with a ice cream shipper and he told me that Landstar has ice cream on their "do not ship" list because of high claims. Not saying its a fact, but I trust this agent, so I would look into that if I were you. He does say he can keep me rolling year round with potatoes (he is trying to talk me into getting a reefer, which Im thinking about) at decent rates.

 

Spoke with the LS ice cream division in Jacksonville again today and they are slow this time of year. I am on the list because i have late model equipment. I could see why 10 year old reefer trailers are a no no for ice cream. At -20 degrees continuous you really put the strain on the cooling unit. A breakdown almost ensures a lost load as getting to a repair place within an hour can be tough.

 

You made a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good career decision.

 

second that opinion. .... the true team loads really pay good and I only see,the ones on the board I am sure you will make a few connections with the right agents as you go along. are you doing a company trailer or did you buy one . not sure what is best for a team company is best for me but about 75% of my loads are drop and hook on at least one end ... the nice part about doing team with landstar is you are able to run hard as a team if you wanted or run soft and can change daily on your choice and either one of you could take home time and the other run solo for as long as you wanted. .... I have talked to a couple guys doing reefer and they are doing just fine but its not for me just too much wasted time I did it 6 years and I like dry box a whole lot better and the money works out to the same when you add everything up

 

Well Landstar sure wants you pulling their company dry vans at their exorbitant 7% of gross rent per month. They pocketed $39 million in trailer rental fees last quarter alone and almost all of it was pure profit. Good little Landstar soldiers keeping the execs in Lexus' and rollexes.....

 

Landstar doesn’t charge rent for a dry van....

 

You've got to be kidding? You pay 7% of your gross on every load you pull their big blue starred trailers. Where do u think the difference between the 72% and the 65% goes? Time to start thinking like a business owner my friend.