Anyone running LTL flatbed under their own authority?

I talked to a guy at a truckstop last year who said he used to be an owner op, under his own authority, running LTL flatbed...he said that he made really good money but he had to quit doing it because his wife died and he couldnt handle doing all of his dispatching himself, which sounds reasonable. Anyway,

I was thinking about this again last night at a crappy boring factory job i was working (im going back on the road next week, but this job sure makes me appreciate trucking!). I know I couldn't do it alone, but I was thinking about maybe doing it with a girlfriend when I get one...it'd be a while before I got my own authority and truck, so maybe I could actually have a girlfriend by then.. LOL. Only thing is, I'd want her to ride with me too.

Anyway, I'm not looking for any general answers about running totally independantly, I already know what I need to know about that for now....But if anyone has actually done LTL flatbed under their own authority, i had some more specific questions to ask you!



1) I feel like I can actually make a decent amount of money doing LTL...as in, not just being able to pay myself a decent wage as a driver, but to be able to make enough of a profit as a company to not only maintain my equipment, but to possibly expand later to have more than one truck. Also, to eventually have atleast one fairly nice truck (nothng too fancy, just an FL classic or atleast a columbia). Assuming I have loads. So, how hard is it to actually find LTL flatbed loads? I can totally understand where the driver I talked to was coming from about not being able to do it on his own...I'll definitely need help. And, do you think it'd be too difficult for the person finding my loads to ride along all the time? Is that unreasonable? Im thinking it just might be.

2) I've never in my life run a sidekit, so I know nothing about them, but I was thinking....they sure look nice to have. But it'd be too much of a pain to just take one pallet off the side and leave with a sidekit, wouldn't it?

3) Is there actually much LTL flat freight? Maybe i should find a different niche?

 

Your post is exactly whats on my mind except you missed the reason that i want to run LTL flatbed! But I didn't post it because i figured anyone that was reading would've already known. Oh well. Anyway, there's no way i would start up right now except with LTL.

First of all, the smaller the load, the more money it pays compared to the size of it.

Some example prices...which are mostly BS I made up, but are still reasonable as an example, and are infact based in reality. All prices are based on the same route.

1) A full 53' truckload of whatever: $4000

2) A single pallet of whatever (something that would be safe to haul on a flatbed duh)): $400

3) 20 single pallet loads for $400 each = $8,000.

Seee what im getting at? The same truckload, but you just doubled the price. Of course, usually the truck will not be full. Anyway, this is possible because when ever you are shipping LTL, the price is cheaper because the weight/size of the load is smaller, but price by weight/size is higher. It's cheaper to the customer if thats all they need to ship, but it ends up costing more in the long run.

As for your reefer comments, heres what i have to say...First of all, If i have 20 pallets for different customers, and the ones in the front are the first ones that need to be unloaded....the first customer is not going to be happy to move 19 pallets of crap that isnt theres to get their load! That's why I'm so attracted to flatbed for this. LTL in vans is better left up to big companies with docks than my little one truck gig.

 

Sure, but that was a bit of an extreme example. I'd rather have 4 loads on the truck, paying high enough rates to still be in excess of $3 a mile.

Also, there is one other thing I left out....it's possible to pull this off without ever deadheading anywhere. If properly routed, its possible to be picking up more loads before the truck is empty...however, that also doesnt mean every mile is profitable...I might have to ride for 75 cents a mile to pick up the next load. But, thats a lot better than deadheading.

I will be doing a lot more research on rates before I go into business.

I was also thinking just now...I'd have a lot of flatbed crap to buy that I neglected to think about. Tarps, straps, chains...Bah.

 

Hmm. Yeah, I wasn't planning on ever getting $400 x 20 skids, that was on the extreme. But i would totally do right coast to left coast...thats what i always did at my last job. Would i actually be more likely to turn a profit this way than just doing normal hauls, maybe 2 loads on a truck?

Gas Hauler, apparently they're out there. This guy i talked to definitely wasnt lying about the fact he did it. About the fact he made good money doing it? Very possibly. Anyway, I was talking about a single trailer with multiple loads on it. Perhaps you've seen it and didn't realize thats what it was.

Anyway I don't have much scoped out. Just thinking out loud. All i know is that i'd like to buy a truck and that I don't feel like i'd be remotely profitable without my own authority and freight that pays good...