ATS Flatbed miles

Forget the flatbed a moment, what u really want is specialized. You get to haul all sorts of goodies.

I recall two together in Elkton 76 one hauling a fully drive-able T34 and the other had a generic german tank on it going to Aberdeen Proving Grounds not far away. There may be changes since those days where anything is possible with ATS Specialized.

I was in the Van section, worst choice I ever made in those days long ago.

 

They do offer a percentage contract...just saying.

Percentage is the only way to go with a specialized carrier.

 

Six,

I wasn’t aware of this. Is it offered for their flatbed/step division or only heavy haul... and would you... by chance happen to know the whereabouts of the weekly gross?

 

All across the board. Just about every specialized carrier offers a choice of percentage or mileage contract. If you're pulling OSOW for a mileage rate, you are working too hard. The thing is, about a percentage contract, if you run it like you do a mileage contract, you're going to lose your arse.

How so?

You don't run out to the west coast for the same rate that you run the east. Mileage you can, but percentage of the load coming back from the west won't pay spit. For me to go out west, that load has to pay well enough for me to bounce all the way back to the east side of 35. Same for the northeast. Same goes for Florida.

"So, how do you make more money on percentage than mileage, Six?"

Short runs. Stay in a small region, and just do short hops. A long mileage run, say 1000 miles, at a mega carrier will pay $1.20-$1.25/mile all in. So you run this load on mileage, day and a half in driving (2 full days all in), and you gross $1200-$1250. Not bad, right?

I can get a short hop, 10-300 miles for $1200-$1500 for a legal load. Not every day, of course. Some guys will gross $3000 on 2000-2500 miles. I prefer to do it on 800 miles or less a week. No, I am not talking permitted loads, I am talking general freight.

Now, some guys go crazy sitting around. I don't. That "GOTTA GO GOTTA GO GOTTA GO" mentality is the very first thing you'd better lose when you start pulling permitted loads.

I have a friend of mine that's been a company driver at ATS for 10 years. He averages $2K/week. Before you began to think that they're all that, let me just state that's not unusual for an A Game specialized driver. @kylefitzy is at SPD and he will probably do better.

 

Forgot to mention, some heavyhauler company schmucks get mileage pay and a day rate. Had a friend that was doing $1.19/mile and a day rate in a company truck.

 

Forgot about @Razororange and @Gunner75...you may want to hear from them. They're at other companies, but they both do well. Doesn't matter whose name is on the door. It just matters who's bringing that A Game.

 

Overall so far this year I'm averaging $1686 a week. My mileage varies from as low as 1200 to a high of 3800, or all depends on what loads I'm hauling. I also started with my client at 23%, as of this past friday I'm bringing in 26% because I've referred 3drivers since i started.

I have a load that i love to haul from Bremen ohio to Brighton Colorado, it pays the driver around $1.05 a mile, one week i brought a load from Aurora Colorado back to Milwaukee paying me another $1000, then i got a customer load from our yard in oakcreek Wisconsin going to our yard in Cincinnati paid me another $450. That was an all star week at 3300miles. Another week i took the same load out to Brighton, and bounced back to Cincinnati empty because the wasnt a load with hauling going my way, and i had tobe home on friday.

Oh and don't confuse this, I'm a company driver on a W2, as of payday this friday ive grossed $24980 for the year

 

I get straight percentage for most everything I haul. I am paid hourly for the limited local work I do to help out the city guy when it gets busy.

I do work as a company driver but have a lot more freedom than most since I work for a place with only 8 trucks.

As for miles I do about 100K per year. Some weeks I may drive 3000+ and others I do 500. The bigger mileage weeks are always west coast runs though.

During winter the oversize stuff really drops that number when there's only 7-8 hours a day of usable lifht.

 

Specialized drivers do quite well, don't they?