Deadhead and fleet mechanics

Working on my business plan. We can agree that generally speaking, deadhead is an expense that needs limited. What is an acceptable amount of deadhead? 10%?

Any fleet owners have a mechanic on staff? How many truck/trailer pairs can a mechanic and mechanics helper manage?

 

Deadhead all depends on your loaded rates doesnt it, so too vague a question.
I deadhead a lot at times, but the rates are there so I dont really sweat it.

Martin

 

Deadheading is an expense that needs to be calculated and understood. Simply focusing on keeping a low deadhead percentage is too simplistic IMO. I realized awhile back I was figuring it wrong. I get 10 mpg deadheading and I know I'm not wearing tires, suspension, and drivetrain like when I'm loaded. So I adjusted my expense per mile accordingly. I now figure deadhead miles significantly less and put a bit more on my loaded miles.

In a nutshell I was passing up certain loads that make me money now because I was figuring too much expense on the deadhead.

 

The lane I run has lots of dead heading and some month it is 50%, but we usually still see over $2.00 on all miles. Like Danny said dead heading is a lot easier on your equipment, but you have to have the money on the loaded miles. I see people hauling 42,000lbs loads back for about $1900.00 on a 2400 mile run. Yes, that is a horrible rate and you have to figure out if it is worth it to run for that kind of money.

 

I agree with all of you. I calculate time, miles, revenue I would loose, location, eta time. Brokers squeal but I get deadhead out of my regulators. Add to the bid to cover your bottom line. Reputation means a lot. Shippers don't care about bright & Shiny, they care about being there on time.

 

I agree that it cost less on the maintenance cost to run empty and a little less on fuel but you still need driver wages figured in that. If I was running $4.50 step deck loads, I'd log it as 2.75 loaded, 1.75 empty but what about the van freight that runs me 168 miles deadhead to run 148 loaded? Deadhead becomes more of a factor especially since most van freight pay no where near that.

 

Back in my driving days we never had many deadhead miles. Yet prior to that I had worked at a sheet-rock plant & there's were several drivers that owned their own trucks. They would load later afternoon, deliver then next morning, dead head back, doing this 5 days per week. I suppose they all made money or they would not have done it. I believe the longest run for them was about 350 to 375 miles. I recall one O/O who ever now & them got back quite early & delivered a load about 50 miles from the plant & was usually back in time to load for the next morning run.

 

I didn't see your question about fleet mechanic answered. How many trucks trailers he and a swamper can manage depends mostly on his skill, meaning how efficiently he does a job and how often its fixed right the first time. The next factor is the shape and age of the fleet he is maintaining. I have seen a lot of small companies shop help continually work on the same truck over and over for either the same thing or new difficulties caused by a previous repair. I don't throw the mechanic word around for that reason. I would say minimum of 10 road trucks to have a full time man and a swamper. I will warn you we are somewhat wasteful of very inexpensive shop supplies that add up to a lot over a period of time. So we are actually way more expensive than original salary and workers comp. ins etc. I Think a man should track his repair cost over a six month period, be sure to only put the labor portion of the bill in this column as you will still be buying parts. When your labor reaches that of a man and helper there you go. But remember even with an on staff man you will still have some outside labor due to Skills, tools needed for certain jobs. Time frame restrictions, and break downs on the road.

 

It sounds to me like you are trying to figure out if you have enough of a demand to hire some one to work as a mechanic as well as a helper. Is this what you are asking?

 

That was my plan but I was trying to get a rough idea. I figure I need a mechanic skilled enough to do everything but engine/transmission overhaul. I do my own wrenching now and that is about my limit as well. I have brakes done outside for liability reasons. I figure the helper can help the mechanic when necessary on a tough job, say a clutch but can also do oil changes and pm's on trucks on his own. That said, I figure a mechanic and helper are gonna cost me a 100k per pair. I'm gonna track labor year to year and multiply by .66 figuring a third of the work will still be done outside the shop. Sound about right?