Different spin on old question , Landstar or Mercer?

Thanks Spyder

I was referring to trailer requirements. Seems purchasing a good used trailer is a better deal than paying the 7 percent to the carrier.

So a spread axle is best? I take it a steel trailer is out of the question ,

Aluminum or combination is best but is it required?

 

no its not required, it depends on the weight you want to haul. An all aluminum trailer allows for more payload, any flat or step will work. We don't have much call for 53 foot , some. But not a lot. Some step loads require 40 foot bottom.

 

As you can see by responses here, several of us are completely satisfied, but as anywhere , not everyone is. Just the way it is.

 

Best advice I read above was to talk to both sides. You see us in truck stops and restaurants, just ask the questions. Usually we are more then happy to answer questions no matter what company we are signed on to. Some things you might want to make sure of is what type of freight do they Hual (flat, step, RGN or that box thing Try to compare apples to apples. Asking an RGN guy and a flat guy the same questions is going to result in different answers so make sure you compare flats to flats and steps to steps. Also remember the differences in conpanies. A van guy at LS may make 7% less but he don't have a trailer lease payment. So until someplace around the 9k in rev per month the LS van makes more but after that point the Mercer van gets to retain more. There are many little ins and outs that most overlook until it's too late then they want to blame somebody for not telling them something. Try to make sure you can only put the blame on yourself.

 

My trailer is steel, all wood deck. 48' with a fixed spread. The only thing I can't really do is sea cans as I only have a 38' lower deck and no container locks.

 

Mercer doesn't charge a percentage of revenue for a trailer. They do a lease purchase. When i signed on here i was very leery of it because the term lease purchase usually equates to work real hard and make no money. After doing the math and factoring in reasonable finance charges, i saw that i could not get a better deal on the same trailer at great dane so i looked at it as a rental figuring I'd find a good used flat for sale at a good price. I looked hard for six months or so and never found that good deal. Flats hold their value very well. Today you might have better luck since the freight market is not nearly as good. A lot of guys that jumped in when freight was booming have gotten out now that freight is back to normal.

 

Good info . Thanks Spyder.

 

Like Spyder said. No pulling van freight in a Conestoga. For that matter you won't do it in a curtainside either. Curtainsides are good for side unload freight like steel etc or some machinery etc. Traditional van freight in conastogas or curtainside is a no no.