Different spin on old question , Landstar or Mercer?

Spread axle combo (steel and aluminum) like the Great Dane freedom. Even though I am jaded against lease purchases to an extent. Mercer wanted 25k for a 2016 spread axle flatbed with 2 boxes. Much cheaper than Jim Hawk trailer. If you need the trailer pretty quick it's not that bad of a deal from Mercer...even with lease purchasing it. You can always turn around and buy it when your ready. Point being if you don't have the money for the trailer, taxes etc it might not be a bad idea to get one at Mercer to get ya going. Just saying. I asked for a brand new one when I was coming on and they got me one. I plan on buying it out in August.

Nothing wrong with used......I am just very picky about maintenance and up keep. I don't like inheriting other people's problems from bad maintenance or equipment abuse.

 

There may not be an advantage to paying the trailer off early. From tax angle even, deducting t;e lease payment in its entirety. May be better, also don't know if you get a break on payoff price. When i made last payment on mine , I had title in 30 days. Its a deal that works well

 

Gotta disagree with you here. Van freight goes just fine inside a curtainside. They are designed for van freight. That's why they have van doors on the rear. Now they are not very common, so you may have to explain to the customer what the trailer actually is, but that's the same with conestogas.

 

Let me qualify my answer.... Not all van freight will go on a curtain side. the inner wall support in a van is more sturdy. if a pallet falls over in a curtain side good chance its going through the side. Can you pull van freight with a curtain side...yes and no. On the same token you can pull some flatbed frieght in a van too......or van freight on a flatbed.

Basically its where common sense kicks in.

 

What is the disadvantage of a conastaga other than the weight and cost?

Is there many loads with Mercer that won't load you if you have one?

 

Conastogas are not fun to open in the winter when the tracks get iced down, and there is a ton of snow and ice on the roof.

Like anything else you will have to get with the brokers. Do they load conastogas....yes. However, the majority of the open deck freight will be for flats or step deck at Mercer. You will loose more versatility going with a Conestoga at Mercer. Conastogas are basically good with a company that regularly has a customer base for Conestoga.

For example.....Long Haul Trucking out of MN uses conastogas and has a use for owner operators that have those trailers.

For what it's worth it you go to mercer pull either a flat or a step. They have vans too....(yuck)

 

Wow, thanks LS just told me they won't hire me until January when one of my moving violations falls off. I passed a weigh station in Texas