Double Yellow's Company Driver to Independent Thread

Quick update: I bit the bullet and bought a new trailer Wednesday. I was amazed at how big of a hassle it was. I'd call dealers, money in hand & ready to buy, only to get voicemails or answering services. Perhaps 1 in 3 called back within a couple days.

I considered everything from a Con-Way Signature to a Vanguard & wound up picking a Hyundai Composite. Havco floors, plate walls, kumho klt02e tires, air slider, aerosaver skirts, etc. $28,544 out the door...

No California sales tax since I'm interstate, but I only get an electronic title, whatever that means. I plan to hang on to the trailer for 10 years so plenty of time to figure out how to get a pink slip without paying $2,000 in taxes...

Quality isn't as good as the old Monon, but frankly none of the trailers on any dealer's lot had good quality control. I think we're in a boom cycle for trailer builders so they're probably focused more on cranking out units than doing a good job. My Hyundai was lacking a license plate light -- just had 2 wires dangling through the hole. 6 of the 8 tires were exactly 100psi, the other two were 60psi and 80psi. And the alignment was off considerably. Things were only marginally better at Wabash & Utility.

Still, it pulls considerably better than the skirtless Monon (which rode on mix & match scrap heap recap tires). I averaged 8.3mpg pulling 31,000 lb from Sacramento (30' elevation) to Laramie (7300' elevation) and 11.6mpg from Laramie to Omaha (1060' elevation).

There may have been a tailwind involved, but I expect to get at least 8.5mpg (vs 8.1 overall in 2014). Tare is slightly improved as well: 32,320 lb now vs 32,440 before.


I may well kick myself down the road for not getting a Great Dane. Could have picked one up at the factory for $28,600, but it didn't have skirts and it would have been a 1900 mile deadhead (I had already sold the Monon & my insurance agent wanted over $1,000 to add trailer interchange so I couldn't make a power-only load profitable).

Had that dealer been more responsive returning calls, he would have had a sale, but he seemed only interested in selling multiple units at a time. Same story at Con-Way.

 

One of my largest unexpected expenses last year was scales -- 95% of the time I knew I was ok on gross, but was concerned about the trailer axle weight. So I added a pressure gauge to the trailer's airbag (I had the dealer install it --free-- to maintain my warranty but the install should be pretty self explanatory).


Parts list:

Monroe/Napa AK-18 (air shock adapter kit) $12.74
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000CD5QHM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1425761877&sr=8-1&keywords=monroe+ak18

2" single gauge panel $7.75
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001D...0&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&keywords=gauge+panel

2 1/16" mechanical air pressure gauge $36
http://m.napaonline.com/parts/PartsDetail.aspx?k=BK_7011734_0006393659

Hendrickson Vantraax load/pressure table:

(That is per axle so 82psi = 34,000lb)

 

Most of the big brokerages do direct deposit. The rest send cheques

No, I try to make things as easy as possible for the broker. Flat rates, no detention, no Tonu. In exchange I pad my rate. If a broker begins to become a problem, I modify as necessary (I require TONU from CHR & detention from Landstar).

I do a search of the posted rates on ITS' loadboard. I might search a 450 mile radius of Indianapolis, Dallas, Denver, Allentown, Louisville, Charlotte, Birmingham, etc and sort the results based on posted rates. Usually there are a couple hot areas and I'll see what loads are available to go from one to another...

Then I compare the rate-mate to see what the lanes have paid historically. Then I look to see the load to truck ratio -- below 2 loads to 1 truck & I can expect offer rates to be less than previous averages. Above 5 loads to truck and I can ignore posted rates and ask what I want. Above 10 loads/truck and I can try to make a game out of just how high of a rate I can get...

Very rarely. There are still some brokers who won't use me until I have 1 year, or 3 DOT inspections, or 5 trucks, etc, but those are the exceptions.

Initially it's a bit overwhelming. You're on the phone trying not to sound like a rookie, but afraid you're not asking the right questions. No joke, I routed each potential load and made a list of questions on a pad of paper before even calling. Weight? Commodity? PU & Del locations? times? Extra stops? Then TQL would throw me for a loop by changing the cities and I'd get flustered and not negotiate as well as I should.

With practice, I stopped being so hyper focused on how I sounded and started listening to how they sound. RC is great at this, but I really have to work at it. Do they sound desperate? disinterested? Can you hear a flurry of frantic office sounds in the background? Had one guy negotiating a rate while he was attending an NBA game -- do you think he'd be on the phone if it wasn't an important load?