Dry van vs reefer

Question about cross country running
Where you a part of a team to do that ? Or solo? I'm only at 7 months with a dry van only company so I'm trying to think about what to do next as well with my next job I get after my first year is done .

I like the idea of having some longer loads and many more miles. But I'm not willing to do it if I have to team. That lifestyle isn't worth any amount of money to me unless I'm running with someone I'm married to or nuclear family member which is unlikely

 

In my ideal world I'd be doing dry van that is like 90% drop and hook and a lot of consistent miles . With a 70 MPH new truck with no issues . And a company that has good condition trailers that aren't all falling apart lol .

I also like sleeping at night and running daytime. Nighttime is good for minimal traffic and getting good parking spots at the end of your day. But there's much less visibility and half of the drivers on interstates and Especially on local roads will constantly be blinding you with their bright lights.

My first couple months of driving were almost all drop and hooks which was extremely nice to just keep running without wasting so much time to get loaded/unloaded.

Lately Ive been getting longer loads but they tend to have troublesome live loads and unloads that gobble up insane ammounts of my clock . And they're more likely to be closed on the weekends and have strict appointment times that leave no room for error (ex traffic jams, weather, breakdowns). Like they draw a straight line on a map and say this many miles, at this speed , equals this many hours , here's your appointment thank you .

 

Yes someone else pays for the lumper, but that's another line you have to wait in before you can leave. I've had customers take 6-8 hours to unload the freight and then wait 5-90 additional minutes to pay the lumper service so I can leave. Many reefer customers are the customers getting 800 trucks per day and achieving DMV-levels of "go eff yourself" we will get to you someday, maybe, unless you complain. If you complain, we will never get to you"

 

I can not remember EVER waiting more than 10 minutes to get an express code once I gave my company the amount. Also, I can't ever remember being unloaded until that head lumper called and got the confirmation number off my check. If there is a lumper service unloading before being paid, it's news to me!

 

BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPP-HIUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMUUUUUURRRRRRRRPPPPPPP

*RATTLE RATTLE

GRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLL BBBUUUUUUUUUUUUBBBBBBBBB

*RATTLE -RATTLE

Whole lot of nope. Pull a dry van. And remember lots of dry van places won’t load reefers because of the smaller interior dimensions. I’ll always choose good sleep over a couple of CPM.

 

I never encountered a space issue causing my trailer to be rejected. However, I have had to sometimes wait a long time to get loaded because my trailer was full of condensation. This is why if I knew I was headed into this situation I ran my reefer to dry it out, OR if possible switched.

 

One more thing about the noise and vibration caused by reefers. Some carriers had their units set so they would not run continuously. Most of the time ours would. Still, once you get used to these vibrations they stop bothering a driver. In my last few years, I could sleep like a baby with a reefer running during my 10. I don't remember making more CPM wise, but if I could show my income from Dec-March before going to reefer to after the difference is remarkable. I can only estimate, but I would not be far off if I said the difference was close to 2k a month for those 4 months. One more point about the noise. This I am sad to say affects box as well as skateboards. A loose belt that slaps against steel. Oh, man is that a big-time PITA. I have seen fistfights in truckstops over that.

 

I love hauling reefers. Steady work, night driving, all pluses for me. You haul a lot of consumables. Everyone has to eat. I love when the reefer has to run on continuous. I get the best sleep. You have very few limitations when hauling a reefer. Every once in a while, you come across a sugar place that doesn't want to use reefers. In trucking, the less limitations you have, the more endless your possibilites are.

 

Paying lumpers is starting to get easier in some places. I've been entering in the company comdata code online lately

 

Cons:
Crazy appointment times

Many just in time cross country loads where you have to ten and roll no matter what time your truck got loaded so you might be on night shift or day shift for a week with NO CONTROL over what time of day you are running.

This makes it sometimes hard to find parking in busy areas back east.

Many of the food DCs treat drivers like garbage. They put in every contract that they touch "NO DETENTION WILL BE PAID" so they have no incentive to get you a door and unloaded.

For me it all comes down to getting good sleep and staying on a consistent sleeping schedule. Can you get used to never knowing when you will get to sleep? Yes of course you can .
Is this healthy ? I believe it is not at all healthy to live like this and I read more and more sleep studies every year that back this up .

PROS
You rarely sit, a reefer company that trains will run the absolute balls off you . In an uncertain economy , this is a huge factor.