I was where you are, in December. Keep posting your truck. Keep your rates up!
Mistakes I made:
1) paying someone to dispatch me: I paid on a percentage but even then the lady just didn't have the same skin in the game that I had, so I cut that cord.
2) Running loads without a fuel card. Right now the Petro I park at has a cash price of 3.35. With a EFS card, I get 2.80/ gallon there. That's the Mebane, NC Petro. Run some loads with a large brokerage that offers a fuel card.
3) Using chain mechanic shops. This is a killer. You want to get to know as many local mechanics as possible. I'm out of Greensboro. If you ever need a good mechanic who will come to you but charge less than a chain, PM me. You are close enough to Bill's truck stop. Get your service there. You bring the filters and oil and they do the work for $40 or so.
Lots of freight coming out of CHarlotte, Winston, and Burlington. LOTS. You will get better pay if you are willing to go into Atlanta, Baltimore, and of course- the dreaded NY/NJ. Reloads are easy to get coming back from Atlanta and they pay well. You can get good pay going into FL but don't go too deep because you might have to DH to Savannah to get a good load back.
Keep at it. You'll be fine.
From the Office to Trucking
Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by zmster2033, Jul 16, 2018.
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As far as fuel cards, I actually have the NASTC Wex/FleetOne card as well as the Pilot/Flying J card as well. Figured having both options wouldn't hurt. Just got those setup recently, so the first couple of "fuel ups" I had were retail prices. This should also obviously make my fuel cost go down too.
I have been thinking about running up to the NE, but am waiting me PrePass Plus transponder to get here. Do most tolls now-a-days accept credit card as payment? I have done one run to Atlanta from Charlotte which paid decently ($1,100), but most of the other runs down to that area are paying $600-$750. I think that is a little low, but is still able to be run in a day.Tug Toy Thanks this. -
Charlotte to Atlanta- I would not go into Atlanta for less than $1000 from Charlotte. Getting a backhaul out of southern SC off 85 should not be a problem. I have a FB but I'd imagine van freight is just as good.
Don't be afraid to dead head to get a load. Save time and get a backhaul toward the direction you want to go-especially when going through ATL or D.C.
Tolls vary. The ones I've been through want cash (MD) or they automatically bill you (NC) or you provide your cab card and registration and they give you a bill (WV). Florida is an anomaly. I hit a $3.50 spot on the Sunbelt or whatever it's called and I've been waiting a month for the bill. They'll probably impound my truck next time I go there.
If I can make this work with a daycab (stay at hotels) and a heavy curtainside, you can certainly excel. Just keep at it.
You will get in with some brokers and you both will depend on each other. And you'll both make money.Tug Toy and zmster2033 Thank this. -
Main thing running I-95 you'll have that bridge over the Susquehanna River ($50 northbound only) plus the tunnel in Baltimore (if you use it), Delaware River etc. Easy to drop nearly $100 just getting to NJ/PA. After that, the main one to watch is the PA turnpike, about 50¢/mile. There's almost always a cheaper route that isn't terrible. I don't usually take NYC loads, but those tolls are another piece of work with numerous threads here for advice. Don't forget to get NYHUT account set up and decals if you decide to venture into NY, and I suppose you already have a KYU account set up with Kentucky.Tug Toy, zmster2033 and 86scotty Thank this. -
Is masochism exciting for some people? I could not imagine diving head first into this kind of liability absolutely green, with used equipment, with absolutely no clue in regards to what the plan even is for freight securement yet. I'm a scaredy cat.
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Will definitely need to keep tolls in mind when venturing into that territory.Tug Toy Thanks this. -
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There's no more resolute way to learn something than to screw it up! Being that the only requirements are to float the finances and not hit anything, it's not really that big of a risk though, especially since you made a big enough crash pad. I would be more concerned with getting mixed up with the wrong kind of monsters in the industry though, in the freelance world. Adults are scary.
Tug Toy Thanks this. -
I would not lower my rates but I run flat bed and not completely familiar with van rates.
I would work harder on getting the truck loaded on Friday for a Monday morning delivery. That way you start out your week on a positive note.
Also try to get to where you have your next load already lined up before you shake the current load off.
I would start stretching out a little, hurting yourself by staying too close to home. Follow the money! That being said I get home every weekend and sometimes during the week also. But we have great customers for outbound so we’re always trying to get back home.
After a bit start looking for some shippers close to home that will let you haul direct, after a while they may let you in on a lane that you really like and if you do it often enough can start looking for direct freight on the other end.
Keep good notes of the shippers and receivers that keep you waiting, raise your price if going to one of these and make sure your gonna get detention pay for anything over 2 hrs.
NASTC for fuel cards. You will love it.
Not a Kevin Rutherford fan but he does have a free web site or app, fuel gauges that will help track fuel mileage and cost per mile. Also can keep track of all Maintenance done on the truck. Does all the math for you, you just have to put the numbers in when you fill up or have maint done.
I would never pay anyone to find loads for me. Most get 5% to 15% . You can lease on to a good smaller carrier for that rate and they would handle a lot more than just finding loads. Stay independent if at all possible and do it yourself or lease on to take full advantage of the money your gonna give up.
If you decide to lease on to someone, do your homework and talk to the other o/o. Lots of sheisters like F2F and others out there that will screw you over in a heartbeat.
The only ones guaranteed not to make it is the ones who don’t have the balls to try!
Good luck.BoostedTeg, Tug Toy, fordconvert and 2 others Thank this. -
It's been a while, but I am still going and trying to learn something everyday and wanted to update this to have something to look back on someday.
Since my last update, I have invoiced about $10,000 in revenue. ~$18,000 total billed revenue on ~6,550 total miles.
One mistake I made was running a load down into southern GA (Waycross) to be exact. I had a bad feeling on this one being that it was close to the FL border and should have listened to my gut. Ended up having to deadhead a couple hundred miles to find something worthwhile and was headed back towards the house.
My best week thus far has been $4,125 of revenue on 1,385 miles. Last week I grossed ~$3,700 on 1,150 miles. I have still been sticking around the Charlotte area (within about a 300 mile radius I would say). Lately, it has taken a few more calls, but have had decent luck with getting a decent rate (to me) to get moving.
Regarding fuel, I am currently operating with a CPM of $0.490 YTD. Averaging 6.331 MPG with an average cost of $3.103. I try not to idle too much to save some fuel and saw the effects. My best tank thus far, I was averaging 6.76 MPG. I tried idling to see the impact on fuel mileage and recorded an average of 5.46 MPG on that tank when I idled at night.
Ran into a slight hiccup a couple weeks ago where I had to get the water pump replaced, and learned I need to be more thorough on my pre-trips/post-trips in hopes of catching this earlier before it becomes a problem. I came out from the truck stop and noticed a pool of coolant on the ground. Was able to limp it to a shop about 5 miles away from where I was, and they were able to get me back rolling by early afternoon the following day. Was under a load during all of this, but kept the broker informed through the entire thing. All things considered, everything worked out about as good as I could have hoped for considering the circumstances. I had a set delivery appointment (which I missed due to this), but was able to get offloaded once I was repaired the same day.
I am looking forward to the coming months and am hopeful freight will pick back up and allow me to really get ahead and start paying some of the overheard off. I have been running into more brokers lately that will say you need to have 3, 6, or even 12 months on your authority before they can load you. I think this is happening more right now because freight volumes are lower currently, and brokers can be a bit more selective with the carriers they put on their loads.
On a positive note, checks have started flowing in. I have received 2 checks thus far for the first 2 loads I have performed. The receipt of these funds is greatly welcome at this point!Last edited: Aug 12, 2018
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