I see why trucking is going the way it is...

That goes back to what I was saying kind of, these guys out here don't figure in the addition costs of running loaded at 75-80K pounds compared to deadheading and maximizing MPGs and so much less cost when it comes to the wear and tear on a truck, amongst so many other factors like load and unload times which could set them back another 24 hours even on a short 400 miles run, if your times get screwed up, so then your truck has lost even more potential revenue because you said I will haul that cheap a$* 1.25 a mile freight!

 

bouncing a few extra miles for that extra 60 cents is one thing.

but bouncing half way across the country. to which some people do.

and how did the driver know he was going to get a raw deal at that shop.

and the dead zones. sure have a lot of o/o's floating around .

 

Excellent thread

 

A lot of guys that start off have money set aside for these reasons. The thing that happens most of them is after some time their set aside money gets used to keep running as most of them don't grasp how quick their variable costs mount up as they run the wheels off their rig thinking "if I hit 4000 miles this week I'll have $5,000 to pay bills with" when in reality if they have $500 profit after their 4000 mile week they would be really lucky! And so on the downward spiral into bankruptcy begins as they usually seem to think doing even more miles will get them out of the hole which only make things worse! This is a much more common issue than most realize. Maybe that's why fast food restaurants are at every truck stop instead of steakhouse's! Lots of guys eating off the dollar menu waiting for money to arrive on their fuel card so they can move again! This is a sad fact of life for a lot of truckers out there but they still won't change their ways.

 

shouldn't. but guys do it.

 

This is because too many owner operators still have their mind in company driver mode. They are too quick to say, "Duh, well ok, if you say so." They don't realize they are the one in control of their truck, and don't realize they are being played like a fiddle by a professional negotiator.

They must learn to be assertive and knowledgeable enough to speak for their interests while maintaining composure.

Also, stop bragging to people, like shippers, brokers, carriers, or others that can affect your pay, about how easy any particular aspect of your job is! You are not showing yourself to be superior. You are only arguing for why you shouldn't need more pay. Tell 'em it's hard to do a particular thing and it's expensive to buy and maintain a particular thing. Too many drivers must be very insecure individuals, because they usually go out of their way to understate how much something affects them. As a result, they are just looked over and offered less money.

 

snowwy. your pm box is full

 

Here's a scenario, a driver who lives in KY can seriously underbid many people and make the same profit due to lower cost of living. What sends one to poorhouse keeps another high on the hog. Not saying, just saying, it's a factor is pricing a load. He k found just be single guy banking money living in his truck compared to the homeowner with wife and three kids. Someone can always do it cheaper and make same profit.

 

Thats pretty much what I was saying earlier, the trucker based out in the boonies has a super low operation cost but doesn't have the amount of opportunity the trucker based in the high cost / high demand areas has. It seems to tally out over time wherever you are.
Another factor is the different ways truckers go about sourcing their loads. Most guys that are for example like me, based in a high load density area where my cost to operate my business and live are extremely high have multipal good paying loads to choose from on any given day and have the opportunity to take high dollar expedite loads at short notice (no real deadhead).
The trucker from the boonies has low cost there but usually has to deadhead to areas that will offer a good payday and will most lightly spend a lot of days hanging out at truck stops hoping he's in a good area. His plan is to stay out on the truck (away from home & family) and chase the good paying freight around the country while trying to not end up in dead areas.

Either plan has its pros & cons, it's all down to how and were your set up.
Once I get a load going out of state my only concern is to get back to base ASAP as that's where our best paydays originate from, and if we have a quite period I'm able to do other things in my business while enjoying my family which at times is priceless.
How I do things may not be typical for most truckers but most of our customers are direct shippers which I need to be close to in order to service them properly. We typically only book freight off the loadboards and from brokers to get back to base, if it's not paying well I'm not wasting my time, the extra day to two screwing around with that cheap load may leave me not being able to service a customer that pays well.