James Hardie, Pulaski, VA - DIRT CHEAP TARPED LOADS.

I did quite number of loads from va border to charlotte area, in bad days they usually pay $ 800. It is cheaper in the long run for him to dead head home and relax instead wasting his time and equipment in cheap load.

 

You seem to pad your calculations to make the load look worse than it really is. I've never, short of dispatch screwing up an appointment time, had to sit anywhere for 2 hours "waiting" for my turn to load. Usually, I'm in and out in an hour and a half if I have to tarp, 30-45 minutes if no tarps are needed. 150 miles takes about 2.25 hours to drive down the big road, and still under 3 hours if I stick strictly to the 2-lanes. Unloading typically happens relatively quickly, too...maybe 12 bundles to pick. Untarp and fold 'em up. Unstrap, and usually by the time I have my straps rolled up they are done. An hour tops.

5 hours invested in the trip start to finish. Half that time would be spent on the drive anyway...so after subtracting the cost of operating my truck I have $200 PROFIT left over for the 2.5 extra hours I had to work. Sure beats driving those 2.5 hours eating the full cost of operating the truck at a loss. I have a calculator too.

 

That's gotta be some pretty nasty cake if your gonna use that for icing. Like Ruthless stated your gonna be a minimum of 8 hours tied up in a $391 load.

 

I don't have to pad anything but my wallet.
You go head and keep taking that cheap freight. Keep telling everybody you're making money.

You go home every night.
I go home every night.
There ISNT 20 guys at the counter of knowledge telling my story; but there's a whole lot telling yours.

 

OP said he emptied 7 miles from the shipper, and the receiver was right near his home town. Times were assumed by another poster. If you "don't tarp", that's your prerogative...but doesn't take that long to do when the load is a nice even box-shape and your tarps were folded up right the last time you put them away.

 

I would've taken that load, as well. Even at 8.5 hours (which I'm not sure I believe), that load still pays more for the day than some of the cheap stuff I see coming out of Gary, IN back to Pittsburgh, PA (which takes longer than 8.5 hours when you count loading, securement, drivetime, and unloading).

 

I would not even bother my dry van for that weight and rate, not talking about flatbed

 

Gary, In to Pittsburgh, PA is $1000-1200 any day on dry van.

 

$200 profit vs $200 loss on miles you're running anyway. Takes an extra 2 hours or so to pocket that money above and beyond what you're going to spend anyway bouncing home. Yup. You're a real genius. Go sit at that "counter of knowledge" a while longer...I'll be out here making money if it's worth my while, and enjoying my home time if it isn't.

 

Gary to Pittsburgh is 800-1000 (if your lucky) hauling steel. Too many flatbedders in Chicagoland running Great Lakes/North East Regional to get a decent rate going back. This is why I grab a load south, and reload for Pittsburgh outta northern Kentucky.