JJ's Place

Do you plan on leasing to someone or are you going with your own numbers?

 

We have our own numbers... We were just waiting on CA DMV to pull their head out of you know where... Now that we have that we are pulling vinyl off today and getting ours done!! <happy dance>

 

Talk Jess into being your dispatcher yet?

 

It's been mentioned... LOL! I want to be her apprentice, learn from a master!

 

Well.... Syscos is sure making up for that good day yesterday. 4 hours and counting.

Just out of curiosity Lady K, why are ya'll installing a Qualcomm if your going independent?

 

Denver, which I have never been to as an owner operator, is just one of those universal dead zones for dry vans. From what everyone says and I see no reason to find out for myself. Actually though if CO was on my cab card, and someone would pay $5 a mile from TN to Denver, then I'd take a chance and find out for myself There is money to be made in deadzones. Don't let "deadzone" mentally block you from going there. Use it as power over those who may be desperate and want to send you there. Another thing about deadzones is one person's deadzone is another's moneymaker. There are certain areas for example that may have a lot of loads going into the northeast at great rates and not so much so in other more desirable (IMO) directions. For someone going to the northeast that could be a moneymaker zone if there's a glut of loads to trucks. For the rest of us we have to make sure we made our money on the load that put us in the "deadzone".

For me some deadzones have been Kansas and Missouri but that could just be the time of year and they're not deadzones in every direction, just seems like the direction I prefer to go they're not so stellar. Depends on what your needs or wants are really. If you want to go home a lot you'll figure out the areas that don't have much freight taking you back there or nearby. And you'll figure out quickly any time you go there that you better get a rate that makes it well worth while. I like to get home often and that's what I always build around. Some people prefer to bounce around wherever a rate takes them. I think one gets a better feel for specific areas if they have more of a focus than if they just bounce around wherever a rate will take them. After almost 3 years of running the same general areas I know pretty much what I need anywhere I go. And have no problem whatsoever making it back to where I want to go, be it go back directly, or hop scotch (triangulate) back that way. It'll take you some time to figure out deadzones and what rates work for you when going into them.

One rule of thumb that has never failed me. If a load offer comes my way and it's going to an area I have no clue about I treat it as a deadzone and charge accordingly. Following that rule never lets me down. In fact, not often but several times I recall, I have used that rule and ended up right in the middle of another hot zone. A quick look at available loads within 100 miles of an area on that day can give you a general idea sometimes if an area is ok/good, but not always. Just book it on a solid rate and then there are no problems when available reloads are very low or there's 5,000 trucks scrambling over 1,500 loads within 100 miles....

 

My company is getting rid of the problem child freightliners we have, and buying some of the new International Prostars. Looked in one of them today and have to admit to being favorably impressed. They actually designed the inside of the truck with the driver in mind. It is a well laid out truck and if I didn't hate moving so much, 'd think about asking for one of them.

 

The number of times we have been inspected and when they want our logs, say QualComm and they go on to the next item... It will also track routes and mileage for IFTA... Also thinking it might be a selling point? Plus as a team, less chance of oopses

 

Like RC we tend to run a certain area and since we only run for two Agents over the last 6 weeks or so we know the area's very well and it helps that the agent pays round trip rates on area's we don't usually run in.

JJ is spending the next two weeks in LA running a short haul (63 miles) one way and DH back to the shipper for another load...Hate him being away all that time but it was to good to say no to lol.

 

JJ is still in Louisiana and he was just telling me about one of the guys having a few snakes in his trailer when they unloaded him I would have freaked...The product they have been moving sits outside and apparently its a snake and lizard haven.