Landstar Questions

If it was me I would start over with the state on the Hazmat issue. Go and reapply, get your fingerprints taken again.

 

I just got my HazMat endorsement. It took two weeks to get the TSA clearance letter.

 

Man that was alot of reading im tired now!! lol
What i got from it is L/S sucks.....L/S is good..... and L/S is ok
no but seriously my uncle worked for landstar and he is lazy and didnt want to run and only wanted to haul the "high dollar freight" so after not working much landstar actually hooked him up with some lady that was helping him with the system and how to work it but he still failed because of his own stupidity but from the work he did pull for them he made decent money and could of made alot more but was lazy!

I do believe like most people have said on here its up to the O/O to be a driver and a business man. You dont just get in a truck and run down the road and get big paychecks every friday!!! I learned that the hard way even though my dad who has driven for 40+ years tried to tell me i didnt want to hear it. I said im gonna buy a truck and get rich!!! LOL Yea not so much!! Its a good honest living most of the time. but its alot of headaches and set backs.. If it was easy everybody would do it!!

 

Well, let me enter my 2 cents worth of information. I was leased to LS for two years and did really well. I started off pulling a company van trailer and then progressed to pulling a step-deck. The thing is I am the type that is willing to do somethings (legal) to make a living. It didn't take long for me to learn the loadboard at all simply because I went EVERYWHERE. I have made as much as $7000 (net) on some loads and as little as .... Here's the deal.... I worked the load board to my advantage.

For Example: I delivered a van load to MA and reloaded in MA going to Laredo, Tx. After waiting 4 hrs. for them to load the trailer I walked to the back to get my paperwork and close the door. HELL! they only used 10 foot of space all in the nose of the trailer and less than 4,000lbs (BMW interior leather going to Mexico). OH YEAH! I've got another 43 foot of trailer left..... yadda yadda yadda... I find a load picking up the next day in Ohio... Some supersacks of powder going to Beaumont, Texas, which by the way is exactly where I have to pass through to get to Laredo. Ok, pick up there and still have 8 feet of trailer left.... Head to Akron, Ohio to shower and think.... Whats the chance of finding a partial for the 8 feet left in the trailer.... BAM! whatda you know.... 3 transformers (urgent, last minute load) going to Austin, Texas... a little off route but I'll go across Hwy290 to deliver and then head down to Laredo... My Pay that week was Right at 7K and the 3 transformers paid for all the fuel!

My secret was waiting till I loaded and then finding other loads either in the same town or in route to the first loads dropoff and then LTL all the crap.... of course if possible. That is how I made most of my major money there. Then, I hauled alot of cabinets or other multiple stop loads that othere dared to touch. I picked up a trailer in Indiana with 13 stops. While on the phone with the agent I was at my laptop with my Streets and Trip program loaded.... She called out all the stops and I was typing them into the computer at the same time..... Hummm 5 of the stops are less than 50 miles apart from each other.... 7 are 100 miles away from the first 2 and the last was 180 miles away.... started at 8am and was finished by 3pm... some of the boxes were less than 20lbs. so i didnt even back into the dock..... couldn't get the last stop off before closing though so I was at Lowe's first thing the next morning.

I did those types of loads several times because drivers routinely refused them and agents were willing to up the rate cause it NEEDED to go NOW!

Did it work this way all the time? NOPE! but it did most of the time, so much so that my buddy started acting as a LTL carrier... That sense came from knowing the weights, destinations, what I could do, and the BIG DESIRE to be successful! PERIOD!

Did I screw up! YEP! but it only took one time for me to go to North Dakota with a $2.00 a mile load to realize ain't nothing coming out of there and by the time I DH'ed to a better area I used $300.00 in fuel... Ok... rip that page outta the map... alll in all I probally screwed up 3 times to know where the hell to stay from. Then you gotta know when to be there.... Deliver in Houston, Texas on Friday and good luck beating other drivers to the phone for a load... It's Gone already! Everybodies desperate today! oh yeah... and freight rates aren't that good either cause I just checked the available trucks in the area... WHAT! 100... Imma dead head home in 2 hrs. if nothing better pops up..... BAM! Now all the desperate drivers have loaded and look at this last minute load that loads in 1 hr. going to Baton Rouge, Louisiana... guess where I live??????

I learned really fast to work the system. I'm in no way perfect but I knew my limits. I did make mistakes but not many because you don't need to bump my knot more than once. My entire intentions were to move up to the platform side (stepdeck) from the beginning. Made it... then trained (LS class) to pull a platform trailer... ok, now to really work... I watched the load boards for over a year for stepdeck freight even though I pulled a van.... I used sooooo many legal notepads during that time planning fake trips in my mind and then looking for backhauls on the actual delivery date.... so when I did pull the actual trailer I already had a idea where to go for the better paying loads. I watched the board while off.... on vacation.... #### near 7 days a week till I figured it out to my advantage.....

Now, I trained to pull a stepdeck (yeah right) so I go to buy a trailer... I'll take the Transcraft W/ Can Locks with 11 foot on top and 41 foot on the bottom and I need the adjustable spread too.... "WHAT!" another BCO said... "I ain't putting no cheap ##### container on my trailer and I ain't going to California so give me the fixed axle"..... I laughed.. WRONG! your limiting yourself I thought .....I wasn't anticipating on hauling none either but If I needed to... I'm ready! and guess what????? I read 6months ago about a new requirement that was in the making that said you wouldn't be able to hang a container off the back of a trailer and you wouldn't be able to use straps or chains to secure the load either ... You'll have to have can locks..... I'm ready! 2 months later I'm in Long Beach and a HIGH DOLLAR load hits the board going to Florida. 4 other drivers call the agent and she asks if they had can locks... NOPE! but guess who does? ME! see you later fellas.... Only used those friggin' locks a few times but guess what? Glad I had them......

Few months later I inquire about all these OD loads I see on the board and the money they are paying... ####! I gotta get into this... NOPE! I can't... not enough experience but I'll be qualified in a few more months..... DID IT! Looking on the board oneday and see this load from a agent in Baton Rouge that loads mostly OD FB/SD loads... WHAT! I get the address and what-da-you-know... the agents office is less than 5 miles from my house....HUH! WHERE!... behind his fathers dentist office in the little trailer house out back.... I introduce myself and wait for him to call me..... waiting....waiting....waiting......waiting...... BAM! phone rings one Sunday and he tells me how a driver broke down and this load has got to go... You want it? YEP!... Now I'm in the door and later he's calling me ahead of time alerting me to loads coming up and ready to prebook me if i'm interested.....

The moral of my whole boring story is that if you are willing to change away from your normal then LS may be your company. If your not willing to make changes in how and what your doing don't go, cause you'll starve!

Not to mention other success factors like having 20 chains and 10 binders for those retarded agent loads loading from Caterpillar. I got em' ... or how about the light weight tarps that I can whip out in no time for the darn agents load that picks up in 20 degree weather. All of these factors cause you not to be burdened in some situations.. Like lightweight tarps in 90 degree weather.... You won't have to struggle with other heavier tarps and Now, since you don't mind tarping you can get those other loads that the drivers are refusing because of the fact that they have to be tarped in 90 degree weather... then the fact that I went all over the #### place... including Canada. Then my friends wondered why I just took 1 1/2 - 2 weeks off when I wanted and did nothing! It's because I made the most out of EVERY load that I hauled while I was away from my house... and I just brought home over $16K over the last 3 weeks. I can afford to stay home... WITH MY FAMILY! No lot lizards, no bars, no women, I'm out here to make money!

I left LS for a Local fuel hauling job making bigger money but thanks to BP and the #### oil spill and the drilling going to pots i'm back to looking and sitting on the couch. But, my Landstar App. just came in the mail today so i'm going back.

Another thing.... Talk to drivers at LS... You can weed the losers out from the ones that want to make money... If you pull a platform trailer and say "I ain't pullling out my tarps" then stay away... I pulled out tarps in 90+ degree weather to freezing my ##### off weather... but! YOU GONE PAY ME TO UNROLL EM'..... "I ain't tarping a load for $50.00 lady!".... Ok... I'll pull out another $100.00 for you.....

See where I'm coming from? I was willing to tarp for the money.. Isn't that what I'm here to do? MAKE MONEY! ... The most I've ever gotten for a tarp job was $700.00. $350.00 to tarp it at the pickup and untarp it at the stop (military protypes) then $350.00 to retarp them to take them to the destination point. My average tarp pay (accessorial fee as they call it) was no less than $150.00. If your worried about tarps then you need to pull a van, plus if your scared of taking a shower after tarping then stick to the vans...

and that is my LS story..... There's more but that's how I made my money...

sorry for the typos and the longwindedness.....

 

Hey man overdalimit that is a really inspiring story, i just got approved by Landstar, I am just looking to buy a truck to start my O/O journey. I wish you the best for your next round at Landstar.

 

overdalimit looks like you had things going for you why did you change i see local jobs that pay good all the time but always see a big turn around on drivers
A buddy of mine started hauling for martin gas he was making $1,200-$1,500 a day just going with in a 100 mile radius but he is always waiting for them to call he can't go out and get his own loads so when its slow he dont make any $$$ atleast i can go out and find some loads

 

After reading that is makes me think more and more about staying OTR and trying to get on with landstar once I have the money saved to get a truck. I am that kind of a person that will go where the money is and I also would be the one that has everything and then some on the truck for those special loads that come up that 99% of the other guys dont have the equipment to haul it. I think that story just inspired me to stay out here.

If you dont mind me asking how often did you go home?

 

My main reason for changing is that my buddy was hauling for this company and we were hauling fuel to the port ( Port Fourchon) and delivering fuel to land based rigs... Well, We were doing really well and clearing around close to $1100 a day and sometimes more and loading in Baton Rouge, so I was able to make money and be home too. Then another carrier came in and underbid us and was taking some of the loads. Then that port company changed hands (HOS Port) and they were a bunch of big shots who really weren't interested in selling fuel and selling it higher than the other docks nearby so the customers starting fueling elsewhere which in turn slowed our workload. Yadda...Yadda...Yadda then came the BP OIL SPILL!!!!!!! Oppssss we're sorry! and that coupled with the Moritorium (spell check) on the offshore drilling = NO fuel being sold... Well... there goes that paycheck... then I started hauling petroleum products for the same company out of town to Parts of west Texas,OK,AR and the other company and O/O drivers here (except one) didn't want that work so I started doing that and delivering to onshore drilling rigs in North Louisiana... Then.... AWE HELL!!!!!! now they wanna leave Louisiana because they say drilling for NG is not where the money is and moving to west Texas to drill for oil.... and that is my story......

Not to mention I left Landstar about a year after I got married and was lined up with my current haul... My wife was ok with me being OTR though because I've done that way before we got married but the local oppurtunity arose and I took it... But believe it or not I DO STILL miss OTR. When I first started as a company driver I was treated well and signed up with a company that had freight that originated from Louisiana so my home time was NO problem, and my Dispatcher was the MAN! I scratched his back and he scratched mine...

My only issue now is that I am a DADDY and have a 8 month old daughter and MAN!!!! I really am attached to my sweetheart... but I've got to be a provider and do what I have to do and nothing else around seems to be lucrative as my current job other than LS and the current job has gone to pots.... THANKS BP!!!!. Trust me.... I'm looking for something close though!

But... Like I said in my other post I enjoyed working for LS and was treated with RESPECT from other drivers, shippers, and receivers. It's a good feeling to be able to get out there and make money and then come home and take off for as long as you want and NOBODY bothers you... The system can be tough if your not used to being a leader but I think a decent fella/gal with some COMMON sense can learn... and if a Agent does tick you off..... curse him out after you hang up the phone....lol ... all you want is his load! PERIOD!

As mentioned earlier, my only hiccup was a few loads going to the middle of nowhere and nowhere to reload...

Check this out.... I delivered in Oregon oneday and ALLDAY long my alert was calling about a load in Oregon going to AB, Canada... I laughed because it paid like two something a mile... later I get the same call and it paid like three something a mile... NOPE! I'm like what the hell is this? so I call the agent.... "Hey buddy.... it's a couple stands, a tent, booth setup material , and this new cutting head that mounts on an excavator for the forestry service, and it weighs nothing" .....silence.....silence.... "You want it?" .....silence.....silence... "Well, whys the rate going up so much and so quick? what's the catch? (thinking let me hear this lie).... "Well, the forestry show is in 2 days and they need this ASAP to get the booth setup and none of your fellow drivers wants to go to Canada".....silence..... "ok...I'll call you back"..... 15 minutes later my phone rings.... It's LS corporate!.. yadda yadda.... can you help this agent out? (I'm already thinking no!!!!!) ....."Ok, look... I see from your delivery that you are less than 50 miles from the shipper... what would it take for you to do this load? (now, I'm laughing inside cause imma throw some ole' huge ##### off the wall number at them).... uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh $7000.00 to the truck, my cut, plus FSC cause I sure ain't gone find nothing outta there.... "Geezzzz Shedrick you drive a hard bargain huh?" Yep!.... silence....silence....silence....silence.... "Ok, I'm back... head that way...they almost had a heart attack when I told them what you wanted" ........ (I'm still laughing on the inside, cause now imma take that load up to Canada, DH outta that joint and find a backhaul, or maybe not, and still make it home to see my sister graduate from college in a few days!

Soooo... I'm loaded and head up there... They've called me all but 20 times cause they REALLY need this 13,000lbs piece of equipment to be at the largest forestry show of the year or they're doomed cause it costs over 100K and orders are pending... (thinking...HUH I shoulda charged em more). I get there and I thought I was the president... Everybody pointing at the truck... "Hey buddy... glad you made it... you saved our ##### big time.... you hungry, you ok? need anything?.... just park over there and my people will be over to unload you.... you just sit in the truck and they'll unchain and untarp for you....... THANKS BUDDY!" ..........

That's another good story for you that makes you feel good about your job..... I will say this because I don't believe in hyping things up and misleading people. This is how I made money and you CAN do good unless things have changed since I left.... and personally, I saw that a FB/SD paid more in general to a dry van cause those trailers are considered specialized.

REMEMBER THIS:
1. Be willing to do things that the other drivers are not willing to do BUT get paid for it!
2. ASK QUESTIONS! do I need tarps? What's the weight? when is the delivery? what time do they open to receive and what time do they close? You have any reloads in that area?
3. Buy equipment that makes your job easy as possible, and you won't mind doing it.
4. Make plenty of mental notes, cause that pad you've been writing on is going to get lost or wet!
5. Listen to all those complainers and bad mouthers so you'll remember what you DON'T need to do to dislike your job as much as them!
6. Don't pay anybody for a load! they're already making money from doing nothing.
7. Don't complain about how much money the company is making..... Hell! you WORK for them!...start your own company then you can make more money like them too.
8. DON'T make any Drastic decisions out of anger... Just don't call that agent again! His LOSS! you still made some money... Take a nap, regroup then TRUCK IT UP!
9. You AIN'T never gone make as much as that other fella who claims he makes $10,000 a week... every week! Be happy about what your doing.
10. If you are a renegade trucker stay away from LS, cause they want their Logs, paperwork, upkept equipment, and don't TOLERATE OS orders concerning your log bk. They will fire you on the spot in the middle of nowhere!
11. Don't think that any trucking company is peaches and cream all the time... If they serve you lemons then bag em' up... start a produce stand and sell the lemons back to the jacka** that threw them at you! but be professional.
12. Some bridges ARE worth burning! That's why they made boats......
13. If you are happy about your job then be content, shut up, have a Coke and a smile! don't down the next man cause you think your doing better than he is...
14. PAY OFF YOUR DEBTS as quick as possible... So you CAN sit at home for 2 weeks and not worry about the finance company calling you cause your late.
15. You don't need a Pete or a KW to haul anything! cause the check is going to be written out to you and not the truck... so buy wisely!
16. If your in doubt about LS or any other company for that reason then gather more intel before you make that leap!
17. If you are sinking and making no money.... Know when to fold! (in my Kenny Rogers voice)

All BCO's don't do that and you'll find that you fall in the right spot sometimes cause somebody else dropped the ball... Like the fella that went over to Lexington, Ky to load a 40foot long air conditioner going to California, with a doubledrop......not enough room in the well! I called on it because the rate kept increasing and the agent said "they need it NOW! It's going on top of a new building and they already have the crane booked # 300hr and they can't cancel...." (AWE HELL! here we go again) yadda yadda yadda... (Imma name my price again like the "Price is Right")......uhhhhhhhhh $7000.00 plus fuel... silence....silence....silence... Can't do that! she said... phone rings 30 minutes later.... "Boy! you drive a hard bargain!" .................She must have heard the dude in Oregon tell me that! lol... Then, I ask her to pull some money out for tarps.... Delivered in Cali, found a reload 30 miles away coming to Slidell, La... and where do I live????? Baton Rouge, la... SWEET!

I can ramble on allday but like I said I got the bumps out of the way early on and I did make some.... talking to other BCO's along the way and offering to pay for their lunch or coffee when your in the truckstop restaurant goes a long way.... especially when they give you a tip or an agents name that doesn't even post his loads on the darn board! (you mean people do that at LS? YEP!.... what company doesn't have their picks and chooses?)

Do unto others as you HOPE they do unto you! and alot of times they'll treat you better than you expected.... and oh yeah Pray that GOD gives you wisdom with each load and puts people in your path that can and are willing to help you....... even if your not a christian! You don't have to be a saint to get blessed... JUST HUMBLE!

Well, I've bored yall again... I'm GONE!

 

Word of ADVICE! Everything shiny isn't good.... If you don't know much about trucks, then take Billy Bob with you who does know about trucks and buy him lunch.... I don't care what Frank and Jenny the sale people told you about how good it runs and the work that has been done to it... GET A WARRANTY! or either have 5-10K saved up for repairs. Ask me how I know!
Don't go out there and buy a $80,000 truck with a $2700.00 a month note... Miss one note and that's $5400.00 you owe... miss another one and that's $8100.00... miss another one and you'll miss the truck from in front of your house when the repo man picks it up!
Jump in, get a reliable truck with a warranty, then make some money, spend some, save more, and buy what you really want later!

 

My intent with every load was to come right back.... Go to PA, look for a load back.... Go to Canada, look for a load back.... so on and so forth. I didn't exactly always make it right back but I live in Louisiana, which is a good place but MOST of the time I ended up in HOUSTON, Texas... I can say ......uhhhhhhhhhh I would be out no more than 1 1/2 weeks to 2 weeks. I went to Washington (state) quite a bit... reloaded down to Long Beach, Ca. and then reloaded to Mississippi (windmill parts) I got in good with a agent in Texas...and that was a..... six or seven day deal if I remembered correctly or was it eight or nine??????. then I'd go home for a few days and stay or BAIL OUT for that GOOD paying load that JUST hit the board.... lol