Load Board Truths and Myths

Im not yet a trucker. Just bid on a truck and planning on getting into it, with all the warnings and sad stories and the sky is falling, and so on. I put down my $$99.00 / month to get the DAT truckers edge pro and have been following some of the lanes for a few days only. I've seen that Florida pays low rates, generally. Just enough to get out of the state and make a few bucks til you can reach one of the better lanes.

Here are some legitimate questions I have as an experienced business owner and negotiator, but not so in trucking. I assume the spot market is derived much the same way a stock price is.... supply and demand of trucks willing to haul loads in a lane. So, the offer would then seem to be a starting point in some cases and strategy is critical. Here we go:



1. Do the load boards represent actually available loads, or are they not available when you call to book em?
2. What percentage of the time will an offer, not be negotiable, given that the offer is lower than the prevailing spot rate and substantially less than the 15 day moving average. Just a general answer about the reality of how that works out is fine.
3. What is the worst part about surviving off of the load boards?
4. Is there anything in particular that makes the load boards a really valuable tool?
5. Can you plan a week ahead with load boards, based on the postings available at the time you start the week (first pick up). In other words, does chasing the money work using load boards.
6. Are there boards as good or better than DAT truckers edge pro? If so, what makes them better.

Thanks for your answers. I'm sure this will help a lot of guys and gals who self dispatch or, like me, that are going to be new to the arena.