Mercer or landstar

Getting a truck at this time is risky, But we wish you all the best!
Been with Mercer over 3 years now. Great company. Freight is at its
slowest we've seen. Pickins are slim. But thats with all companies at this time of year. You've got to be prepared for slow freight at least thru March. If you have cash on hand you'll be fine. If you come in broke you'll regret it.
We have had nothing to beef with Mercer. They are a great place to hang your hat. They pay fast, they are easy to work with, and they are willing to work with you if you need help. They are pushing for drivers to get the TWIC card. Call Gerald in recruiting, he's an easy going guy that will tell you straight up what you need to get in. Good Luck!

 

I just talked to a recruiter about 20 mins ago(didn't catch his name tho) The recruiter that sent me my info was Chris. Haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, he was on another call when I called in. How much $ would you recommend having put away to be safe? Obviously as much as possible! lol. I do have some money put away but I'm not sure if its enough to get me started

 

Anyone planning on starting now needs to figure their Total household income needed during a given month and if possible have at the very least One total month in reserve. 2009 Illinois Plates, permits,ect change over April 1st so be sure to get the figures on what they will deduct now, and what they will expect for the New Year.
Your insurance is based on the Value of both Truck and Trailer. And if you can afford it, take the Workers Comp for the $200/month. It was well worth it to us this past year. And even though Fuel is down and they have a good fuel rebate/discount program; you can't afford to idle that truck. The economy will dictate the increase of available frieght in the coming months, all you can do if be patient and be prepared the best you can.

 

I would sit down and crunch the numbers, everything you need to pay each month, both truck and on the home front.. A good "rule of thumb" that works for me is take YOUR TOTAL bills.. (the ones YOU are responcible for).

Truck Payment, Trailer, Mortgage, Car Insurance, Car Payments, whatever.. that you need to pay.. for the month.. (If you have a wife that works she pays some bills.. don't count those..) Then double that amount. This equals roughly what you'll have to create in monthly revenue with the truck to make ends meet. MIN! everything over this is gravy..

Example:
Mortgage: $1200
Car Payment: $400
Car insurance: $200
Utilities (cable, elect. ect.) $300
Truck Payment $2000
Trailer Payment $1000
Credit Cards: $500
________________________________
TOTAL $4700 x 2 = $9400 in revenue needed to get by each month..This seems to be pretty accurate, because your fuel will be taken out, truck expences like truck insurance, permits, base plates, food, and some minor repairs.. will gobble up about 1/2 your revenue easily.. Plug in your #'s & see what you come up with..

 

Thank you both for the useful info...I just mailed in my application to mercer yesterday. I know that this might not be a real good time to buy right now but where I'm working now I've averaged 1 drop a week for the last 3 weeks or so. Gotta do something different and I've always wanted to try the o/o deal. I'm single, don't have a lot of bills, and truck prices are fairly cheap right now so I think I'm gonna give it a shot. Without a truck and trailer payment my monthly bills are less than $2000

 

I called Mercer around 10 days ago, they told me they were not hiring? Not a big deal, I was calling for a buddy of mine. They didn't want our wagons is what I was told? Oh well.

What kind of truck are you looking at? Make and model and what engine and gearing?

Mike

 

lookin at an 04 pete with a 550 cat, 18 speed tranny and 3.55 rears. Has around 440,000 miles

 

I have a 01 Pete with 18 speed, 600 cummins, 3:55's, 265 w.b. and with my RGN I seem to get around 5.5 mpg. Not the most fuel efficient truck on the road.. Most loads w/ Mercer are light.. I have never gone into a steel mill.. In fact I left my coil racks on my wood pile at home about 4 years ago.. I've never used them..

They do a decent amount of military freight, air conditioners, and some construction vehicles.. I used to seldom run over 30k on my loads.. But, now that I went RGN I do haul a lot more oversize, and some heavy.. I want to work smarter not harder..lol

One thing about Mercer.. They don't force anything on you.. You can turn down loads all day long. NO hard feelings.. The pay they quote to you is "to the truck". Not like LS where you have to "do the math" and figure out what you get out of the load.. SO keep this in mind when you talk to LS and Mercewr drivers.. When we say were getting $2 mi. we realy are.. Not 68% of 98% of that..

I would say our competitors are Bennett, ATS, Pacer, and LS. We realy don't have enough RGN's to be competitive.. Just a few.. Most don't bother with their flip axle.. (I carry mine just in case)

Depending on wher you live, I found the best freight is in the OH, KY, western PA, IL, IN, areas.. They have some decent stuff out of NC, GA, western FL, SC, AL, and east TX.. (Pretty much stay east of I-35) If you like to run out WEST.. You better go out there for decent $$.. You will sit for days.. and get crummy rates back east from CA.. Just a FYI..

Good luck... Oh, R U going to pull a flat or step?

 

My buddy and another close friend had a few of those. Fuel mileage on all 4 hovered around 4mpg. Loved the trucks, everyone did, but the mileage was a killer. They were all sold off within less than two years and replaced with Freightliners of all things. But, the fuel mileage was there with the shakers, above 6mpg.

I would look at something more for fuel mileage. And don't get me wrong, a Pete was my first choice. But, when I can average near 7 or more, mpg with a Volvo vs around 4 with a Cat powered Pete, it is kind of a no brainer. Especially when fuel was hitting $5 a gallon. Every penny counts out here right now.

Fuel may be going down, but who knows for how long. And then we have a sever shortage of freight out here. I would be squeezing every penny out of a truck I could. APU, SuperSingles, 3:42 gears (or around there) on an aerodynamic truck.

I mean, we are out here to make money, right?

Just my .02

Mike

 

Thanks for the info Gonzo. I'm gonna go flat right now. My buddy has a nice reitenour i can get for a lot less than it will cost me to lease/purchase one from mercer. Everything on the trailer is brand new and its a better trailer than a utility...in my opinion anyway. Rel glad to hear about where the best freight is...I live in western PA about 125 miles from ohio line. I've only been west of I-35 once so I'm am used to running that area. I like running the eastern states with the exception of the north east(anything north or east of PA) but then again I don't know of anyone who does like it up there unless thats where you live. I was told that you're better off with a regular flat as opposed to step because of the majority of the freight. Is this true? I would think you would do better with a step for hauling machinery and other types of vehicles. I was originally gonna get a step but this other one came available and I can't pass up the deal. Do you get into very many tight places? The truck i'm looking at has a 282 w.b.