Mercer Transportation Co., Inc. - Louisville, Ky.?

The load board you see on mercertown.com is the broker board. Basically loads leased guys passed over, the contractor board you get access to when leased. Iowa isn't a hotbed but with bit of deadhead within easy reach of loads.

Getting out from home is the hardest, not because of freight but being to picky sometimes

 

Thanks fellers. So you think I'd do okay pulling a van in the Mid west? I'm a little nervous going into it blind. My decision is between staying withJB Hunt Intermodal as an owner operator otr going to Mercer. JB seems safer because I know the system an I know the freight it's there. I "want" to switch to Mercer because I think it'd suit me better. I'm picking the freight and going where I want. Been hoping I'd see a Mercer driver at some point and ask to get a look at the load board...

 

The Midwest is a gold mine pulling van & there is pretty good freight in & out of Iowa USUALLY. But understand, this is a while different animal over here. You don't make money it's 100% your fault. No one to blame it on. No dispatcher giving you loads. You have issues then you handle them. Trip planning is huge when you're the one booking loads. I'm not trying to scare you off but just give you the real deal. I can tell you all day long about how I'm doing well here but that won't mean squat to you. I've been doing self Dispatch for 2.5 years so I've got it figured out pretty good. You're going to be new at it just like I once was so there is going to be a learning curve. There's a very good chance you won't make much more the first 3-6 months while you're learning the system. But once you learn it your can make some good money. Also, if you do make the switch, please resist the urge to grab that $4000 dollar load to the NW for your first run unless you've got a couple weeks worth of bill money saved up. Drivers come over here almost broke & take a long run like that right off the bat & it hurts them. I'll answer any van questions that I can for you if you think of any other.

 

That info helps a lot. I've been searching Mercer related info for a few weeks now, you're one of the guys I've noted that seems to know what you're talking about so i appreciate the offer of advice. I heard from a couple of others that staying in the mid west was a good plan. One guy said he never went west of I35. Another said he stayed within 500 miles of Chicago. Thats kind of my plan. My biggest worry is getting out of Iowa (and back in) without a lot of dead heading. My other worry is not making enough money those first few weeks out. I'm not thinking I need to head to the NW but I'll be broke for sure! I understood that there were people who would dispatch me if I wanted. I was thinking I'd lean on them for the first few weeks then start picking my own stuff increasingly.

 

I think one of those guys that informed my thinking was mickey mouse club. ..

 

Don't worry about dead heading. I usually dead head 200 miles to go home & most of the time about 200 miles to get out. I dead headed 545 miles to get out of Florida. But between the load I took down & the load I dead headed to it more than covered the dead head. Same thing with my loads going home & leaving the house. Don't worry about dead head. What part of Iowa are you in?

Your best bet is to stay east of I-35 & Chicago is a good market usually.

Your coordinator will only see loads that you match to. That means whatever search parameters you & them decide on is all that they will see. Use them as a tool but don't let them run your truck. My first two months my coordinator called me on loads & all but 3 of my loads came from him. Now I might talk to him once a month. But in the beginning I would see a load & I'd call him and all questions like is the load going to a good area, & I would get his opinion on the load. Usually he would just tell me if I can make money with it then it's a good load. Lol.

 

Thank you RStewart. That's exactly how i envisioned using my coordinator the first few weeks.
I'm in northern Iowa, 20 mile south of theMN state line and 20 miles east ofI35.
What's your opinion of going south? I've heard stay out of Florida. Heard the same thing about Texas, but also heard it could be good.
What about east? I'm thinking Ohio orPA. is it worth going further than that? Don't want to limit myself too much. Just want to follow the money.

 

Texas is pretty good going in & cheap to ok getting out. I've been to Florida 3 straight weeks. Lol. I love going to Florida. Most don't because of the dreaded dead head. Blah, I'll do it. MO, IL, IN, OH, KY, VA, NC, SC, GA, & MS are probably the best states. That doesn't mean I won't go to a state not on that list but those are the best to stay in & run in.

 

The good ole trap load. Anytime i see a load to the northwest paying under 5500 i can't help but envision that scene in return of the Jedi with admiral ackbar "its a trap!".