mercer transportation

Forgot to add: don't stress flatbed. It's not that much work. Many guys keep on pulling a flat through their 60's and into their 70's. It's more brain work, a lot more. But very little physical work. If you can lift 50 pounds a couple times a week, you can handle flats. My only concern would be heat. Make sure you stay hydrated.

 

adding to spyders comments ...

fuel cards ... YOU decide if you want money put onto the card, it is not done automatically. I prefer to max out my advance, and every three or four loads take no advance at all. As he said what we're allowed is more than enough for fuel. It's handy to have enough funds on your card to take care of unexpected repairs, especially after hours and weekends. Mercer does not hold your hand on things, it's up to you to handle your money.

I stay in southeastern PA a lot and without even trying have been at the house there almost every weekend. This week for example I loaded at a port in Philly, went to central OH, reloaded immediately 20 miles away back to central PA, again had next load arranged 45 miles away back to IN, and already had load back to NJ 20 miles from the house arranged. Ran steady but not hard, about a$4700 week.

One thing for certain at Mercer, it WILL take time to learn how things work, what loads and lanes will meet your personal goals, and to get to know agents in the areas you want to work so they can help you get the loads you want.

West coast can be tough, and as spyder said longer runs often have a lower per mile rate. If you an run to and from the midwest you can bounce back and forth to the east, north east, south, and southeast pretty easily.

What limits many people in the availability of loads is all the things they refuse to do, not that any of these things are required by the company. But if you do not go to the north east (ever, as in absolutely refuse) then you are not going to the most densely populated part of the country and may miss out on some great paying loads. While that means some of the worst traffic, and drivers, it is also where much freight is going to go. Also tarping, you don't have to do it, may people don't. But that just means many more loads available to those who are willing to do a little more work. Many of us stay in the north all winter long while a large amount of the fleet hibernates below I-40. That just means plenty of work available. I do most of my runs to Canada during the winter months. If you're willing to go and do what a many other drivers don't want to do, you'll have plenty to choose from. That doesn't mean working cheap, many of the less desirable locations pay premium rates, as well as charges for tarping, multiple stops, etc..

And again, don't think in terms of miles. Look at the big picture, best paying load for what you're doing. 400-600 mile loads are often the best paying overall. Try to run to areas you can reload easily, not just a destination that looks like someplace you want to drive to because it's easy. Local loads when available can be $500+ for 50 miles, and amazingly plenty of drivers will not do them because "I ain't no local driver" or some such reason.

 

Wow, you really cleared that up! Thanks for the info, noted and recorded. And you're right on the NE, I just need to wait and see how it works out. Every place else I love the driving, even the NE did have some bright spots.
And I did dread the thought of driving with another team member, did that with Captains and F/O's 42 years, but not 24/7. Some were just plain bad personalities with attitudes!
The wife will love being part of a team, especially since I won't have to advertise for an "18 year old female, well built Helper" now.LOL.

 

Thanks again! I did 18 years in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Egypt, West Sahara etc, and the hottest place I've ever been was Searchlight, NV, can you believe? I carry two cases of water in the truck even in the winter.
I'm still physically fit, did 3 years a an LEO when I didn't fly for that time, so maybe flats are still an option. Plus I spent a lot of my flying years strapping cargo down, just never "tarped" a load.
I sure do appreciate your help!!

 

Man, you and Spyder have cleared up a lot of questions!
And I forgot to mention that I did get my TWIC card, have a current passport (For Canada and Louisiana), have Hazmat.
I intend to take any load possible even if it's NE, and when someone asks me to do something difficult, I'd rather find a way to do it than say "No".
I did patrol the Dalton Hwy many years back (FROM THE AIR) Fairbanks to Dead Horse, and have nothing but admiration for the truckers there, and I gotta say: THEY'RE NUTS!!
Good advice, thanks again!

 

Glad to help. Mercer drivers all have their own way of looking at things, so the more drivers you talk to the more you'll get a feel for the company. You'll see a pattern after a while. Most do not rely that much on their coordinator to plan their loads, don't take a load just because it pays really well and then end up in a dead-end destination. West coast and Colorado come to mind here! If you're in FL then you won't have the best choices to get out of the area. However when you go home for a few days you'll continue to move up the load board during your days off so you should have first choice at loads by the time you are ready to work. It will take time but eventually most drivers here find areas they like to run between and agents they like to work for. No one tells you what to do, you make all the decisions. That is also the undoing of many drivers, they blame everyone else here for their poor decisions. Apparently a lot of people come here and don't last more than a few months, for various reasons all mentioned elsewhere in this thread. Mercer's not for everybody, no company is. I'd say though that most people who come here and stay say the same thing, "I should have come here (5, 10, 25) years ago".

So what is your flying experience, you mentioned tying down cargo. Were you a LM? USAF?

 

But when you're the captain you get to fly with your favorite captain everyday.

 

You are in north Florida, you will be fine getting loads out as long as your expectations are reasonable. I'm 200+ miles farther south and I manage, so no reason you won't do even better.

 

Sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner but Rochea and Spyder did a great job explaining, not sure I could've.
Now I've been here almost 3 years and still so happy, not sure they could get rid of me.
I only go towards the east coast once a year. My wife goes with me about 10% of the time. I average $2 plus a mile but I am lot picker on loads than most so I only run approx. 1500 miles a week.

 

After seeing all of the Mercer flatbeds being pulled by those custom sleepers, I have decided y'all must be making good money, so I think I am going to pull a flatbed instead of van. Do the Mercer flatbeds have any tool boxes on them?