Reefer vs. Dryvan

Just switched from dry to reefer....my dry schedule was drive here and drop and hook....my reever schedule is....
Drive here drop hook, drive here drop wait for trailer....which is never loaded...burn up my hours waiting for load all while having a set appointment at 4 am tomorrow no matter how late I get outta here has to be there....which is a 4 hour live unload drive an hour from there for a 3 hour live load then on my way home
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For 2 more cpm.......and a whole lot of log fudging.

 

Some of you are working at the wrong temperature controlled carriers is all I can say.

 

Company pays practical mileage so not driving 90 miles unpaid. Got worked out anyway, got paid for the layover, and reloaded in another city that added another 175 miles to the week...

 

I run Reefer and honestly I enjoy it. Granted I'm always 9-12hrs early for all of my live load / unloads. And just work some QualComm magic so that I don't start my clock just shuffling 100yds to the docks and usually am able to finish my sleeper time while being loaded or unloaded. I also tend to average 2500-3000 miles a wk @ 43 cents a mile as a company op. While yes the nuisance of getting a wash out for some shippers gets boring but I also tend to run nights which means I never have a line for one usually.. Some places always have a line.. And by nights I mean starting my clock in the afternoon or evening and shutting down anywhere from 5am to 9am.

 

it would only let me like it once, so i figured i would just quote it!

 

Drop and Hook will give you more Miles per day, with that being said they are usually lower paying miles. One if you are an owner operator that means you will be pulling someone else trailers, so they usually charge a larger percentage or trailer lease fees. If you are a company driver, then thats what you want, drop, hook and haul ###.
Dry vans are usually steady to load out of pretty much anywhere with no more than 150 mile dead head. They may not pay but $1.25 per mile but there is freight. Dry vans will usually have more of a "First Come First Serve" load and unload times, some have strict appointments but nothing like reefers usually have.
Reefer freight usually pays better but it does cost more to run it because of the reefer fuel and the up keep of the reefer unit itself. There is usually a long wait time to load and to unload. It's all in the business of hauling groceries, nobody that loads your trailer gives 2 cents about where you are going or if them dragging their feet will keep you from making your appointments on time or not and the people that are unloading your truck could care less if by them taking their sweet time costs you money by your reefer doors being left open cooling the environment or not. On the plus side if you run paper logs its a great time to catch some sleep and get some rest so you can hit the road running when the light finally turns green in your mirror at the dock. If you are forced to run computer logs then hope they will allow over night parking at the shipper and receiver if not, hope that your wife has a good paying job to help you out on those loads that drag tail while loading or unloading and you are forced to shut down or reschedule your appointment and miss other reloads that you could have gotten.
It's really a coin toss honestly, if the person booking your trucks knows what they are doing you can make a decent living with a wore out dodge dually pick up truck and a flatbed gooseneck trailer. If they know how to schedule your reloads and make sure they understand the times to and from place to place and they know how to work a broker to make them move appointments to fit your schedule of loading or unloading to make your life easier.

 

I currently run dedicated with SWIFT out of MT Top, PA local. Im thinking about switching over to reefer in the future. Hows your weekly miles?

 

As far as being a company driver, pulling reefer is a challenge. The pay is not enough more than dry box to make it worth your time. You will do better with dry van drops and hooks (dedicated if you can get it).

 

If you switch to reefer your home terminal will either be Decatur, Rochelle or west valley. I'm running reefer for them and avg 2500-3000 miles a week however there are low weeks with it being 1900-2400

 

Who do you recommend for an owner op