So you want to "own " your own company

I never said anything about taking a load where it cost you to pull it. I would never do that.

 

Bigray... hats off to you, PRIDE sums it up nicely.

G/MAN I'm with you. It'll never get better til someone stops hauling it.

Milskired $1/mi is losing money. It's not just about equipment payments, fuel and insurance. You have to factor in 2290, plates, individual state taxes, your own salary, maintenance etc. YOU MUST KNOW YOUR COSTS. I know what the $550 2290 cost me down to the mile. Hell, I own my trailer outright and am only paying a modest payment on the truck and $1/mile COSTS me money.
I will not haul the cheap freight. Want me to haul that load into rate nightmare Hotlanta? It's gonna cost you enough for me to DH back out. It's more than averaging miles, it's a lot about principle. I refuse to contribute to the bottom feeding brokers and the cheap freight problem.
We average $1.85 ALL miles from the house to the house running multiple areas. And we will DH sometimes as far as 700mi.

 

If you take a load for $1/mile then you are losing money and essentially paying the broker/shipper to haul their freight. There is plenty of freight in most areas right now. The problem with some of them are the rates. If I am going to go broke I will do it sitting at home rather than hauling for nothing. A couple of years ago I did keep my trucks parked more than running. I just don't see a reason to pay for fuel, drivers and the other costs involved in running a truck and not make something.

 

What are some good freight lanes for dry van?

 

I have a friend who pulls a van and he primarily runs from Pennsylvania to Illinois and down to North Carolina. That is about as far South as he runs. Part of that is due to where he lives. He likes to be home every weekend.

I-65, I-75, I-71, I-70, I-40 and I-20 should all be good lanes for vans. That is what one agent with a major carrier told me last year. His main lanes were I-65 and I-55.

 

Thanks for the info. I am going to buy a trl sometime next year. I'm tired of competing with co trucks.

 

One rule of thumb that makes sense to me is never lease your truck onto a company that also has company drivers.

 

Im not leased to this co. I have my own authority, i just don't have a trl. Im pulling there trl at no charge. I'm not doing that great, about 1.36 all miles. I'm gonna stay with them for a couple of months, then I'm going to break out and get my own dry van.

 

From where you live there is lots of Van freight to CA and back. Also up to the Midwest and back. You should have no trouble finding freight. But freight that pays anything is the problem.

 

If you need a trailer you might think about renting or leasing one. Some dealers rent trailers. It would be a good way to move out on your own. There are also leasing companies. Financing is still a challenge in this business.