So I've been doing this hot shot thing for a while and I've been back and forth on whether or not I should just buy a big truck. Lately I've seen reefer loads from the arizona-mexico border going to the East Coast for $12,000 or more. They are team loads, and I'm based in AZ. Tempting. Somebody talk me out of it?
OK, don't do it...The rates are always higher in the summer and look good right now, but produce loads can have claims if not cooled and transported correctly. Getting a good paying load back west without connections can be difficult. Thousands of trucks unload in the northeast everyday. Some just give up and run empty to the southern states to load chicken back west.
This.. if you are thinking of Produce loads you don't want some 5 or 10-year-old trailer that you don't know the history of. Also welcome to the realm of 5 hr load times and useless lumpers.. I can only imagine what the lumper situation is with the workforce shortages these days.. You could either get someone who was half decent and gets you unloaded in 2hrs or a useless a-hole who does 1 truck a day and takes his entire 8hr shift to unload your truck...
