22 ft. box or 24 in. box?????
- Thread starter jdo1550
- Start date
With a 22' box you can have 10 floor spots plus 2' left over. With a 24' box you can have 12 floor spots. How often will you need the 2 extra floor spots, if ever? The usual answer on anything is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. I can't tell you exact dimensions though.
guido4475
Not a Member
I would get the highest, widest, and longest box you can get, that will fit on your truck legally.If it is a used one, make sure the floor is made to withstand a towmotor.Some are not.Check for fllor wood thickness,crossmember spacing, etc.Also, get thebiggest door opening as possible.I had the back end of my box cut off and a semi trailer frame and doors out on, so the door opening was the same width as the inside box,and just a little shorter on the height.Phil Robertson in Mt.Vernon, Oh has good used boxes all the time, and will modify them to your needs.Real good people.(Robertson truck sales) on rt 36, east of the Flying J in Sunbury.
TJ959
Veteran Expediter
Mine had a 22' box and I liked having the extra 2' to store straps, bars, step ladder, broom, and pallet jack. It had a 72" sleeper which is plenty of room for a single driver. I think a team would probably want a little more space in the sleeper. The truck I drove before that had a 24' box and a coffin sleeper. I used the extra space in the box maybe twice in all the time I drove it which hardly seemed worth the cost in living space.
You will find people here who advocate the largest truck body (box) possible for the reasons they believe and others who advocate smaller truck bodies for different reasons. If you ask a general question like you did, you will get both answers.
Before you think about truck body size, you need to be clear on the kind of expediting you want to do and the kind of freight your carrier most often hauls.
Notice too that there is more to expediting revenue than box size. Depending on the carrier and the driver's credentials, business sense and work ethic, a 22' truck with a lift gate may far out-earn a 24' truck without a liftgate and a drvier less skilled.
Before you think about truck body size, you need to be clear on the kind of expediting you want to do and the kind of freight your carrier most often hauls.
Notice too that there is more to expediting revenue than box size. Depending on the carrier and the driver's credentials, business sense and work ethic, a 22' truck with a lift gate may far out-earn a 24' truck without a liftgate and a drvier less skilled.
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Why not take a tape measure and measure inside the box?.
Shadowpanda
Seasoned Expediter
I have a 22 foot box. I've needed the full 22 exactly once this year so far.
bluejaybee
Veteran Expediter
24 for me is the way to go. I guess because not too many of you have a 24 is the reason I get so many loads for a 24. Thanks!!! 12 skid loads are very common with me.
I have to agree with TJ Devile and Ateam.... the chances of you regularly using a 24 foot box in most true expediting scenario's are going to be rare. Even a 22 foot box is often not fully utilized. You could get a larger sleeper like one member suggested, and have about a 20 foot box, throw a lift gate and/or a reefer on there and be just as profitable... especially if you are team driving.
Ateam made some very good points,
it really depends on what your carrier does and where they do it.
If you are expediting around the great lakes and the north east alot, then do you really want a big sleeper? Do you really want a 24 foot box?? The revenue may sound nice, however in Jersey City, NJ... Revenue is just a word at 7am on most any workweek day.
I guess I'd have to ask what you have been running? New to industry or driver for hire going into the O/O segment?
You can have a nice size sleeper with a 22 foot box and still be legal. what you won't like doing though is having a 24 foot box with a sleeper of say less than 60"... it will be ok for awhile, but awhile won't last very long once you start getting bounced out to TX.
You want as much as you can get, that is understandable, and there is a common argument there... Some will say it's better to have it, but it's rarely used-BUT when it is used it is used well and it pays well to use that extra 2 feet. I think if you start asking expediters with 22 foot boxes how often they actually use most of their truck for freight you will find that it's not all that often- which is why the Sprinter and cargo "van-like" segment of the industry has grown. The space isn't needed as much as most would think it is. 20 feet is going to get you just as much work most of the time as a 22 foot box will- but I will add that it might pay on a 20 foot box to have a lift gate versus just a box. Perhaps one would even consider a tag/pusher axle as well with a 20 foot box set-up.
I'd be interested to find out which avenue you chose and why you chose it.
BBB
Ateam made some very good points,
it really depends on what your carrier does and where they do it.
If you are expediting around the great lakes and the north east alot, then do you really want a big sleeper? Do you really want a 24 foot box?? The revenue may sound nice, however in Jersey City, NJ... Revenue is just a word at 7am on most any workweek day.
I guess I'd have to ask what you have been running? New to industry or driver for hire going into the O/O segment?
You can have a nice size sleeper with a 22 foot box and still be legal. what you won't like doing though is having a 24 foot box with a sleeper of say less than 60"... it will be ok for awhile, but awhile won't last very long once you start getting bounced out to TX.
You want as much as you can get, that is understandable, and there is a common argument there... Some will say it's better to have it, but it's rarely used-BUT when it is used it is used well and it pays well to use that extra 2 feet. I think if you start asking expediters with 22 foot boxes how often they actually use most of their truck for freight you will find that it's not all that often- which is why the Sprinter and cargo "van-like" segment of the industry has grown. The space isn't needed as much as most would think it is. 20 feet is going to get you just as much work most of the time as a 22 foot box will- but I will add that it might pay on a 20 foot box to have a lift gate versus just a box. Perhaps one would even consider a tag/pusher axle as well with a 20 foot box set-up.
I'd be interested to find out which avenue you chose and why you chose it.
BBB
bluejaybee
Veteran Expediter
I just stated above that I use my 24 alot. And then you come back with the above statement, "the chances of you regularly using a 24 foot box in most true expediting scenario's are going to be rare". That leads me to believe that you must believe that I am doing untrue expediting???
I constantly post that there are so many scenarios to expediting. There are more threads here on 24 vs 22 or 20. CV's vs S/T and on and on and on. But I am telling you that I, almost on a weekly basis, get called for my 24. And most of the time, I have to DH a distance to the pickup because I am only one in area. And sometimes I get paid extra good for DH, but always paid.
So take others advice and know what you will be doing and what you need to aide you in making it profitable for you. In the untrue expediting world, a liftgate is dead weight. A reefer is dead weight. I am not looking for those loads.
i am a fan of 22'. you can get 12 or 14 skids on a 22' even if the freight is not stackable. you just have to be creative. i have been decking unstackable freight on load locks for as long as i have been out here. never had a problem with the freight moving, falling, or being damaged. you just have to be careful and secure it properly. only had a few places in 10 years not let me do this. ya, its a little work and requires a few more load locks than the average expediter carries but has gotten me loads i wouldnt have got. of course there is a limit to the amount of weight you want to put on them and 4 or 5 is about all you can get under a normal pallet/tote.
bluejaybee
Veteran Expediter
Just another example of how many different ways there are to do this job. I have decked like this before (thanks to gregg, who explained it in a post of his). But the pallets were light weight. They originally wanted 16 shipped, but knew a 24 foot truck would only hold 12. When I got there, I found out what they needed and agreed to deck the other 4. That has only happened 1 time and I carry the bars and plywood just in case.
fortwayne
Not a Member
Personally, I like the 22-foot, which allows for a decent sleeper, nothing fancy but at least you are comfortable.
Now with a 24-footer, you have the added advantage of the 2-feet, which alot of trucks out here don't have. If you get creative you can still have a sleeper that will provide you comfort with enough room where you don't go all loco while on the road.
The thing I would look at is overall construction and weight. The more 'extra' weight that is not being used (2-feet) does add up to your overall cost of operation.
The one thing I would avoid is a water tank for a sink or shower as water really adds to the WNGR...(Weight not generating revenue).....a sink and shower is nice but is it worth the weight, extra fuel etc etc.
Now with a 24-footer, you have the added advantage of the 2-feet, which alot of trucks out here don't have. If you get creative you can still have a sleeper that will provide you comfort with enough room where you don't go all loco while on the road.
The thing I would look at is overall construction and weight. The more 'extra' weight that is not being used (2-feet) does add up to your overall cost of operation.
The one thing I would avoid is a water tank for a sink or shower as water really adds to the WNGR...(Weight not generating revenue).....a sink and shower is nice but is it worth the weight, extra fuel etc etc.
Absolutely, positively, YES!