A good company

[sonseeker]

Hello to all of you...I am researching this business of expediting and I am looking at several companies...now for the question....Do any of yall have any experence with "Tri-State"? So far I like what I am hearing from them....I have some OTR experence hauling freight and cars...... any and all comments will be greatly appreciated....

 

[nightcreacher]

Expediting is not like anything in the trucking industry,most of the comanies are good to lease to.its just depends on what your expecting.
Youve hauled cars ,so you know about sitting,waiting,for freight.what we as expediters are in,is a business thats hurry up and wait.
for this reason,most of our pay scales are much higher than regular freight.That load you are dispatched on,in most cases should have been delivered before you ever pick it up,and the reason teams are needed,if it is to go 900 miles,it will deliver in 20 hours,or if it goes 45 miles,just 1 hour,and just because your a team ,doesnt mean you will be just getting team offers,and if your a solo,teams might be getting the loads you can do,because of the HOS rules.
Some of the companies rely on brokers for back haul,the company you want to find,will have expedite freight in both directions,this will keep your mileage pay high,making your net income higher.
Now I have a question,the best money in trucking is hauling automobiles,why did you get out of this?I have friends hauling cars,they make more running solo than I do running team.

 

[arkjarhead]

Another thing to what one person thinks is a good company someone else may not like. i hauled thru tri state for a while and about the only thing i didn't like about them was it seemed like every weekend i was stuck at a truckstop with no frieght to haul.other than that i thought they were great. if it were to happen every great once in a while it wouldn't have bothered me, but every weekend? that's why i ended up going back to general trucking. i made more money running steady all week as acompany driver with a long haul over the weekend or spending the weekend at home than i made in expedite as a fleet driver. i felt like i worked harder in general trucking. in expedite alot of times i might would run a day then rest for a day or 1/2 a day then get another load. as you know in general trucking alot times you're predispatched so when you empty out you go straight to the next load. just a word of advice. if you don't like to sit and wait on frieght you most likely won't like expedite. me personally i always preffered having the next few days planned out. it all boils down to one thing. different strokes for different folks.

 

[LDB]

I've never hauled cars. While working as a car salesman I talked to a couple of the drivers delivering. I was told it paid anywhere from 7cpm to 12cpm depending on what vehicles they were hauling. I don't know what the arrangements were after unloading but presumed it was d/h empty back for the next load. I did haul dry freight for a while as a company driver. I ran a LOT of miles every week and didn't make all that much money. I'd much rather make the same money for half the driving and sit the other half of the time. There are FAR more good books in the libraries and used book stores then there will ever be waiting time between jobs.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB
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Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
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[RichM]

I agree with Steve. I have a friend from Waycross GA who hauls new cars and does extremly well. He loads a lot out of the BMW plant in SC
and delivers through out the SouthEast. Home weekends plus home 2 nights a week and his company provides decent motel rooms when he is not home.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Ok just to show there are two sides to every coin!

The idea of being home every weekend and getting hotel rooms sounds AWFUL to me! Our truck is like a home and we have made it very comfortable. Where ever we park is "home" to us. Not saying we don't ever like to go home but the pull is not there. It is exciting to go home get the mail and catch up with friends and family but the truck is our comfort. We like our job and we like the travel that we get paid to do. We have about the right amount of sitting and the right amout of driving. We are happy running our behinds off and we make the best of the down time. What can be better then that?

 

[sonseeker]

These are some very good comments...and I thank you for them....I did make good money in cars...I was a company driver out 2-3 wks and my net was 12-1500/wk...that was in 2001... I had young children at home and decided that my place was with them...I am considering going back to cars with a company that works similar to your friends (home week ends-hotel every night)...however, it is my understanding so far that I can net 15-2000/wk and up as a solo expediter and have more control over my off time....also I would have an opportunity to let my dad (otr trucker 30 yrs)run with me on occasion....

 

[sonseeker]

The challange for me now is that if I am going to expedite...then choosing a company that will treat me fair....as you are aware there are as many different pay scales as there are companies...Tri-State pays 1.20/mile + FSC, FedEx is 60% of load, Landstar has a good program but they want more recent experence...and since I have been off the road since 2001 (with the exception of running a 24' truck in state 450 miles/ day for 1yr)they are not an option for me......so which way to go???? I am not looking to jump around alot or any if I can avoid it........another consideration is that can I rely on recruiters to tell it like it is?? some of them poor mouth other companies and their company is the best....ya know some of them sound like used car salesman.......I don't mean to go nego on you folks...I am really just looking for some good sound advice....that is why I am so thankfull for this forum and all of you responding to my post....I pray that you all have an awesome day!!

 

[arkjarhead]

if you have kids and a wife at home and want to have regularly scheduled home time you won't get that in expedite. i have a feeling others will disagree , but that's how i see it. in expedite there are very few pre planned loads. in general trucking you may have your whole week laid out in front of you from the time you leave the house, know then about what time and day you will be home. if the shipper knew 3-4 days in advance they were going to need to ship whatever chances are they wouldn't pay to expedite it. unless you get in an e-unit(t/t) where you can book a brokered load to get you back home chances are you will be d/h if you want to be back by a certain time. i'm not trying to dog expedite. it was a lot of fun. but as a solo with with a wife at home and wanting to see her as much as possible i went back to truckload before i lost my marriage. everyone has there story and that's mine. i hated to leave expedite because of the fact i felt more at ease expediting if that makes any sense. some spouses can stand for their significant other to be gone 2-4 weeks or longer at a time. that's fine if that works for them. my wife wanted me home every weekend so i had to make that happen. i know to many guys who lost their marriages over a truck and i wasn't gonna let that happen. again this my story. everyone has one, and like i said i'm sure someone will tell you it's wrong. the main thing is you know yourself you know your wife. we don't. do what will be in the best interest of your family first.

 

[highway star]

1.5-2k NET would be the high end to expect as an average over a year. The vast majority of D-unit O/O's are making less than that. Just to be clear, I define NET as money in your pocket after all expenses and taxes.

 

[sonseeker]

thanks for the advice...life is to short and in the long run family and friends is really what it is all about....btw..what year were you in the core??

 

[sonseeker]

that is the same way that I look at it...net in pocket....what do you think is a resonable figure to expect??

 

[RichM]

You might want to consider Bolt Express out of Toledo. They are an up and coming company. They can be reached at 1-866-873-2658,ask for Anne or Mark in recruiting.

 

[Broompilot]

I like my new Gig. A personal life is very important. Expediting I loved, but I had NO PERSONAL life and when I did come home not only did I feel like a stranger in my house, I was.

Friendships basicaly have dissipeared, now I am rebuilding a bit, wife is happy to see me come home, and just as happy to see me leave (she won't tell me that) just no more tears when I do leave. $ yet to be as good? Thats yet to be determined, seems like I am doing quite well.

Many many new adjustments, not nearly as exciting so thats a big trade off, and also not anywhere as BORING like when you sit over a weekend and into the begining of a new week. Thats a mind game on oneself.

 

[arkjarhead]

Broom,
I know how you feel about your wife crying when you leave. Mine always tried not to but she did. When I was coming home on friday morning and leaving monday morning she liked it a little better. When I got a job with ABF she really wished I couldv'e took it because the route they offered me was home every other nightand off 2 days a week and still running about 2,500 miles a week at 51 cents a mile. Do the math not bad pay for a company driver, plus all the benefits.