Advice?

[mthammer]

I'm a wannabe, in the metro detroit area thinking of buying a cargovan or cutaway with a 16' box. (what gets more work)?
also any thought's on deisel or gas (heard some bad things about the ford powerstroke). I want to make a go of this as I am tired of plant closings. (this will be my second). And I'm not getting any younger lol. I have some route driving exp. but no over the road exp. Thanks for any advice. and have a great day!
M.T.Hammer

 

[woobergoober]

Hello,

I will offer my little tidbit of advice, for whatever it is worth. If you can at all manage, get a straight truck. Get an 18 foot box, although 24 foot is better. The key is being dock high. You do not have to buy anything brand new, but something newer is nice because of maintenance issues. Diesel is going to give you better trucks, as that is what the majority of medium and heavy duty vehicles are. The most important question is local or over the road. I have been and expediter out of the Detroit metro area for about 3 years now. I was a local driver, home every night, the problem was, I would work 10 or 12 hours a day, and sometimes still only be able to get 2 loads, maybe 3. So many local loads pay dock high rates, which was about $60.00 to the driver, not counting any fuel surcharge. I basically skirted the edge of bankruptcy and finally went with a company out of the area who specializes in the midwest. Last week, I was home every couple days. Not once did I go out without getting a backload the same day. The nice thing that you and I can benefit from Detroit, is the amount of freight going out and coming to. Probably one of the best cities to live by, if you are an expediter, in my humble optinion. Give my thoughts a look, and listen to some of the veterans, then make a decision based on everything you find out. The whole key to this job is to find the right company, that works for you. If you want some company names, email me and I can give you a couple referrals. Hope this helps.


Scott

 

[terryandrene]

MT:
woobergoober said it all, and with references too. That's a great bit of advice to get started with in the Detroit area. I have a close friend who worked for three different local "Detroit Expediters" (that's another name for courier) and could'nt do any better than Woobergoober. He was home most nights, never got a backhaul, and barely covered overhead.

Welcome aboard and Good Luck

Terry

 

[mthammer]

First thanks scott and terry, I emailed you scott, thanks in advance for any company names to check out. Do you know anything about Express-1. Thanks and again anybody out there with advice i'm all eye's and ear's. Respectfully
mthammer.

 

[Crazynuff]

Good advice but the original post aked about a cargo or cube van . Replies recommended a straight truck which would require a CDL and some experience which I don't think the OP has .

 

[davekc]

I agree with the above advise.
Davekc
owner
20 years

 

[woobergoober]

No cdl is required if you run under a 26.000 gvw or less. I ran my f650 under a 26,000 gvw......no IFTA to worry about, and paperwork was so painless. I kept getting stuck out of state because they would get some freight, but I could only legally haul 10, 000 in my box without being overweight. Lots of freight is 11 and 12 grand. In order to rectify the situation, I re licensed and got apportioned tags witha 33 thousand limit, although I would never try to haul that kind of weight. Paperwork nightmare now, but I am getting the hang of it. Damn IFTA!!!!! Oh, and of course the chauffeurs only works up to 26,000 as well, so I had to get a cdl b. You are right though, the original post asked about a van.

Scott