another newbie in need of advice

[Jdraegon]

I have tried to read back a year, although the economy and fuel and almost all other conciderations in the transportation business are changing fairly fast right now, not all, like fuel costs, for the better.

First, allow me to give a small amount of background info, Im 40, I have been in trucking for 19 years, I have been an O/O twice, and fuel drove me out of business both times, once in '01, once early this year.

Heres what Im thinking of doing, and any opinions would be great.

Im thinking of buying an '08 Sprinter, for cash, new, under warranty, NO PAYMENTS !, thats what Ive learned twice now. Im also looking at various sleeper options, but the prices are a lot higher than I hoped, I have the cash, but I dont need an RV, just a way to avoid hotels every night. Im dedicated, in 19 years, I have never had a late load that wasnt out of my control (ie; weather, break down), and I absolutely never EVER NEVER turn down frieght, if its a bad load, it will at least get me somewhere where I may get a better one, and working pays, sitting doesnt, no matter what.

I have read a lot of posts about ""too many vans out here already"", and I have talked with a lot of expediters, some are happy, some arent, just like in trucking, you cant be happy every minute, if you were, no one would have to pay you for what you do .

I am sick to death of trucking, having to be in the truck stop by 6pm to find a parking place, DOT, logs, shippers, recievers (I know these exist in expiditing, but I think on a different scale or at least, in a different fashion). I want out of trucking, but driving is what I do and love to do.

I will pay cash for the Sprinter, cash for a sleeper, and perhaps an under-frame generator (not sold on this one yet), and have some operating capitol left, enough to run a few months if Im careful anyway, without relying on advances (once you start taking advances, your done, this has been my experiance in class-8 trucking).

I have talked to several companies and while Im not sure what to expect as far as percentages, the milage rates I have been quoted are great, I have at times run class-8 frieght for less to get out of an area (thanks CH Robinson).

So, all that being said, can I please get some advice on what to expect, what companies are better than others at keeping you moving, being supportive, being honest, and helping you make both you, and the company money. Are there better areas of the country to run than others? What can I expect as far as weekly milage given that I dont turn down frieght, and Im reliable?

Thank you in advance for your replies, and for the benefit of your experiance and wisdom in an industry that you have all worked hard to make successful.

 

[cheri1122]

Welcome to EO!
I can't answer all your questions, (specifically the Sprinter related ones, as I drive a D unit - but I have driven a cargo van, & t/t too, so have some idea of your concerns), but will stick with what I know, ok?
What you can expect is to sit more than you'd like, most weeks, even being 100% reliable, and never turning down a load. But paying cash for the van, and minimizing your expenses as much as possible, (installing your own 'sleeper' would be a good idea, if you can do it, it's not real hard) will also minimize the pressure to keep rolling continously. Expediting doesn't work like OTR trucking, we don't often have a load every day of the week, you know?
I'd suggest you try to talk to other Sprinter owners, to find which carriers are better at utilizing them, and maybe get some suggestions for creating a sleeper that does the job you need it to do. As far as which areas are better, the Midwest is generally the best freight zone - if you take a load to Fla, or North Dakota, you can expect some deadhead to get to the next load - and that's where you'll have second thoughts about accepting every load - how much will you make on a load of 500 miles, if you then deadhead 600 to get the next one? But a lot depends on the specific carrier you choose, too - some can keep you running on the west coast, while others have a lot of Canada freight.
Once you've found some Sprinter folks to advise you, (check out the link on Dreamer or Ontariovanman's posts, for the Sprinter site), then you can make some choices about which carrier to talk to, and what to ask them when you do.
Best of luck to you!

 

[LDB]

I absolutely never EVER NEVER turn down frieght, if its a bad load, it will at least get me somewhere where I may get a better one, and working pays, sitting doesnt, no matter what.

I tell anyone who talks to me about running one of my trucks I do not expect and more over do not want a 100% acceptance rate on my truck. I'd love it if that were something worth desiring but it isn't. Some loads not only are bad loads but they lead you to an equally bad area so it's a lose/lose proposition. Sometimes sitting pays more than working because the bottom line suffers less from the sitting than it would from that single specific work.

That's my dime's worth and some will assuredly disagree with me but as far as advice my first piece would be to run an ~85% acceptance ration in this business. Good luck to you.

 

[BillChaffey]

I have a Ford Cargo Van, so cannot speak directly to a Sprinter, but it seems to me if you have a Bulk Head & permanent bunk your losing space that may carry Freight now & then. I put a 5 gallon pail between the seats & a piece of plywood, a foam mattress pad & a sleeping bag when the back is loaded. When the back is empty put the pads down and then the sleeping bag. A light that plugs into Accessories outlet to read when ever I like. Your going to sit, now more then under more normal economic times. I Suggest you contact Anne M. @ Bolt Express if you would like to get an honest appraisal of what your income could be.

 

[TeamCaffee]

You bring up a couple of interesting points one is fuel drove you out of business twice. I have a hard time understanding that statement. If you were getting no fsc and taking all loads and freight was to cheap then that will drive anyone out of business. I also wonder if the fuel prices have run you out of business all ready this year how where you able to save up enough to buy a sprinter for cash? I would think that a hard look at your business practices would be your first step. You can recover little easier making mistakes in a T/T then you can in a van as long as you do not continue to make the same mistakes.
High fuel prices are a great way to make money for a 0/0 especially if you also get fuel discounts. I believe this concept will work for a van on up to a T/T. You have to watch you P’s & Q’s and get better than average fuel mileage easily done by first keeping you foot out of the throttle, you watch how many unpaid dh miles you run, and then take advantage of all fuel discounts. As the fuel prices have went down so has our ppm due to lower fsc.
Taking all loads to us is not a good business concept. There are loads though that we will take that others will not and vice versa. If we are needing to get home or into a specific shop and do not want to dh we will consider all load offers going in that direction and call them a high paying relocate load.
You are defiantly on the right track to decide if a Sprinter will work for you. You are asking questions and reading and talking to people who have done well out here and others who have not done so well. Sometimes you can learn more from the O/O that have failed as you can try to avoid some of the pitfalls.
We have also thought in time a Van seems to be the way to as we would have more freedom to sight see, but the question is would we be making enough money to afford to site see?

 

[Jdraegon]

You bring up a couple of interesting points one is fuel drove you out of business twice. I have a hard time understanding that statement. If you were getting no fsc and taking all loads and freight was to cheap then that will drive anyone out of business. I also wonder if the fuel prices have run you out of business all ready this year how where you able to save up enough to buy a sprinter for cash? I would think that a hard look at your business practices would be your first step.

To clarify, the first time fuel killed me was in '01, when I bought my equipment, I was paying $0.87 / gal most places, then by the beginning of '01, it was up to $1.80, and fsc wasnt comming out then because everyone thought it was temporary. the second time was the beginning of this year, and I took a bad deal on a truck, the payments I could have handled, if they had run me the miles I was told I would get, the 3rd week in a row I was 1800-1900 miles instead of the 3600 I was told, it was hard, what made it harder was a truck that was getting 5.0 to 5.3 mpg @58-60 mph, yes, there was something wrong with the truck, I had no money to fix it at 1900 miles per week as I had just bought an APU tyring for that fabled 6mpg, then fuel went up over $5/gal, that ended it right there. What you may not realize, is the fsc in class-8 trucking is based on a minimum of 6 mpg, if you have an '03 Peterbilt 379, 6 mpg is a myth, still had I had the miles I needed, I could have survived, even at low miles, I could have survived had fuel not jumped, hard to plan ahead though when fuel is $3.15/gal, then 2 months later its over $5/gal. so, business practices may not have been an issue, or perhaps Im not sure what 'business practices' you had in mind.

 

[x06col]

I'm not sure what they be tink'in there either jb. Quite possibly if they need to make money to go sight see'in in a van, something hasn't gone too well. Or, sumpin.