Apply Now!

B, C, D or E Unit

louixo

louixo

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Why do you drive the unit size you drive? I see alot of owner operators making changes in thier equipment these days. Most, that I have run into are downsizing to B or C units. Some are going larger. All my years in expediting, I´ve only ran a D unit, but am considering going to an E. The different company recruiters I speak with , still seem to recommend D and E units. Bigger gets you more loads because you´re able to qualify for more loads, but is that really maximizing your revenue in this day and age? The other side of this argument is operating expenses, where smaller is better. So the question is, what in your opinion, is the best unit size for singles? What is best for teams? From a bottom line revenue point of view, and then from an operating point of view.
 
R

RichM

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
I always felt it would be interestering to hold a round table discussion, in where a B Team,C Team,D Team and E Team compare mileage,Gross Revenue and Net revenue for a one year time frame.
Of course everyone would have to swear to tell the truh(LOL) You would have to look at all factors such as availability,load refusal rates etc. LM or Jeff maybe down the road you could have a session about this topic.My own feelings is that I think the Net Revenue for all types of units comes to within $15-20K from top to bottom.
 
davekc

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
Not a bad idea. It would seem the hardest part would be comparing different years ect. In a up economy vans and straights probably do better, but when it turns south, TT will do better. Especially if fuel keeps climbing.
 
G

Glen Rice

Veteran Expediter
OK, here's my stupid reason for going from a "D" unit to a Reefer "C" unit. I wanted a super large sleeper and going to the C unit was the only way I could have a sleeper that measured 186 inches. Going reefer increaded my revenue per mile and to tell you the truth we enjoyed the smaller loads, since most of our loads we had to handle. So I quess in order to have an even bigger sleeper I should of built a B unit with a 31 foot sleeper. Now that would get the DOT"S attention. Take care and have a safe weekend!
 
B

blucolr

Expert Expediter
Glen, I haven't bought a truck yet, and am still debating between a C or D unit. I was at the Expo ( which I enjoyed very much, a lot of good and useful info ) and the recruiters seemed to push D's, and the people I talked to who run D's said they wouldn't go to a smaller unit. At the same time the people I talked to that run C's were happy and didn't think they missed many loads because of the smaller box. I'm leaning toward the bigger bunk to keep the wife content and interested, but hate to make that kind of investment if I thought the smaller box would keep us from being as busy as we need to be or cause more deadhead miles. Do you have any " special cure-all" formulas to make the decision fool proof? Thank's, Mike
 
G

geo

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Retired Expediter
US Navy
i always had a c unit as it would fit in drive way than
rules were change and had to find a place to park the truck
which i did
alway went for comfort and for bigest box could get for a c unit and stay a cunit
the star was a great truck rode good , and if it fit on the truck
could haul 13,300
but with egl star was to much truck for running in city
now with sprinter van, went for cheaper way to run as price
of diesel fuel goes up , 22 to 26 mpg isn't to bad, able to haul four pallets carry 3,000 lbs or so and still making same amount of money
they come off with easy as i have roller in floor so they roll off
and on
have to remeber is load secured as don't want to leave it in parking lot
 
V

vernon946

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
There are no fool-proof guidelines, as they are subject to changes brought about by the economy, fuel prices, the size bunk you need, the company you lease with, how much weight you feel comfortable carrying and whether you really need the biggest truck money will buy.

We drive a C unit and will get another C unit when trade-in time comes. We looked at C first by asking our recruiter for a breakdown on the frieght moving thru the company, defined as to what percentage could be moved by various size units. At the time, C units could cover 86%, and we decided that was pretty good.

After 7 years with FedEx CC, we will still prefer a C unit for our next truck. We could not stand to get more work than we do now and we still like the idea of hydraulic disk brakes - DOT inspections are a breeze and they generally last 300,000 mi before the first repairs are needed. The truck generally is not used as hard as the weight is limited to 5000 lbs (by contract), although we will sometimes fudge on that to move a load.

Vernon in C2197
 
V

vernon946

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
We've had a 72incher on both trucks. We really have not had any luck finding a larger sleeper as we always buy our trucks used.

Vernon in C2197
 
K

KandS2

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
We went from a D unit to a B unit last November. We drive as single (we take turns), so having enough room for a team isn't an issue. Our B is a Super-B or one of the cutaway vans with an Aerocell body.

We had hoped to have time to design our own van, with a Supreme body, but our straight truck sold w/in 3 days after listing it here on EO (Great job EO!), and we were stuck.

We have been happy with the van, and built our own sleeper in it, separate from the cargo so we could haul haz-mat if we wish (we don't).

We can also haul some C freight if it is C freight because of dimensions.

The reason for downsizing was to avoid the log book issue. Now we only have to log for AL and haz-mat, and we can take longer runs.

Oh, so far this year we are doing a little better than last year with the truck. Of course, that's comparing apples and oranges. Whose to say we wouldn't be doing better if we still had a truck?

Stay safe out there!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top