A few months ago I talked to a guy I know and he became very interested in the expediting side of trucking. He has been in trucking for a long time, but only has experience in flat bed and car haulers. He said that he would like to buy a straight truck for a friend of his, etc. I told him to talk to ask companies first and then buy a truck because they have age limits on trucks and also require some kind of experience for the drivers.
A few days later he called me and informed me that he bought a truck, a 2007 reefer, no less, and asked me what companies take straight trucks. Of course, I realized that he didn't follow my advice to call first. Probably he only heard me saying what he wanted to hear and ignored the rest. So I gave him a list of a few companies, and then he started calling. He found out that the companies that have reefer freight won't take it because it is too old, and the ones that would take it, don't have reefer freight. Being a reefer box, it is too narrow to fit 2 regular pallets side by side, so that would limit him some. On top of that he realized that the companies that would take this truck don't pay enough for all parties involved, ie. he won't have much left over after paying the driver and maintaining the truck.
I see this often with vans here, where people buy a van and then figure out the cost of insurance, and waiting lists etc. But this is the first time I saw this happening with a straight truck.
Why, oh, why are people so eager to fork over the cash without any research first? Makes my head spin...
A few days later he called me and informed me that he bought a truck, a 2007 reefer, no less, and asked me what companies take straight trucks. Of course, I realized that he didn't follow my advice to call first. Probably he only heard me saying what he wanted to hear and ignored the rest. So I gave him a list of a few companies, and then he started calling. He found out that the companies that have reefer freight won't take it because it is too old, and the ones that would take it, don't have reefer freight. Being a reefer box, it is too narrow to fit 2 regular pallets side by side, so that would limit him some. On top of that he realized that the companies that would take this truck don't pay enough for all parties involved, ie. he won't have much left over after paying the driver and maintaining the truck.
I see this often with vans here, where people buy a van and then figure out the cost of insurance, and waiting lists etc. But this is the first time I saw this happening with a straight truck.
Why, oh, why are people so eager to fork over the cash without any research first? Makes my head spin...
