Can Anyone Recommend....

taternuts · Nov 6, 2008

I have been browsing these boards for awhile now because of my interest in becoming an OTR expediter...

Looking for the possibility of maybe a fleet owner taking on a newbie driver for one of there cargo vans?

I still am somewhat confused on some things of expediting... Mainly the points of the 60/40 split... Is this how all or most fleet owners operate? And who gets the fuel surcharge? Does the owner pay for the fuel...

I work as a heavy truck mecI hanic currently, (TA) and have seen several cargo vans on a daily basis come in and out of the truck stop...

Currently have no CDL... As far as I have read is that a CDL is not required to drive a Cargo Van... Do I need to get one?

I was talking to a guy from Midwest Expediting, but he hasnt gotten back to me...

BillChaffey · Nov 6, 2008

Anne M. @ Bolt Express 419 729 9383 Ext 2502

moose · Nov 6, 2008

Am not a CV owner/Driver ,
Yet , I can't see how driving someone else Van will be worth it .
you have a good job , stick to it till you are ready to make a bigger change in your lifestyle .
as a trained mechanics ,you can use the skills you already earned ,to improve your income in the near future .
as you probably know by now. there are way too many CV out there right now,and many have to sacrifice home time for earning enough income to just pay the bills.
i am sitting now in a truck stop,there are 7 vans parking here ,do you really want to be #8 ?
now ,if you get a CDL , well your options are wide open !
and you can put your skills to work for you .
Good luck

Moose.
J racine.

Moot · Nov 6, 2008

Moose, please walk the truck lot and report back the number of C and D units you see.

moose · Nov 6, 2008

Thanks Moot , I enjoyed the Exercise .
8 CV.
me & one more C unit , (fxcc),
no D ,or TT

Moose.

taternuts · Nov 6, 2008

I understand that mechanics can make decent money... However, If you really don't enjoy what you do, should you still continue to do it?

I like my job, don't get me wrong... I enjoy the pleasure of finding the problems, fixing them, and getting the customers back on the road...

But???

Road Service is a pain in the winter time... It's just not the cold that you deal with, its the tires that are blown out on the right side of the tractor or trailer and the shoulder is the only place he can pull, then you are faced with now a huge pile of snow that the plow truck pushed to the shoulder and now you have to dig your way to the tire???

Snowy, Icy roads when you are doing a tire or such on the left side of the tractor and trailer and no body will pull over to the left lane because the right one is the clearest lane to be in???

Or Fuel line freeze ups where drivers constantly neglect there truck, not change or drain fuel filters regulary and you are there dumping anti gel in there fuel tanks and replacing fuel filters... The the driver complains on the cost factor of me doing a road call out there...

Or how about the air system... You get called out to a truck that the brakes just locked up on or cant get them unlocked and you are there where the truck finally stopped to try to get the ice in the air lines to turn back to water so that he can move... Then you ask the driver the last time his air dryer cartridge was replaced and he states "Whats an Air Dryer Cartridge??"

Or you do a DOT inspection and the driver wants to pass a few bucks to you to falisify a Federal Document... Then gets upset because the inspection will cost him weather he passes or fails...

My job is frustrating... I have been in this industry for the past 10 years and I just am getting a little fed up with it...

And believe it or not, Mechanics dont get paid that great of money... I went to an interview today and they offered me $13.50 an hour with my experience! I guess it all depends on what region you are in...

Why I would want to be an expediter???

Freedom... Fredom from the manager over looking everything that you do... Freedom from the manager thinking that everyone is expendable in the industry... Freedom from the daily repetion of work schedule... Same old same old...

From what I hear, Most people change careers three times in there life... This would be the first for me...

I dont mind work... I dont mind long hours... I dont mind being on the road... I love to drive...

I've worked only about 2 jobs, TA and SpeedCo... I just want to try something new... With my experience, I would always have something to fall back on...

I understand from reading on here about the layovers in truck stops or walmart parking lots... I dont think that I will have an issue with it... I'd play on the laptop, or just read a book to pass the time... I'm a loner in a way...

I have been thinking about getting my own cargo van soon, but just thought that It may be easier getting started driving for someone else at first...

I probably will go try and take the CDL test next week sometimes... Getting a class C for now... I will maybe step up to a B, but know that I dont want an A... I dont think that I would like pulling trailers...

Any imput would be appreciated....

Jack_Berry · Nov 6, 2008

maybe a class b to start. there are a lot of van drivers changing carriers looking for the greener pastures right now.

if you have looked at the jobs available there are more positions in bigger trucks than vans. you might find one with side boxes and you can take your tools and moonlight in the pilots and loves parking lots on the weekends.

o yeah, call anne.

Turtle · Nov 6, 2008

The very same reason you are looking at getting into a cargo van is the very same reason why there are way, way, way too many cargo vans. It's also the very same reason there is a shortage of straight trucks and straight truck drivers.

taternuts · Nov 6, 2008

Turtle said:
The very same reason you are looking at getting into a cargo van is the very same reason why there are way, way, way too many cargo vans. It's also the very same reason there is a shortage of straight trucks and straight truck drivers.

So is there no money in driving cargo vans?

cheri1122 · Nov 6, 2008

Taternuts: welcome to EO - and BTW, what's an 'air dryer cartridge?
Hey - at least I'm not waiting till I'm brokedown to find out, ok?

taternuts · Nov 6, 2008

if your truck is equipped with air brakes there is what they call an air dryer...

the cartridge contains dessicant, a moisture collecting media...

Under normal circumstances, the air dryer collects moisture and purges most of it... however, dirt, oil, sludge, etc plugges this cartridge... it gets plugged... or even worse, plugs up the purge valve on the air dryer...

How can you tell if you air dryer is working properly?

Air dryers purge when the compressor is unloaded (not building air)... normally in the range of 120-125 psi, however, some systems are running in the 130-135 psi range...

engine off, check resivoir air pressure... If over 100psi, cycle your breaks till pressure drops below 80... putting the resivoir pressure below 80 will cause the compressor to be in the loaded cycle (building air)... watch gauges, listen for the air dryer to purge, around 120-130 depending on set up... Purging is a sudden blast of air, then followed by air for upto 30seconds...

If you find that your resivor pressure is stable, and you didnt hear the purge, something is wrong with the air dryer... get it checked before freezing temps...

I cannot stress enough when the temp drops,... DRAIN YOUR AIR TANKS EVERYDAY, if you are draining your tanks and you see ALOT of water, (pint or more) something is wrong with your air dryer...

Water in the system will cause breaks not to work, get locked up, etc...

This is more common is trailers as in trucks... Especially for people that drop and hook regularly...

If the person who dropped the trailer had a bad air dryer, and was passing water to the trl, you will have the same issue... There are no air dryers on most trailers...

If for some reason the breaks are locked up, get a bottle of air brake antifreeze, pour it in red glad hand on truck side, hook to glad hand on trl then push the supply in for the trailer... it may take several attempts, but may get you buy...

Most manufatures do not reccomend using air brake antifreeze due to the alcohol content and not being good for rubber, however, in a bind, this is about the only thing you can do...

Hope this helps

FIS53 · Nov 6, 2008

Is there money in driving a cargo van?? Not like there used to be. There are currently overall in the industry too many cargo vans for the amount of freight available or shall we say the amount of freight the companies are being called to haul. I've been lucky in finding a smaller carrier with a growth potential and some decent customers so I make a living but not a great profit. So it can be done to make enough to live on as several of us are doing so but things are tight. Every day some quit and others join. The turnover rate right now is high. so if you think you would love the business and can handle the sitting and waiting and the oddball hours, then give it a serious think. You'll need a reseve of cash to carry you through the first few months (and more) so think hard.
Rob

TeamCozumel · Nov 7, 2008

taternuts said:
I understand that mechanics can make decent money... However, If you really don't enjoy what you do, should you still continue to do it?

Good luck, tater. Life is too short to keep doing things you don't enjoy. We're very new here but we guarantee the more you keep reading the posts that go back one and two years the more you might get a better picture of what's happening in this field.

Doing a keyword search of members who seem knowledgeable has been helpful for us. We've also found some very helpful information and insight with keyword searches like "business", and "fsc". It's pretty time consuming to read through these posts but we've found it very worthwhile.

gotta go · Nov 7, 2008

cheri1122 said:
Taternuts: welcome to EO - and BTW, what's an 'air dryer cartridge?
Hey - at least I'm not waiting till I'm brokedown to find out, ok?

Cheri, It's located right by the driver's step.

"It's also the very same reason there is a shortage of straight trucks and straight truck drivers."

There's a shortage of straight trucks??

I thought there was a shortage of freight.

Turtle · Nov 7, 2008

gotta go said:
Cheri, It's located right by the driver's step.

"It's also the very same reason there is a shortage of straight trucks and straight truck drivers."

There's a shortage of straight trucks?? I thought there was a shortage of freight.

There's a shortage of both. Freight is down, but the ratio of straight trucks to cargo vans is still lower than it should be. Any medium to large carrier would happily swap 10-20% of its cargo vans for a like-number of straight trucks in a heartbeat.

cheri1122 · Nov 7, 2008

Sure they would - if the trucks are occupied by teams. Solo drivers however, are not so welcome, sigh.
Thanks for all the air dryer cartridge info. I am in the habit of draining water from the air lines every day in cold weather, but wasn't aware of the cartridge - probably because I've never had a problem with one.

taternuts · Nov 7, 2008

cheri1122 said:
Sure they would - if the trucks are occupied by teams. Solo drivers however, are not so welcome, sigh.
Thanks for all the air dryer cartridge info. I am in the habit of draining water from the air lines every day in cold weather, but wasn't aware of the cartridge - probably because I've never had a problem with one.

Normally there is no issue with them... Good Maintence practice should be replacement of the cartridge every other year... Its something that is often neglected till your stranded in sub zero temps...

Some people never change them and have no problems... Its just a matter of time...

cheri1122 · Nov 7, 2008

Taternuts: (I gotta say that it feels weird even to type such a goofy username, but I'm not gonna ask, ok?

) I wish you the best in your search for information - it's all here, if you take the time to find it, really.
And I hope you'll continue to post the information that you have, from the perspective of the guy who has to deal with the omissions and stupidity of some. It's a viewpoint we lack, and could really use, IMO.