Changing lanes in Expediting

Streakn1 · Nov 11, 2007

We started our careers in expediting four years ago this month. We had driven 18 wheelers for years but chose the go into a DR-unit when we switched from common carrier to expediting. It wasn't long before I swore I'd never drive an 18 again. The ease of maneuvering a DR-unit around and finding parking late night at the truckstops was great. I even told all of my friends my days in an 18 was over for good. My wife tried to tell me "never say never"

Well, I ate a lot of crow this past June when the wife and I bought our 2007 Kenworth "TRACTOR". Since we now had a "TRACTOR" it only made sense to pull a "TRAILER" which equals "18 WHEELER". I think some of our friends thought we were crazy. At the very least they got a laugh or two watching me eat crow when I told them we were going to drive an 18 again!:+

We pulled a dry van until we could locate a nice late model reefer trailer. Recently we were fortunate to find a late model custom built T-Val reefer that we purchased. We are excited about what the future holds for us in expediting with our new ER-unit. So far we are happy with our change and feel that we have strategically positioned ourselves to survive within the world of expediting. We are thankful to have had the prior experience driving 18's so that we could make this change.

Are there any other fleet drivers or O/O expediters that went from 18's to B/C/D-units back to 18's or from B/C/D-units to 18's? What's your story? Want made you decide to go into an E or ER-unit?

wallytrucker1 · Nov 11, 2007

In early July I flipped my D unit back into a tractor. I had a varity of reasons, but a large one was log issues w/ landstar and there was not another expedite co I wanted to work for, so a tractor would give me more options if i got axed. Plan was to pull a 28 pup.. Fast forward to late July, my wife is dianoised with late stage lung cancer and world goes upside down. Stayed home for nearly three mos and starting running the 28'.. Do about 85% of my work for one agt and I missed out on some xlint runs that needed a 53 w./liftgate so i swapped my rental 28 for a rental 53.. Not in it long enuff to see how it will be, but early signs are very good. Only 3 or 4 53's at leam so just another thing to seperate me from everyone else. I sure miss my d unit for all the obvious reasons but at least the BIGGG trks give me the lights now as i pass..

Also, having the 53 is nice If I need to get home asap, Landstar can move me quicker. My wife is doing chemo and anyone who has had chemo in their world knows what she is enduring. I have to add a side note of KUDOS to our own(Landstar) John O. John's cancer has returned as many know and he is going through weekly bombardments of chemo and radiation.. During his own suffering, he has taken it upon himself to become friends w/ my wife and has been a great source of encouragement for her. WE appreicate you John and our daily prayers are for a speedy recovery for you. Sry 4 long post..

ATeam · Nov 11, 2007

Cancer sucks. Our best to your wife and John O.

60MPH · Nov 11, 2007

I have been kicking around the thought of going back to a 18. I drove one for 7 years before I went to a d unit then to a b unit. If the fuel gets to crazy and the freight gets slower than it is now I will go back into a 18 driving for a company as a driver not a o/o with the high fuel prices and high cost of truck maintainence and repair I would not even think of buying my own unit. I was looking at some bigger outfits that pull tankers as I have haz-mat and tanker endorsements on my cdl. I know I would not want to be a expediter any longer, right no I am getting tired of the sitting to long, I just rather run 2200-2800 miles a week @.39 cents a mile with no worry of fuel or truck payments or repair. The only thing that really sucks is I am going to have to go with a trainer for a couple of weeks for a refresher course because I have been out of a big truck for 6+ years. AND I HATE TEAMING OR HAVING SOME ONE IN MY PERSONAL SPACE but if I got to do it I got to do it!! I hope you do well in your ER unit but if things go south in expediting you know you can take your truck anywhere to make money and thats the good thing about a E unit "remember the grocery warehouses" oh how I remeber sittng for hours to unload. thats why I am looking at tankers this time around.

60 MPH ALL DAY-EVERY DAY

flatbedin · Nov 11, 2007

I recently sold the D unit I was driving, and switched to a E. I looked more into E units because of the options. There are companies every turn you take with a E unit. Options are limited with a D unit. I like to keep my options open at all times, never know when your going to need the options.

Streakn1 · Nov 11, 2007

Options is the key word here. When we were in our DR-unit we always wondered what we would do if FDCC pulled our lease for what ever reason. The Black Cat didn't have a reefer division when we first got into expediting, much less any other expedite companies at the time. Since then we've heard their need for reefer units has increased somewhat. We do feel that a tractor is more marketable when push comes to shove. I can't help but wonder where would one be able to lease on a C or D unit if expedite freight all but dried up for a while?

x06col · Nov 11, 2007

Not sure there are any clear cut lanes in expediting, but, if all you see is fedex and a black cat out there, there may not be any hope anyway. There is lots of refer freight in expedite.