I am seeking information from any experienced drivers in the area of a cube van. The benefits appear obvious to me; more room, larger payloads, etc. However, obviously there is a reason that you do not see many of them in expediting. I would like to hear any input on this subject before I buy one in the next few days. I am refering to a 15' box on a 1 ton chassis, with a gvw of 10k lbs. and a payload of 3k lbs.
Cube van vs. cargo van
- Thread starter Truckcop
- Start date
"Don't put the cart before the horse"
Find the company in which you want to run first.
Then find out if they accept that type of vehicle. Some do and some don't.
Panther and Landstar accept these vehicles and I believe Nations,CTX,and Express 1 might. Call their respective recruiters and they will tell you if they accept these vehicles.
Davekc
owner
20 year
Find the company in which you want to run first.
Then find out if they accept that type of vehicle. Some do and some don't.
Panther and Landstar accept these vehicles and I believe Nations,CTX,and Express 1 might. Call their respective recruiters and they will tell you if they accept these vehicles.
Davekc
owner
20 year
1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.
I run the above mentioned truck and contract with a small expediting firm in Indiana. They have 3 different rates based on vehicle size. Van, cube or straight truck. Not sure what the pay is for straight trucks but the van rate is 80 cents per loaded mile + fuel surcharge. The cube rate is $1.00 per loaded mile + fuel surcharge. I believe the average mpg for a van is 18 mpg and I average 14 mpg on my truck so the extra 20 cents per mile more than offsets my extra fuel costs. We haul alot of aerospace material which requires the extra space but is relatively light. I can have a truckload of stuff with a weight of 1500# or below. I do not have any of the box reserved for sleeper space because it is on a truck chassis instead of a van therefore the box is totally separate from the cab which causes a problem for heating/cooling. However on fair weather nights I do carry an airbed from Wal-Mart and use it in the box. Usually I just stretch out across the front seat.
The plus side to having it on a truck chassis is that I had the box raised to dock height (48") to accomodate some of the dock high only facilities that keep popping up. The problem with doing this with a cutaway van chassis is that they normally don't come from the factory dock high (neither did mine) but when you go to raise the box you have to worry about the seal between the cab and box where the walk thru door usually is.
The cube truck works good for me but every driver needs to evaluate their own situation to figure out what's best for them.
I run the above mentioned truck and contract with a small expediting firm in Indiana. They have 3 different rates based on vehicle size. Van, cube or straight truck. Not sure what the pay is for straight trucks but the van rate is 80 cents per loaded mile + fuel surcharge. The cube rate is $1.00 per loaded mile + fuel surcharge. I believe the average mpg for a van is 18 mpg and I average 14 mpg on my truck so the extra 20 cents per mile more than offsets my extra fuel costs. We haul alot of aerospace material which requires the extra space but is relatively light. I can have a truckload of stuff with a weight of 1500# or below. I do not have any of the box reserved for sleeper space because it is on a truck chassis instead of a van therefore the box is totally separate from the cab which causes a problem for heating/cooling. However on fair weather nights I do carry an airbed from Wal-Mart and use it in the box. Usually I just stretch out across the front seat.
The plus side to having it on a truck chassis is that I had the box raised to dock height (48") to accomodate some of the dock high only facilities that keep popping up. The problem with doing this with a cutaway van chassis is that they normally don't come from the factory dock high (neither did mine) but when you go to raise the box you have to worry about the seal between the cab and box where the walk thru door usually is.
The cube truck works good for me but every driver needs to evaluate their own situation to figure out what's best for them.
If you haven't bought one yet, check out the aerocells. I think those are pretty neat. I seen one with a built in sleeper that you could stand up in and walk around ect. It was a nice set up, and with the ramps he had, he could make it dock high. I think it was a 16 footer. It won't achieve Sprinter fuel economy but has a larger cargo area and weight capacity. Not sure exactly on price.
Just thought I would throw that out there.
Davekc
Just thought I would throw that out there.
Davekc
Truckcop,
I have to agree 100% with Dave.
Another reason you don't see more of them is that most carriers won't pay extra for them.
When the carrier is out selling their services to their customers - they sell it in the standard A unit, B unit, C unit, D unit, E unit fashion.
Best of luck,
Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com
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The Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence, but government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words.
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I have to agree 100% with Dave.
Another reason you don't see more of them is that most carriers won't pay extra for them.
When the carrier is out selling their services to their customers - they sell it in the standard A unit, B unit, C unit, D unit, E unit fashion.
Best of luck,
Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com
Education is the best defense against the media.
The Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence, but government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words.
-----------------------------------------
Thanks For Visiting EO!
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http://www.expeditersonline.com/hotnews/sterling_eo_forum.jpg
Please Help Us Get The Word
Out About Expediters Online.com!
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If your talking a 15' box then you are talking a dual wheel chassis. Ford's dual wheel has a gvw of 11,500 lbs. Chevy and GMC have either a 10,000 lbs. gvw or a 12,000 lbs. gvw. If you go with anything over the 10,000 gvw you will have to do logs and adhere to the hours-of-service regulations.
If you get a cube van carefully check out it's empty weight. They are heavier than a regular cargo van. What you gain in volumne, you loose in weight capacity.
If you get a cube van carefully check out it's empty weight. They are heavier than a regular cargo van. What you gain in volumne, you loose in weight capacity.
Marty
Good advise. I am not sure what the weight was on these areocells but one said he never logged, and the other said only on a rare occassion. Certainly not an expert on the vans but thought it was a cool set up. I quess some companies are slowly responding to payiong for the extra capacity but not all.
Davekc
Good advise. I am not sure what the weight was on these areocells but one said he never logged, and the other said only on a rare occassion. Certainly not an expert on the vans but thought it was a cool set up. I quess some companies are slowly responding to payiong for the extra capacity but not all.
Davekc
Many drivers in cube vans with a gvw of over 10,000lbs. say they only are required to log when their combined empty weight and load weight exceed 10,000lbs. This is a misconception.
If you call any DOT office in any state they will tell you that the rules regulating the requirements pertaining to the need to log is in accordance to the vehicle's gvw not it's actual weight.
If your van has a manufacturers gvw of 12,000lbs. you have to log all the time even if your actual weight is under 10,001 lbs.
If you call any DOT office in any state they will tell you that the rules regulating the requirements pertaining to the need to log is in accordance to the vehicle's gvw not it's actual weight.
If your van has a manufacturers gvw of 12,000lbs. you have to log all the time even if your actual weight is under 10,001 lbs.
Thank you all for your replys. I hope to receive some more.
I am also looking for a place to "book value" these cube vans. I saw a post a while back where someone asked where to book a cargo van. Someone else replied and posted a link to two different websites that allowed you to get a market value on your truck by checking what box and accessories it has.
I have searched this site vigorously and cannot locate it. I would greatly appreciate those links being posted here again.
Thank you,
I am also looking for a place to "book value" these cube vans. I saw a post a while back where someone asked where to book a cargo van. Someone else replied and posted a link to two different websites that allowed you to get a market value on your truck by checking what box and accessories it has.
I have searched this site vigorously and cannot locate it. I would greatly appreciate those links being posted here again.
Thank you,
Here's all I could find but I didn't go there:
you can try det.com (diesel engine trader.com)
you can try det.com (diesel engine trader.com)