E Track Install / Start Up

[ADAM BLACK]

Hi I'm a new Owner/Op cargo van driver. I have a 2006 Chevy express 2500. I bought two 5' E Tracks and want to make sure im installing correctly.

First measure out a foot from each wheel well to position the two E Tracks?
Then drill them down with self tapping screws? How do I use bolts for extra support? Pre drill a smaller hole then screw the bolt in and put a nut underneath? Then cut the plywood (1/2") into 3 pieces and install over the E Tracks? Do I screw the plywood through the e track holes into the floor?

Once all that is set up, what else might I need to get started? Im in California.
USDOT?
CA # ?
Do i need cargo insurance on top of regular insurance or does the dispatcher provide cargo insurance?

Any and all advice for a new Expeditor owner/Op would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[terryandrene]

There are as many e-trak installation opinions as there are holes in the e-trak. Your method could be as good as many ways. Unless you are planning to carry only one pallet (skid), you would be better served by two lengths of 10 feet of e-trak to allow securement options for anything that will fit in the van.

Your post lacks enough info to answer all your questions. Will you be obtaining your own authority and your own customers? Are you leasing your van with an established carrier? Do you have a CDL with Hazmat endorsement to improve you freight options such as paint, cutting oils, batteries, and other less than evil products?

 

[ADAM BLACK]

Is 10 foot lengths the industry standard? I have a partition in the van and measuring from the partition to the doors its 8'11" should i remove the partition? A home depot near me has foot long lengths i could add to make it 8 ft. But im looking for the best way to secure the tracks, the most efficient way.

I do not have a CDL with hazmat endorsements but will obtain one in the future. I planned on running for dispatchers as an owner/op so obtaining work through them. My van isnt leased its paid off. Im just looking to be outfitted enough to start working and hopefully learn as I go.

 

[Turtle]

My van isnt leased its paid off.

Soooo, you don't understand this business at all, do you? You've got a van and you're ready to make big bucks, big bucks no whammies.

Well, get ready to get whammied.

Nothing is going to go as you expect it to.

No, dispatchers aren't going to provide your cargo insurance for you. Why would they do that? It's not their cargo, it's your cargo And regular insurance? No. That will be worthless when you are laden. You will need expedite trucking insurance, which is gonna cost a crap ton more than you expect.

To answer your immediate pressing question, you need 8 to 8.5 feet of E-track on each side of your 8' 11" cargo space. Self tapping screws are fine. You can cut plywood into three strips if you like I just put the E-Track as far apart as possible, right next to the wheel wells, and cut a single piece of plywood to go in the middle.

 

[ADAM BLACK]

Thats fine, I'm willing to get "whammied" as many times as it takes. Im not niave to think I can startup without headaches. This is what i want to do but i don't know anyone personally that does expediting. Im trying to research as much as i can online and from forums but its only bits of information here and there. Which is why I started my own thread.

I'll look into expedite trucking insurance and thank your for more insight on the E Tracks. No bolting down? Self tapping screws by themselves seem like they would get ripped up with a heavy load and a wide turn. Also ive heard if using bolts to spray a rubberized coating underneath, is that necessary?

Can I expect to find consistant work with a cargo van on job boards? Should I find my own loads or should I start with a dispatcher being new at the game?

 

[Ragman]

Can I expect to find consistant work with a cargo van on job boards? Should I find my own loads or should I start with a dispatcher being new at the game?

You should start by driving for an owner for at least 6 months, preferably a year, but at least 6 months.

 

[Turtle]

We see it all the time. Most people who enter expediting in a cargo van are out of the business within 6 months, largely because they enter the business ignorant and unprepared. So doing as much research as possible is good.

If you want to bolt the E-Track down, then you should bolt it down. Nuts and bolts with washers will certainly give the best hold. But that's really better suited for larger boxes and trailers where loads have can shift. However overkill in a van isn't going to hurt.

But the lateral inertia of a wide turn is not going to rip the E-Track up and out of the floor. If you roll the van down into a canyon, sure, it might pull loose.

On mine I have 2 empty holes between between each self tapping screw. The E-Track is just as secure to the floor today as it was when I installed it in 2006. Putting screws in evey single hole would certainly be more secure, but engineering physics says it won't make any difference in a cargo van with a 3000 pound load capacity. Not unless I roll the van, or unless the load is very heavy, and top heavy, and I made a sudden steering maneuver that causes 2 of the wheels to leave the road.

Also ive heard if using bolts to spray a rubberized coating underneath, is that necessary?

Necessary? No. But it will minimize rust on the metal exposed after drilling the holes. Even though the exposed metal will be mostly protected by the bolt, washer and nut, rust could still form. After 10 or 20 years it could weaken the metal and thus.weaken the hold of the nuts and bolts.

Can I expect to find consistant work with a cargo van on job boards?

No. With a tractor-trailer, sure. With a straight truck iffy, but maybe With a cargo van, not a chance. Only tiny percentage of shipments in America call for a cargo van. When those are expedited, as most of them are, there's no time to post them to a load board hoping that someone will cover the load in a matter of days. They are given to a 3pl where it gets covered in minutes or hours

Should I find my own loads or should I start with a dispatcher being new at the game?

Being new to the game (not really a game, though, No Whammies notwithstanding) you should lease on to an established carrier that deals with expedited freight.

Finding your own loads and working with dispatchers can be difficult, especially when it comes to collecting the line haul revenue from people who will put you off for weeks, months, forever .

 

[terryandrene]

Adam, You wouldn't start a landscape business with only a push mower; you wouldn't start a bakery if you didn't know how to cook and, you shouldn't start a trucking business with less than ideal equipment and little knowledge of the business of expediting. Expediting is not just a driving job, it's a business about which you need to have far more answers than you have questions. Don't get discouraged. You are surely not the only person with similar aspirations who has come here to EO with a very steep learning curve ahead of them. Having said all that I'm offering you the best advice that many of us here will share.

The greatest majority of the veteran cargo van drivers here started out by entering into a lease agreement with a Commercial Motor Carrier. The carrier you choose will specify the minimum cargo van specifications they require. They will give you a list of the minimum safety and load securement equipment you will need. If you meet a carrier's requirements, you will be offered a leasing agreement that will define the do's and don't's of your relationship with them. They will them invite you to an orientation session at their location when you'll be shown that carrier's operational protocols and safety and paperwork requirements. They will also likely have a need to look over your van.

Your home of record may also be important to the carrier because some do not over signup trucks in a geographical area. In some cases you may need to be near their heavy customer locations. If you are in a major metropolitan area such as LA or the Bay Area, you'll be near many freight centers. If you're in Santa Barbara you wouldn't be near very much over-the-road freight.

As previously mentioned by Ragman, your best bet, in our opinion is to explore your lease options with any or all of the carriers that advertise on the EO home page. Good luck with your choices.

 

[Moot]

There are 4 links to similar threads at the bottom of this page. Check em out. Also there is a wealth of info about setting up a cargo van here: https://www.expeditersonline.com/forums/threads/cargo-van-threads.44083/

I personally prefer using stainless steel self tapping screws and stainless steel bolts, nuts, flat washers and lock washers. I use the bolts where access to the nuts allows and self tapping screws elsewhere.

Hi I'm a new Owner/Op cargo van driver. I have a 2006 Chevy Express 2500.

Your first appearance at the plate and you already have two strikes against you. A 2006 van probably won't meet the age requirements of most large, reputable expedite carriers. Also a 2500 will limit your legal load capacity.

No matter how much you research the van building process and put together the perfect expedite van, after a few months you will be making changes. Some could be significant. I'm on my third van. Lots of changes over the years. The most drastic was going from Chevy Expresses to a Ford Transit. I will never have the perfect expedite van, but that's just me.

 

[Acquisitions]

I really hope he listens to you guys.....but if he doesn't , then it was never meant to be.....

 

[Solar]

Your options:

1 - be fortunate enough to be able to drive for someone else to learn the business.

2 - be fortunate enough to find a company willing to take you on in a already van over saturated market, trading your current van, and getting a van that matches their requirements.

There are other options, You have to know the business to attempt those other options.