Then might I suggest you address the misinformation, without beating down the person who provided it. Is your goal to clear up and prevent misunderstandings, to provide information, to be helpful.... or is it to berate someone?
I did address some of it, there is just so much that I REALLLLY didn't feel like investing the time picking the WHOLE post apart and then get jumped on for being hyper critical by the clique. But because you asked here ya go.
I drove Team Tractor Trailer for 6 years for Knight, Central, Western Freightways (LTL), YRC, Interstate and straights with Fedex and tractor trailer with Panther. We have all endorsements like yourself.
1. Van drivers will tell you they are under the weight limit for CDL rules, that is, no logs, hopefully no scales. I am sure they will add to this, I have not driven a cargo van commercially other than my own for my own use.
2. Straights are usually expanded sleepers with cooking ability and a generator/APU.
Untrue, there are MORE OEM straights out on the road in expedite than there are custom sleepers. MANY have no APU on them and still depend on a good battery bank and idleing.
Why? Because you will be out for months in order to make a living.
The industry standard is 75% in service and that equates to 3 weeks on 1 week off. While most decide to stay out longer and "save up" there time off I would NOT say that the majority of us out here stay out for months at a time to make a living. If someone HAS to stay out for months on end they need to take a long hard look at their business and make adjustments.
They are very comfortable.
Some are some aren't. Even some of the "custom" sleepers (AlumiJunk) were nothing more than a big box with a small fridge and a small sink with little counter space and a small closet. [/QUOTE]
Expediting means "waiting for the beep."
Well I'll be, that part is true!
No one is really out there trying to find YOUR truck freight like in the big trucking world. In the big trucking world, such as one of the carriers I mentioned above, they have salesmen who pursue and bid and underbid freight placed on load boards that have a couple of days planning and negotiating.
As has been stated already there are expedite companies that DO look for freight for their trucks, ie. Load1, E1, C&M just to name a few. If you want a company to look for freight activly then you have to do your "due diligence" and find one that does that for you.
Expedite means "emergency." Some one forgot to order something, a machine part failed, a buyer needs a piece of art ASAP, etc. If there is no emergency in the town you are sitting in, you gamble with yourself and the truck's owner in some cases, that there will be some emergency in the next 24 hours.
It is only a gamble if you don't get to know your freight lanes for your carrier. If you decide to go out of the known freight lanes you need to plan accordingly and get paid accordingly so you can get back to where you need to be. That goes back to what I said before about looking at your business long and hard and making adjustments to how you opperate.
These types of emergency freight are virtually non-existent in many geographic areas of the country. You may have to "deadhead" on either your money or your owner's money to a more desirable area hoping "for the beep." Meanwhile have some polish handy, books to read, etc. The most we have waited for a load is three to four DAYS. Tell me when in the real world of trucking you ever sit that long. Your company will find something to move you, even it is just a load of hay or cotton.
A van can hold maybe 3-4 pallets, a straight 6-8.
Some vans only hold 2 skids, some straights only hold 4 skids while others can hold up to 12.
The owner provides their driver a "nice" straight truck hoping the driver will "chase freight" for a couple of months before they need to go home. Some owners do not lay eyes on their trucks for months, if at all, relying on the driver to tell them maintenance issues, etc. They then will play dollars and cents deciding what is the most important repair to make at the time you call in. Is it the turbo? The A/C? The reefer unit? Hardly ever is everything 100%.
There are good drivers and bad drivers just like there are good owners and bad owners. The key is to do your research, talk to current and past drivers to get a feel for a perspective owner. Good pretrips and preventative maint. goes a LONG WAY!
Most owners will not have a "spare truck" for you to drive in the event of a breakdown, and since the straight or van is your "apartment" now you are homeless until the situation is resolved.
Know up front what is in your contract BEFORE signing it! Some owners pay for hotel rooms some don't. Others will provide transportation to and from a broken down truck, while others will leave you on your own to make accomadations. A driver should NEVER be "homeless" providing they are properly prepared and properly funded.
In most cases in the expedite world the owner does not get paid by the carrier for two to three weeks, therefore neither do you. And in expedite you have no withholding, no insurance, no benefits, no paid days off, etc. You usually pay an insurance charge per week about $80 for the privilege of being in someone else's vehicle.
This goes back to being properly funded and researching your carrier of choice. There is withholding insurance and benefits if an INDEPENDANT CONTRACTOR sets THEIR business up for there to be those things. It sounds to me that you may have forgotten that there is a HUGE differance between an employee and an IC. If someone wants someone else to handle those things for them then they need to be an employee of someones instead of striking out on their own as an IC.
This "privilege" you speak of, it is not a privilege it IS a cost of doing buisness. It goes by many names, work accident, workmans comp or ocupational ins. Call it any of those but not a privilege, it covers you as a driver if you get hurt on a load and it also covers the carrier from getting sued by every fly by night unscrupulous driver looking to get an easy paycheck.
In a team truck everything is usually split 50/50 between the two drivers. So momma gets 1/4. you get 1/4 his wife gets 1/4 he gets 1/4. And all the expenses out there are your own. Some owners provide prepass and toll transponders, but some do not. You need at least $100 in your pocket at all times for tolls. Then you turn in receipts and get reimbursed 2-3 weeks later.
There are a number of assumtions in this part. First that it is two men in the truck (not always the case). Pay is NOT always split 50/50 between drivers. Example one being a codriver in a truck with the owner of the truck. Example 2 Some owners designate a "lead driver" and a "codriver" where the Lead driver gets a higher %.
The expenses are your own anywhere you live and work, be it on the road or working a 9 to 5. Waiting 2-3 weeks for ANY reimbursement is a CROCK and a sign of an under funded owner. Any receipt that is turned in for reimbursement should be paid in the NEXT settlement, unless otherwise stated in the contract. If the contract says 2-3 weeks then its your own fault for signing it if you can't afford to wait.
3. Tractor Trailer expedite. You can haul anything. It will all fit on the trailer. You know how to drive one, you are not intimidated by backing in, putting on chains, dropping the trailer, sliding the tandems, etc. Negatives: hard to park anywhere while "waiting for the beep" and not so many creature comforts such as a large fridge, comfy double bed, stretch out room, etc. Usually pays more per mile.
Sehnanigans, there are tractors parked at Walmarts all over the country. It is fair to say that there are more custom sleepers on tractors than there are on straights. As to the pay being more in a tractor vs a straight, that all depends on the team and what they will run for.
Now, with all that said, and I am sure others will chime in with great intentions, there are some things to consider in making a change to expedite. There are many expedite carriers out there doing it, looking for the same freight in the same areas at the same time. Laredo is a good example. Dallas another. One expedite company has a great market in the NorthEast, its closest competitor does not and you sit. Very few expedite companies venture into the Far West - no expedite freight leaves unless its a good day in LA. We went five months without seeing our house on the Oregon Coast at one point in a straight because there is little expedite freight out this way and even less to get out and back East of the Mississippi.
Again that depends on the carrier, we and people we know run out west and back and not always out of LA. Once again it comes down to KNOWING where your specific carrier has freight and to charge accordingly on a load by load basis. Just because the wheels are turning doesn't mean your earning.
One of the biggest challenges is the winter driving. Few straights have chain up capabilities, and you can see the traction concerns when it was so much better to have all that weight and both tractor and trailer brakes to count on, not including the jake brake (which some straights do not have). While it is rare, it is also possible to receive an overweight ticket in a straight as well. Most expediters will have to park in a storm. The freight is too valuable to lose. When you sit, you lose.
I already covered the chaining of straights earlier (still shaking my head over that one). A wise driver of ANY vehicle hauling freight will know what the weather is going to be on any given run. With that knowledge they should load the truck/van/TT properly to have the drive axle getting the weight it needs on it for the given conditions. It is possible to get an overweight ticket in ANY vehicle, you could get one on a scooter if over the stickered weight. As for "having" to park in a storm, well, the only one who dictates when I HAVE to park is me and law enforcement (closing of, lets say, I-80), I have not once been told by a carrier to park, that decission is mine to make based on my safety and the safety of those arround me.
We enjoyed the expediting world, saw a lot of great places in this country and Canada. We always made a point of seeing every thing we could while laying over in an area. Flea markets, Indian Pow Wows, national wonders, giant malls, quiet waterfalls. Some things you can't do in a tractor trailer, but if you can bobtail it is still a possibility. There are many times we rented a car and visited Maritime Museums, Art Museums, Classic Car Shows, etc. We would make a sacrifice between a car or cab or a motel room some times, and sleep in our truck after our excursions.
With expediting you are usually not dealing with One Driver Manager or One Dispatcher or One Safety Person. There are multiple personalities and multiple turds. There is usually no one to complain to if you feel you have been wronged. You are on your own. A lot of folks here on EO love it that way.
There is ALWAYS someone to discuss issues with at EVERY carrier. They are called managers, or, the managers manager and if that doesn' work there is the managers managers manager or a lawyer. Complaining normaly gets people little to nothing in the way of results, just sayin.
In my opinion, for what it's worth, every expediter I have met, worked with or drove for, is a true survivor. McGyvers of the highway. We are basically still the Kings of the Road, will wave at each other, have coffee and a conversation, share our trucks and experiences. The tractor trailer comeraderie of the Smoky and The Bandit days is long gone. Expediters still have it in them.
We retired in July for several reasons, but primarily the issue for me is dealing with the CHP in Califoney, the on again off again CSA bullcr....., the demands for drivers to give more than we get, the lies we are told get bigger and bigger, the lack of money to keep the fleets properly maintained so that we, the drivers, get the points, or the time wasted, the lawyer fees to fight the ticket for parking where we shouldn't for longer than we should have etc.
Goes back to the owner(s) that you chose to run for and your (in)ability to walk away from a bad situation. As for the regs and the rest ....nevermind.
I would not have traded the nine years I drove with my husband for any money in the world. It was a great experience and everything we did was done 50/50. The good, the very good, the bad, the very bad and the extremely ugly.
Kat
A bad day expediting is still better than the best day punching a clock.
