FEMA deliveries

[theoldprof]

Has anyone talked with the guys in the pick um up trucks hauling campers and so on to Fla and LA? How many trips have they made and how much loot are they making, etc. Just curious. Whenever I'm on the road it seems like half the vehicles have a FEMA sticker plastered on the side.

Thanks. :+ :+

 

[kwexpress]

KW Express
o/o till i die


I work with one O/O who wants to do it.I dont know what fema is paying all I know is that the broker he wants to use to get these loads is paying $1.15 per mile
the broker is paying for all the fuel
the dot dont bother you.

this is what my driver told me the broker told him.

I have had offers from brokers only so I dont know but it sounds like you can make some quick cash with a dually.

you dont even need to own a trailer I guess a guy could make 1k a day for a month to pay off a new dually and end up with a dually with 40,000 miles on it and still worth 20k

then you could run it when you want to and still use it for personal use.
But I dont know my guy has 160,000 miles on his and spends more on maintance than my big truck with a million miles.
So if you buy go with dodge

 

[kwexpress]

KW Express
o/o till i die


the o/o also said you dont even need a dot# on the truck

 

[dukesadog]

There are currently 500 fema travel trailers sitting here in a fenced city yard in Jacksonville beach that have been sitting here for a month...there have been many articles about them as in there isnt anyone to haul them to location.

There was also an article in the paper investigating US express for the 400 bucks a day they charged fema to sit at one of the staging areas at the Jax airport and not move for 3 weeks.

I guess you could call fema if you can get through to ask them who's going to haul off all these travel trailers.

dukesadog

 

[kwexpress]

KW Express
o/o till i die


Whats wrong with $400 a day for sitting.
Every day you sit is a day you may have made a 1k trip

$400 a day sounds cheap to me

 

[cozy2963]

I talked to one of the guys haulin', and he told me that he only made $.70 a mile. He said about $300 after gas, and that they don't get paid deadhead. That doesn't sound anything like what I am hearing on here. Maybe he was lying to me.....who knows. All I have to say is that money is money....get it while the government has work!!!!

 

[Draco]

>Has anyone talked with the guys in the pick um up trucks
>hauling campers and so on to Fla and LA? How many trips
>have they made and how much loot are they making, etc. Just
>curious. Whenever I'm on the road it seems like half the
>vehicles have a FEMA sticker plastered on the side.
>
>Thanks. :+ :+


Do you know what company he is talking to? I've talked with one and they are paying $1.10 a mile. I've got a friend who is wanting to do this. He asked me to look around for the information as he doesn't have internet access.


thanks,

 

[kwexpress]

>I talked to one of the guys haulin', and he told me that he
>only made $.70 a mile. He said about $300 after gas, and
>that they don't get paid deadhead. That doesn't sound
>anything like what I am hearing on here. Maybe he was lying
>to me.....who knows. All I have to say is that money is
>money....get it while the government has work!!!!

KW Express
o/o till i die


I doubt that he is lying to you with fema freight it just depends on what broker he is using.

Some brokers want to keep more than a fair share.But I know the guy I work with is telling what the broker he is talking to gives.

 

[greg334]

I checked into this while my truck was sitting (still is) and collecting dust. Beside being told my truck was too old, 97, I also worked with FEMA on service contracts as part of my consulting firm.

Ok the first thing is that you have to understand that it is a demand type program and the people who do the first hauls usually get the good money. Right now I heard that it is between .7 and 1 a mile but you pay for fuel. When they started to move, the rate was near 2 a mile because of the need. This is why you see all them idiots (I can’t really say what I want to here but fill it in) going out and buying or leasing new trucks just to haul, then driving 80 miles per both ways because they were getting as many trailers moved as possible before the rate dropped.

The other thing is you have to display the DOT numbers at all times when hauling, it is not treated any different than another truck. The rumor started a while ago when these dummies refused to put the magnet on the truck because it would scratch the paint. Let me see, possible fine and not being able to deliver because you smarted off to the DOT officer or a little scratch?

But to tell you a few other things about these runs, there is no special thing about hauling for FEMA. FEMA, DHS and other DHS agencies can’t tell other agencies, like the DOT, or any state to suspend their policies and laws or allow violations of laws, the only one that can is the big guy in that white house. So if you get a KY trooper (for example) that has a chip on his shoulder and pulls you over, he can inspect you truck and even give you a ticket or tickets, no special privileges. Also each carried and manufacture who ships the trailers has a clause in their contract that say they are responsible for compliance, I know this first hand when I worked with FEMA.

 

[ATeam]

With the number of folks out there using pickups to deliver FEMA trailers, you'd think we could find one somewhere to provide first-hand info. It's wierd that we can't.

Best I can contribute is info about a guy I know that hauled trailers with a pickup for a while. They were not FEMA trailers but true recreational vehicles shipped for retail sale. He was paid $0.95 per loaded mile. He paid all truck operating costs, including fuel. He returned empty every time to get another trailer. Thus if you factor in the round trip, $0.95 per mile was cut in half to $0.475 per mile. He gave up the endeavor in short order, concluding that it did not pay enough. He kept the brand new pickup truck he bought to do that work, and the payments that go along with it.

 

[Fr8 Shaker]

www.horizontransport.com


Say NO to CHEAP freight !!!
Fr8 Shaker

 

[Crazynuff]

I run I-65 all the time and less than half the pickups pulling FEMA trailers have DOT numbers or any other markings on them . I don't belive they are exempt , just getting away with it . I do believe though that they are exempt from HOS regulations and the larger ones don't need oversize permits . On hotshothauling.com I have seen an honest breakdown of expected costs and net profit . If they run over 3,000 miles a week with nearly half deadhead they can expect to net $35,000 a year . Some in for the long term will make better money after a couple of years if they manage to get their truck to last over 800,000 miles and several trucks have done it .
As for being paid over $400 a day to sit , I have read several articles on this . At times there are over 1,000 trucks a day waiting in staging areas being paid over $500 a day . That's half a million a day because FEMA has poor logistics and orders products they can't unload . Some ice that couldn't be used is now being stored in cold storage -in Maine !! Somebody in FEMA really needs to be held accountable for this waste .

 

[Crazynuff]

I've hauled trailers and A Team has the straight info on rates transport carriers pay . However , running empty half the time isn't really part of it . I'd pull trailers from KY to IN or MI then get one going east to NY or New England . Then I'd drop down to MD or PA and get one going back south . Pretty often I'd get a trailer at a dealer I delivered to that need warranty work and I'd go right back to the manufacturer with it . The carrier also hauled repos to auction lots . I once hauled a trailer from Hancock ,MD to Albany , GA and only had to go 10 miles to pick up a repo going to SC. FEMA ruined the business . There are too many pickups competing for work . Most of the FEMA trailers are going to staging areas . There aren't enough locations with hookup facilities . When there was a fuel shortage in the Gulf region FEMA started sending in thousands of pickups with 35 gallon fuel tanks . These trucks had trailers that couldn't be used and they had to refuel were fuel was scarce . There really should be a Congressional investigation to find out why FEMA buys thousands of trailers they can't use . I wonder which FEMA official has a family member with Fleetwood stock ?

 

[greg334]

Crazytnuff

The reason there are so many FEMA orders for trailers is the fault of the governors of the states who tell FEMA what amount of the population is displaced. Once the numbers are in, the plan is set in motion until the count is filled or the governors cancel the need.

One problem that FEMA has is that people blame FEMA for not using local people and companies to rebuild/build things that are needed. It is not surprising to hear that people would rather sit on their a** than work in n.o. So FEMA simply has a backlog of projects to get done. If I was a victim, I don’t care who builds the trailer city, I want a place to live and fast.

FEMA does not have anything to do with the types of trucks, their fuel situation or anything else for that matter. They contract with different companies, carriers/brokers/manufactures to move the trailers – that’s all.

 

[Crazynuff]

Greg , you seemed to be informed about FEMA procedures . Do you have any idea how many unused trailers FEMA had in storage from last year ? I know Homeland Security has storage lots in MD and TX that were still getting over 100 trailers a day in February . It shouldn't matter how many people a governor says were displaced when anybody reading the news can see evacuees have relocated all over the country . Many of them won't be back . As far as living in a trailer city goes , I wouldn't take it . I've heard reports of good trailer parks and campgrounds becoming crime infested when FEMA moved trailers in . There is little hope for employment for people in these ghettos . Do you deny FEMA footed the bill for over 10 years for trailers placed in FL after Hurricane Andrew ? While FEMA felt the need to purchase the trailers I see no justification shipping them all when they did . It wasted scarce fuel and forced transport companies to lower their standards for contractors . I've seen plenty of unsuitable equipment running down the highway with swaying trailers and there was no need for FEMA to get the FHWA to waive HOS requirements so these unqualified drivers could run until they drop .

 

[LDB]

>KW Express
>o/o till i die
>
> Whats wrong with $400 a day for sitting.
>Every day you sit is a day you may have made a 1k trip
>
>$400 a day sounds cheap to me

I don't really know what the normal pay per mile would be for a dually p/u but $400 for sitting all day with no expenses translates to 40cpm net for 1000 miles. That doesn't seem so bad compared to driving 1000 miles with the expenses, oil change, etc. that requires as well as the fatigue of such a drive.

Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[greg334]

Crazynuff
Your are right about the storage, FEMA is going through the same crap that most other goverment agencies have gone through - not accounting for assets that already have been purchased. The GAO needs to get involved and AUDIT them and report back to congress to force changes. I see the waste and agree with you but until people stop complianing aobut the stupid stuff (who needs to help first) there will never be the push for changes. Remember the $10K toliet seat or the $500 hammer, it is the same problem.

 

[guest]

One thing that I think every time I see one of those FEMA trailers with no graphics of any kind I think to myself that it couldn't have cost more than $100 to have the graphics applied at the factory and the lack of graphics will cost $1,000 or more when it comes time to sell these things when FEMA is done with them.

No foresight. Tax dollars at work.

 

[BigBusBob]

There is a post regarding this same subject of dually's and FEMA loads on the newbie board, though this one seems to have gotten alot more attention.

Way I see it, there must be money to be made pulling 5th wheel travel trailers... otherwise the J birds wouldn't be so filled up with these guys right now.

After Hurricane Katrina & Rita hit, I was down there in the gulf doing some relief work with tour busses... and the amount of pick-ups pulling travel trailers of various shapes and sizes was astounding.

Not only that, but the some of the guys had gotten to be rather clever in their designs of their sleepers on some of these pick-up trucks... yes, some of the pick-ups had full blown sleeper boxes that were custom built. Some of the sleepers looked to be similar to sleepers from well known sleeper manufacturers.

 

[Crazynuff]

Some pickups have sleepers because pickup back seats do not meet DOT requirements for sleepers . Pickups without sleepers cannot log sleeper time . In some states the DOT will ask RV haulers for motel receipts to prove they didn't sleep in the truck . Just because there are a lot of people doing it doesn't mean there's money to be made . See my post in response to A Team's post . RV haulers get a little over $1 a mile , loaded only with a lot of deadhead . Recruiters will tell drivers they have terminals all over the country but neglect to tell you these terminals may only turn out 6 loads a day and have 30 contractors a day in the area looking for loads . Horizon has a chart showing profit after fuel . That is profit after fuel used to deliver the load . Deadhead fuel back comes out of that "profit " . FEMA is beginning to slow down and as of November 22 FEMA haulers are no longer exempt from HOS regulations . A lot of RV haulers will be getting out of the business with 4 years left on the 5 year loan they got on their $40,000 truck which they've put over 100,000 miles on .