first on the board

[outwardbound 2]

i seem to be setting alot lately. Been here in Cuba MO(80 miles from St. Louis) since friday and only doing about a 1000 miles a week lately. I drive solo in a D-unit and can carry up to 27,000lb with a 24ft box. i never turn down a load, and the only restriction i put in was no canada loads(i hate border crossing takes too long dotting i's crossing t's)
When i call dispatch they say i'm first on the board and in a good location. My owner(who's a truck driver) says there is no reason why i should be setting and wants me to call every number on the load boards and tell them i'm a t/t with a 24ft pup trailer. Now my owner has his own trucking co. with own authority and insurance for all 3 trucks. We leased me on to a company so we would not have to worry about finding and billing loads. with the customer base he has already i could be making this kind of money doing 2 of his loads a week(with no split to a 3rd party)
Bottom Line
How many look for their own loads?
How often do you look?
How much time should i give dispatch to find a load?
And last but not least if i'm going to do half of the leased companies work why have them at all?

And please don't post getloaded.com may end up doing that anyway.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

>How many look for their own loads?
I did run independent for awhile. There may be a time where I decide to do it again.

>How often do you look?
I still look every time I'm sitting somewhere I have little hope of getting out soon... ie, Texas.

>How much time should i give dispatch to find a load?
One or two days. It also depends on the areas your company does good. Texas... one day. But we were in NH, and waited two and a half days without looking, cause I knew this was a good area for my company.

>And last but not least if i'm going to do half of the leased
>companies work why have them at all?
Depends on if you want to spend your entire waking day looking at load boards. It'll wear you out looking all day, then finding a run around 4 or 5. And you can't make the mistake of going in to eat, as you'll miss a load. Also depends on what this company is taking to dispatch you.

With how I've been running, I've chosen to stay with my company. The way I figure it, let the company have the headache of insurances, logbook inspections, and dispatching, and let me make some money. All in all, I'm making around the same with a company as I would finding my own loads. And, I'm not deadheading nearly as much. My only thing is, I wish they were more receptive to me looking for loads, even though I wouldn't make any more a mile. There's still that factor with any company's dispatch of not having an urgency in keeping you moving.

I see from another post you run for Trans Stewart. I don't know anything about them, and I've heard it's a little slow right now, but 1000 mi/week? See how many trucks they have in Chicago. I'd start heading that way tonight, if they don't get you loaded.

 

[Broompilot]

Cuba? Get close to a big city always. Thats where 80% of the freight is gona come from and they will not be willing to wait. Out in the country Cuba MO. they expect to wait.

St. Louis has not been very kind to me always seems to be a wait. Since I have friends there that will not make my bed or offer me one I must continue on , like T-hawk said Chicago.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Broom... I agree with you to a point about being right in the city. But when I was running with most of the companies, I loved sitting between two major freight zones (Indi/Chicago, Nashville/Memphis, Cinci/Dayton) so I was on both boards. Personally, I don't see any reason to sit in Cuba. A good spot would be between StLouis and KC, Memphis, Terra Haute, or Louisville. Again, it depends on what the zones are. As Broom stated, he hasn't had luck in StLouis, whereas, I've done good there. Each company is different, so ya gotta learn what's good for yours.

 

[woobergoober]

Think I have done the same load that got you out to Cuba- does the first word of the consignee start with Mar? In that case, I feel your pain.

Cuba is a tough call. You are right about being 80 miles from St. Louis- my strategy is to go to the Flying J in Sullivan, which is about 20 miles closer to St. Louis. In the few years that I have been doing this work, I have taken about 20 loads to the St. Louis area. 80 percent of the time, I have reloaded out of Granite City, IL or Pontoon Beach, IL- basically right there on the border. 10 percent of the time it was Wentzville, MO and the other 10 percent was surrounding areas, within 100 miles of St. Louis.

If you want to go to Indianapolis, you are looking at deadheading over 300 miles, so I would just say grin and bear it, and give them 48 hours. Sounds like you can handle anything that may be posted on the load boards, so chances are better for you than me, of getting back out.

WG

 

[outwardbound 2]

well did finally make it out and yes the last name of that drop is bal. also got some bad fuel from that truck stop going threw it fast use 100gals to go 600 miles my owner says they problely dump the used oil from oil canges in with the fuel but whatever it is my milage dropped by a third. So my run up here to St. Paul is a wash and just pays for the bad fuel.
T hawk i won't come right out and name my company but i did reply with a pic of my truck in the thread "identifing myself" in the layover lounge.
Ok i give up lets talk about getloaded.com is it eazy to use?

 

[woobergoober]

Hey Outwardbound, it appears that we have something in common- check your inbox, I just sent you a pm. See ya!

WG

 

[diver5240]

peasonally I do not sit for more than 2 hours before I call my disbatch, and the last time they told me that nothing was moving I told to get off thier customer base and nlm and get on load boards and start looking. The one place we all make mistakes is we get into the mindset that we work for them, the fact is they work for us, without us the company would not exist. after all it is not that hard to get your authority and then have your girlfriend or wife watch and bid on loads for you(someone who cares and benifits from you getting 3000 miles a week). I have been sitting alot this week also, but in the area I have been in frieght has been dead, I know cause I have been monitoring three load boards. Sometimes this job sucks, but when it's good, it's good.