How do you make money with a cargo van?

[Therion]

I am on my second courier company now and about to throw in the towel. The first one I was grossing only around $700 a week and spending $300 a week on gas and tolls. I only lasted six weeks there, figured I could make better money working at McDonald's or Wal-Mart and not put wear and tear on my vehicle. So now at the second company it's better as I gross around a thousand a week but it still isn't where I want to be. I need to bring home at least a grand a week after all expenses. Is this possible?

Both of these gigs where/are mostly local work around Chicago, once in a blue moon I get a well paying long distance run (usually no more than 150 miles out) but these happen so rarely it isn't something to be counted on. My van is a 1995 Ford E150 with a 1,500 pound load capacity. I would be willing to do long distance/OTR work if the money was there.

I am thinking I need to get attached to an expedite company as these courier outfits seem to mainly do local crap paying jobs, you know 3 or 4 boxes for $50 and you get your 50%, as you can see there just isn't enough money in it. Any ideas?

 

[Moot]

Sorry, but I don't think any expedite company would take a 20 year old van that can only carry 1500 pounds. Although Xiggi and I met a guy running mostly GE transportation freight with a Transit Connect. So you can look around but most companies would require a newer van that can legally haul 2000 pounds minimum.

 

[KickStarter6]

A van that old I personally wouldn't want on the road just because of metal fatigue and just general wear and tear. It might be the best van going but that's super old to be hauling the amount of weight expeditors CAN haul on a normal load. I'm rather spoiled tho when it comes to drive newer things but that van OTR with it being a E150 no thanks

 

[Therion]

Sorry, but I don't think any expedite company would take a 20 year old van that can only carry 1500 pounds. Although Xiggi and I met a guy running mostly GE transportation freight with a Transit Connect. So you can look around but most companies would require a newer van that can legally haul 2000 pounds minimum.

A van that old I personally wouldn't want on the road just because of metal fatigue and just general wear and tear. It might be the best van going but that's super old to be hauling the amount of weight expeditors CAN haul on a normal load. I'm rather spoiled tho when it comes to drive newer things but that van OTR with it being a E150 no thanks

I was thinking about this too, the age isn't a problem as this van is very reliable just the fact it's a 150. Over the winter I drove it to California and back with no problems whatsoever. I don't think I want to run out and buy a new E350 and find out I'm in the same situation of not making enough money.

 

[fastman_1]

Before I bought my 09 Ford I ran a 95 Chevy 3/4 ton for 2 years but it was a low mileage 1 owner van.

 

[Therion]

Before I bought my 09 Ford I ran a 95 Chevy 3/4 ton for 2 years but it was a low mileage 1 owner van.

When I bought this Ford in late 2010 it only had 107k miles on it. I looked at several vans and they were all beat up and had over twice the mileage. This one felt solid and wasn't beat up from contractor abuse.

 

[Moot]

I was thinking about this too, the age isn't a problem as this van is very reliable just the fact it's a 150.

Unfortunately age is also a problem. Many carriers require a 5 year or newer van. Exceptions are made for older vans in good condition but a 20 year old van would be pushing it.

 

[fastman_1]

When I bought this Ford in late 2010 it only had 107k miles on it. I looked at several vans and they were all beat up and had over twice the mileage. This one felt solid and wasn't beat up from contractor abuse.

My 95 Chevy only had 38,000 and my carrier went over it like a homicide scene.

 

[xiggi]

An e150 of any age it might be tuff to take home 50 grand after taxes and expenses. I'm sure some have but a lot more havent.

Sent from my Fisher Price - ABC123

 

[T270_Dreamin]

A van that old I personally wouldn't want on the road just because of metal fatigue and just general wear and tear. It might be the best van going but that's super old to be hauling the amount of weight expeditors CAN haul on a normal load. I'm rather spoiled tho when it comes to drive newer things but that van OTR with it being a E150 no thanks

Metal Fatique? The 04-06 Sprinter is here to stay 10 years from now you will still see them tearing up the highways with half a million miles and all smiles

 

[T270_Dreamin]

Unfortunately age is also a problem. Many carriers require a 5 year or newer van. Exceptions are made for older vans in good condition but a 20 year old van would be pushing it.

If it had the high roof and a 5000 lb load capacity you might could pull it off lol

 

[KickStarter6]

Metal Fatique? The 04-06 Sprinter is here to stay 10 years from now you will still seem them tearing up the highways with half a million miles and all smiles

Yeah but those are ford E150's...they're German so it's probably better somehow by their masterful engineering lol

 

[guido4475]

2 courier companies....that's the whole problem right there, or at least most of it..courier companies are always a cheap paying closeness of expediting. A good gig for a retired person needing a supplemental income. And, if expediting doesn't change it's tune, or get better, it will be in the same boat as well. The other problem is the van. A E150? That is like a boy expected to do a man's job. If you're going to go into the van segment of OTR expediting, at least get a Spartan body Chevy/Ford at the least, something that you can haul 3 skids in and have a stand-up height of at least 63 in the door opening. Anything less is just a waste of time in this business. Metal fatigue...okay.......lol....

 

[mjmsprt40]

I'm running a 1998 Chevy 2500. The heavy one, 8600 gross. It'll do 2,500 lbs payload legally.

I left courier work because of a number of factors, not least of which was the dirt-cheap pay. The company I worked with ran everything out of their warehouse, you loaded up your route first thing in the morning then spent the day trying to get everything off before your customers close, and a lot of places seem to close early. Hospitals started getting "desk-top drop" on their office supplies instead of just taking it to the receiving dock and of course that makes it take longer. Routes were preposterously large, covering parts of three counties. You needed larger and larger vehicles to make less money. When I left, I made less money driving a huge Sprinter than I had made when I had a Windstar-- and let me tell you-- you notice that in a hurry.

Now, in truth I'm not making squat now. But--- this gig doesn't have the feeling of hopelessness that the courier outfit seemed to have, so that counts for a lot.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

2 courier companies....that's the whole problem right there, or at least most of it..courier companies are always a cheap paying closeness of expediting. A good gig for a retired person needing a supplemental income. And, if expediting doesn't change it's tune, or get better, it will be in the same boat as well. The other problem is the van. A E150? That is like a boy expected to do a man's job. If you're going to go into the van segment of OTR expediting, at least get a Spartan body Chevy/Ford at the least, something that you can haul 3 skids in and have a stand-up height of at least 63 in the door opening. Anything less is just a waste of time in this business. Metal fatigue...okay.......lol....

Forget the Spartan crap...get a real van that gets good MPG's....15-16 MPG's doesn't get the job done with rates where they are at now....minimum 18-20 mpg...keep that CPM low!!!

 

[CharlesD]

How do you make money with a cargo van? Trade it in toward a straight truck.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

How do you make money with a cargo van? Trade it in toward a straight truck.

EDIT:

WHOA.... go with the straight....van market is flooded

 

[Therion]

Now, in truth I'm not making squat now. But--- this gig doesn't have the feeling of hopelessness that the courier outfit seemed to have, so that counts for a lot.

You nailed it right there! Can I ask what company you drive for now? If I buy a late model Ford E350 extended what can I expect to make doing expediting work? Where do you sleep on the road? Is it true you sit around for a long time in between loads? Any info you guys could give me about this business would be great.

 

[mjmsprt40]

You nailed it right there! Can I ask what company you drive for now? If I buy a late model Ford E350 extended what can I expect to make doing expediting work? Where do you sleep on the road? Is it true you sit around for a long time in between loads? Any info you guys could give me about this business would be great.

The first question-- I'm inclined to keep my tater trap shut for the moment, what I'm actually in is "hotshot" anyway and doesn't make the same thing true expedited does. Those empty, unpaid miles coming back home really eat into your profits! About what you can make-- there are so many variables that no honest man is going to tell you a set figure. You can make anywhere from losing your shirt to maybe thirty thousand clear in a really good year. We sleep in truck stops and rest areas--- the "Flying J" usually has several vans standing by, and yeah, we sleep in the vans unless the weather is really horrible. Motels cost money, and even the cheap ones can cost money you'd rather use other ways. We can sit a long time, or we can be constantly moving--- it varies wildly depending on the outfit you drive for, what your customers need and when they need it and so on. Right now things are sluggish because the auto industry-- expedited's biggest customer hands down-- is on their annual break/retool for next model year. But, when the auto makers get going again so do we. "Just in time delivery" replaced warehouses some time back, and that's one big thing that keeps expedited going.

 

[Therion]

LOL Losing your shirt to best case scenerio $30k does not sound very good. That's around what I make now doing courier work and being home each night. Why do you people stay in this business if it's so ****ty?