I want a Job, but Need Help/Advice

[molonl4benc]

I'm sorry if this gets asked a lot or all the time, but I’m wanting to go OTR expedited. I’ve been looking at numerous companies, and can go to work for Panther anytime, but it’s as a team. I’d rather run solo as I’ve always been kind of a loner. Does anyone know a fleet owner or company around the Asheville, NC or Greenville, SC area to contact?

Any help in advance is greatly appreciated.

- Jason

 

[TeamHutch]

In the six years we’ve been doing expediting we’ve seen a handful of solo positions. In which half ended badly. My best advice would be to keep checking the classified section on EO. Maybe even posting you own add for fleet owners to find you.


Sent from my iPhone using EO Forums

 

[Jreilly66]

Do you have a passport? Twic, hazmat? If so, I will surely hire you as a solo IF I can get you a truck. Or I can put you in my TT IF I can get the down payment for a Bolt custom ST I want.

But these are all “”ifs”. I still have capital to put together.

 

[Solar]

Or, get a van.

 

[GridLock]

Hey Jason. We're actually looking for a solo driver. Based out of Charleston if you'd be interested. We could talk and see if we can offer you something. Let me know if you're interested!

 

[Dynamite 1]

cdl a or b or no cdl at all ???

 

[skyraider]

IN Chattanooga tn

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[Dog Nerd Daily]

Or, get a van.

Hapearce1 then what lol

 

[Solar]

Or, get a van.

Hapearce1 then what lol

The obsession of wanting to drive a B Class vehicle alone makes no sense.

If the OP has been in contact with companies like Panther, then they would be the ones to share the “then what”.

Why drive a vehicle solo that you can only legally drive 11 hours a day?

 

[BigStickJr]

Why haul freight so cheap you have to drive over 11 hours per day ?

 

[FlyingVan]

The obsession of wanting to drive a B Class vehicle alone makes no sense.

If the OP has been in contact with companies like Panther, then they would be the ones to share the “then what”.

Why drive a vehicle solo that you can only legally drive 11 hours a day?

I'll answer this for you. I drove a van for about 10 years then I went solo in a straight about 3 years ago.
I really like not needing to drive over 11 hours. I really like not driving more than 600 miles straight through. I really like not competing with 15000 other vans that everybody and their mother seems to buy lately and go trucking. And I really really really like keeping more money in my bank account for the same or less work than I did with the van. Not to mention that I bought the truck for less money that the majority pay for a cargo van.

I don't want to portray that it is all roses in the straight truck side of things. It is not. 14 hr clock is the one that bugs me and parking can be an issue sometimes (but I usually find a spot to squeeze in that a tractor trailer can't,) repairs cost more, also fuel costs more ( but not that much more, you would be surprised how many vans get as good of a fuel mileage as my straight teuck.) You need to be more disciplined, ie, have some money reserves to cover unexpected repairs.


Many people that I talk to make the mistake of only considering one variable of the equation. If you focus on only one(hour of service, parking, repairs, etc,) you will come up with a wrong conclusion. You have to consider the much higher rate that a straight gets and the fact that when you deliver you are not #20 on a board somewhere. And I struggled with this for about a year too before I jumped ship. But after doing this, my only regret is that I didn't jump in a straight sooner.

Keep on vanning guys, I just hate to see misinformation spread around here so often.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[Solar]

Why haul freight so cheap you have to drive over 11 hours per day ?

Touché

Still, whether you’re making $.70 or you’re making $700 a mile, you’re limited to 600 mile days at best. Add on the extra costs in fuel, insurance, and dot bs, you better be getting a high price per mile just to break even with a $.70 van.

 

[brokcanadian]

I'll answer this for you. I drove a van for about 10 years then I went solo in a straight about 3 years ago.

I really like not needing to drive over 11 hours. I really like not driving more than 600 miles straight through. I really like not competing with 15000 other vans that everybody and their mother seems to buy lately and go trucking. And I really really really like keeping more money in my bank account for the same or less work than I did with the van. Not to mention that I bought the truck for less money that the majority pay for a cargo van.

I've heard that many times. I'm not going to knock it. I'm on the fence as far as the future goes...buy a newer van, or a 5 ton?

My last del a couple of days ago I got , and in winter, average 22 mpg.

Never having driven a straight - are you guys getting $3 a mile at 11 mpg? That's a rough equivalent to my most common run atm.

I totally get stacking more deliveries on board, if available...

Explain the magic please (full night's sleep yes. But, yearly safeties, weigh stations, triple or worse tolls, insurance doubling or tripling etc etc.)

Gee I forgot PRP, IFTA and all that wonderful stuff)

 

[Solar]

The obsession of wanting to drive a B Class vehicle alone makes no sense.

If the OP has been in contact with companies like Panther, then they would be the ones to share the “then what”.

Why drive a vehicle solo that you can only legally drive 11 hours a day?

I'll answer this for you. I drove a van for about 10 years then I went solo in a straight about 3 years ago.
I really like not needing to drive over 11 hours. I really like not driving more than 600 miles straight through. I really like not competing with 15000 other vans that everybody and their mother seems to buy lately and go trucking. And I really really really like keeping more money in my bank account for the same or less work than I did with the van. Not to mention that I bought the truck for less money that the majority pay for a cargo van.

I don't want to portray that it is all roses in the straight truck side of things. It is not. 14 hr clock is the one that bugs me and parking can be an issue sometimes (but I usually find a spot to squeeze in that a tractor trailer can't,) repairs cost more, also fuel costs more ( but not that much more, you would be surprised how many vans get as good of a fuel mileage as my straight teuck.) You need to be more disciplined, ie, have some money reserves to cover unexpected repairs.


Many people that I talk to make the mistake of only considering one variable of the equation. If you focus on only one(hour of service, parking, repairs, etc,) you will come up with a wrong conclusion. You have to consider the much higher rate that a straight gets and the fact that when you deliver you are not #20 on a board somewhere. And I struggled with this for about a year too before I jumped ship. But after doing this, my only regret is that I didn't jump in a straight sooner.

Keep on vanning guys, I just hate to see misinformation spread around here so often.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

I drove a flat bed hotshot for a while, so while it’s not a B class, it has the same problems:

Parking. You mentioned Parking. You didn’t get into the, you’ve got 30 minuets left on the clock left, the truck stop is full, and next truck stop is a hour away stress. That’s unnecessary STRESS.

Living at a truck stop. A van can go to Memphis, the go to Beal Street, then go eat at B.B. Kings and enjoy a nice dinner and show. Sure, a B class isn’t as limited as as a T/T, but you’re limited on time to drive, so you’re a prisoner to truck stops.

Weigh Stations. I flip them the bird as I drive by. Can you do that? No. Another unnecessary STRESS.

And at the end of the day, exactly how much more $ did you make? Was it worth being a Subway super customer? Was it worth going to different places and sitting at their truck stops instead of their monuments? Exactly how much did that extra $ cost you in life, diet, and experiences?

 

[brokcanadian]

I usually experience sleeping on the floor in exotic locations, but I could see monuments

Edit: that was unexpectedly funny. I see less monuments now passing age 45... Serves me right for posting with no coffee

 

[FlyingVan]

I drove a flat bed hotshot for a while, so while it’s not a B class, it has the same problems:

Parking. You mentioned Parking. You didn’t get into the, you’ve got 30 minuets left on the clock left, the truck stop is full, and next truck stop is a hour away stress. That’s unnecessary STRESS.

Living at a truck stop. A van can go to Memphis, the go to Beal Street, then go eat at B.B. Kings and enjoy a nice dinner and show. Sure, a B class isn’t as limited as as a T/T, but you’re limited on time to drive, so you’re a prisoner to truck stops.

Weigh Stations. I flip them the bird as I drive by. Can you do that? No. Another unnecessary STRESS.

And at the end of the day, exactly how much more $ did you make? Was it worth being a Subway super customer? Was it worth going to different places and sitting at their truck stops instead of their monuments? Exactly how much did that extra $ cost you in life, diet, and experiences?

You keep mentioning STRESS. My stress level actually went down with the move to the straight truck. To me it was more stressful sitting for days on end with other 10 vans around and getting cheap offers. What do you do? Refuse and wait 2 more days or take the cheap offer just to get moving?

Since I started in the straight I never had the issue with parking that you mention. I plan ahead and stop before I have 30 min left. I rarely wait at truck stops anyways, so I am not living in a truck stop. I am parking most of the times at Walmart and I am self contained. I probably eat out twice in a year. I get supplies from home and at walmart and cook in the truck. I have a Planet Fitness membership and I go work out, have never been to one where I couldn't park the truck. I take advantage of the 'personal conveyance' a lot, aka 'off duty driving' so I am hardly a prisoner anywhere. Even if I would be 'stuck' in a truck stop like you mentioned, I rarely am in one spot for more than 24 hours. Sure, it happens, but not a lot.

Weigh stations. In 3 years I have been pulled in a weight station twice. Paperwork check. We have drivewyze offered free by Load 1 so 80% on the time I bypass the weigh station altogether. Run legally and have a properly maintained truck and no worries about any of these. Hardly stressful.

Insurance. Load 1 pays cargo and primary liability. I pay nontrucking and physical damage which comes out to 19.xx a week.

Tolls. Load 1 provided us with BestPass transponders and they pay for the tolls.

IFTA. I don't know what is stressful about IFTA. Regardless, Load 1 takes care of that.

Quality of life actually improved with my move to the straight truck. Since after all is said and done I get to keep more money in my pocket for the amount of work I do, I get to take a lot more time off. I am spending more time with my family and I am taking more vacations than ever. I am glad I don't have to be out on the road and be a prisoner of my van for at least 3 weeks at a time to be able to make some money.

If driving the Sprinter I would get 1.40+ a mile like I used to in the good old days, I would say that definitely the van is the way to go. $1 for all miles was a cheap rate back then. Unfortunately, those times are gone. You need to differentiate yourself from the herd somehow.

I am not trying to convert any vanners to the straights. Actually, the more people choose the van over the straight, the better it is for me, since I have less competition. I just shake my head at people making mountains out of molehills. Why? Maybe Aesop was on to something? Library of Congress Aesop Fables

 

[brokcanadian]

Deleting the rate per mile I posted. (Noobs, too many vans, bad money )



P.s. buy a straight truck

 

[BigStickJr]

Why haul freight so cheap you have to drive over 11 hours per day ?

Touché

Still, whether you’re making $.70 or you’re making $700 a mile, you’re limited to 600 mile days at best. Add on the extra costs in fuel, insurance, and dot bs, you better be getting a high price per mile just to break even with a $.70 van.

I have gotten over $700 for under a mile. With no Deadhead. ( Not common, but possible)On those days, I didn’t worry about the 600 mile limit.
When I negotiated DEADHEAD, it was often over .70 cpm.

 

[brokcanadian]

Mostly us vanners can't wrap our heads around the costs involved of the larger trucks. Somebody else's fine, but it scares the crap outta me to own

 

[brokcanadian]

If the op would have come back at some point this thread wouldn't have gone so far off the rails