Location location

[catchme]

Hello All. Home base Albuquerque. looking to run sprinter van west of miss. i know lanes are east. can one run solo el paso ,cali, tx, load wise to justify o/o van? without running dead east of miss??.thanks for ur input.

 

[x06col]

No. If you'd like to eat and live indoors.

Sprinter may be less than desirable. May wanna consider other options.

 

[catchme]

Thanks X06col. Appreciate your bluntness. a few years back when i was looking at the prospect of getting into this bussiness i heard lanes where expanding west and southwest for sprinters. being a few hours from juarez mexico would offer some possabillities. thanks again.

 

[TJ959]

I have had very little success in getting loads up that way in my sprinter. The closest place to you that I have had much success is ElPaso TX. I know a few guys who seem to do fairly well in the west but most of the freight is east of the Mississippi. If you want to live there and run a Sprinter, you will need to be out three weeks or more at a time to make a living. Even then there is no guarantees. It's hard to make a living in a van and there is a learning curve involved. Some weeks you make almost nothing and other weeks you do well. I know some fairly smart experienced guys who aren't doing very well right now.

One thing you may not have considered is the lifestyle. Ask yourself what it might be like living in a tin can for three weeks at a time and sitting in a truck stop for two or more days waiting for a load. The outside temperature can be as low as -30 or as high as 100+ and it's up to you to figure out how to cope with it. Many guys can't take that part of the job. It was the hardest part for me. My Sprinter is very well equipped with heat, TV, VCR-VHS, Dc Cooler, and Microwave. I carry lots of books, movies, and video games but it still can be very boring. At least van guys are usually sociable. You can stand out in the parking lot while we all swap tall tales about the 2000 paid miles per week we are all running.

 

[LDB]

Van guys can pretty much go to any store, museum etc. they want to also as long as they are careful about drive through clearance. That would be pretty nice.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Since living in N/W.. SD..I am surprised at the loads out west...Montana, Wyoming, Western Nebraska, Colorado...Nogales, Tucson...I think someone could make a go of it with the right contacts...the loads are quite often over 1,000 miles....if your overhead is low ...it's doable...

 

[Jack_Berry]

i was in albuquerque in march. got aload from witchita falls to phoenix. truck broke down. nice frtliner dealer. nice microtel. its just so brown out there. ended up dh to el paso to see the truck owner who paid the fuel. got a load to laredo.