Looking for a Broker

[davekc]

I really think a read through some posts is a excellent idea. The minute one says they dropped 20k on Sprinter repairs and has been doing this for four years is a wake up call.
Don't for a minute think you are too good to learn from some folks that know that side of the business.

I have been at this a long time and I wouldn't have a clue where to start with a Sprinter. The great thing with EO is that with some patience, you can find the answers here. And if you are like me and lazy, I would go to someone like Turtle to bail me out of my Sprinter problems because I would be totally clueless.

With regards to brokers, the same thing applies. If you jump in and don't know what you are doing, they will eat you alive.
If you have a wallet, they will take what cash you have, and put a note in there telling you that you still owe them.
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it and that is not the case. One can be successful, but you must learn from those that have already done it or continue to succeed at it.
Take a deep breath and try to learn some things first.

 

[greg334]

I don't mean to be an a** about things but because there is some confusion about who is who in this thread, I want to know why the OP chose that handle - Greg336 and not something else?

Is your name Greg?

 

[purgoose10]

I don't mean to be an a** about things but because there is some confusion about who is who in this thread, I want to know why the OP chose that handle - Greg336 and not something else?

Is your name Greg?

I think he did it to aggrevate you.

 

[greg334]

Could have but it doesn't bother me. I am asking a simple question because I don't want to see a mix up of info.

 

[purgoose10]

Could have but it doesn't bother me. I am asking a simple question because I don't want to see a mix up of info.

I was kidding, but your right about the confussion, I had to check a couple of times.

 

[x06col]

I have been in this industry for over 4 years now and the reason I'm in a new van is because I have already put over $20,000 in repairs into my sprinter and don't want to throw any more money in that money pit. I was hoping to get some honest answers about brokers because from what I have heard and seen through the years from other drivers is being with a broker is the only way to go because most of the companies out there just care about one thing themselves and not there drivers. That is what I have found with every company I have been with so far. Either the pay was way to low or I wouldn't get any miles out of any of them. If I could find a company that would pay at least $.90 + fuel and get me at least 1500 miles a week then I would love to talk to that company, oh and they have to be able to get me back home when needed. I can't afford 300+ miles for DH's to get home.

Um, er....already roasted goose hunter comes to mind.

 

[Greg336]

Hay Turtle,

You talk a good story but Load One is one of the companies I "Crapped out with". Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

 

[Turtle]

Yes, I know you crapped out with them.

 

[scottm4211]

Is your name Greg?

Is yours

 

[mjmsprt40]

Hay Turtle,

You talk a good story but Load One is one of the companies I "Crapped out with". Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

I imagine you got Turtle's attention. You took a pot-shot at one of the guys who has experience to be able to help you-- not one of the brighter moves, in my never-to-be-humble opinion.

Something about the dead-head back home got my attention. I have to ask how tight you're running if three hundred miles dead-heading back home is beyond your means. Back in the days when I had a Sprinter, I was getting about 21.5 miles to the gallon. At 3.859 a gallon, that works out to 54 dollars for round figures. Today, I'm driving a Chevy G2500, and it gets about fifteen to the gallon. At 3.559 a gallon (I just saw that price today at my neighborhood Speedway) that works out to 71.18. You have a small box truck if I remember right, so-- assuming gasoline here, and guessing ten miles to the gallon.... that works out to 107 dollars, again assuming 3.559 which is the highest I've seen in recent history outside of the City of Chicago. How bad do you want to get home? A night in a motel, if you choose that route, will not cost less than 50 in any place fit to spend the night in, and since Winter is upon us even spending the night in your truck means burning fuel to keep warm, so-- you name your poison and take your pick.

Nobody said this business is cheap.

 

[Rocketman]

Hay Turtle,

You talk a good story but Load One is one of the companies I "Crapped out with". Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

That could be....probably is... an indication of your lack of ability more so than the carrier's.

Although my carrier does a good job of getting me home when I ask, I have never seen a carrier that made it a priority. If getting a PAID trip home is that important to you, your probably in the wrong business or, at least, the wrong segment of the business. Try CEVA or some other local outfit.

 

[greg334]

Is yours

Of course - Is yours Scott?

 

[scottm4211]

Of course - Is yours Scott?

It's my middle name.

 

[panorris62]

The reason you bought your own truck essentially is because you want to make money, brokers and companies are in business to make money because they are not non for profit orgfanizations. You can go on line and find companies that will help you get your own authority for a fee. these companies do all the leg work and save you time. Heres the thing you must constantly be searching for cargo and hopefully make some good contacts. Your sucess will depend on on how hard you are willing to work.

I am a beginner at this and am considering getting my own truck but I also know that I must be open to the help of others and I feel that most of the expediting companies will help you succeed if you let them help you.

 

[AmPack]

So what is your point... People who ask questions are looking for pertinent answers...Not some generic answers cut from some stupid book...
Of course this my opinion only:000

 

[Greg336]

Hi, I was using 300+ miles as a low figure, when Load One forced me to DH home it was usually from AL to the Detroit area.

 

[Greg336]

Hay turtle,

I'm only going to say one more thing about my money pit, I maintained it to the Tee as the owners maneul said to, change all of my fluids before the time was due and everything else. My $20,000 + repairs were all electrical. that van was just one big piece of junk. As far as how I worked in the past and present if I could find one company out there that could keep me working you wouldn't hear me asking these questions about looking for a broker. On an average the better paying companies like Load One only got me maybe 1000 loaded miles a week and that wasn't all that often, usually it was more like 500 to 800 Loaded miles/week. After fuel and my monthly bills which I pay off all of my bills at the end of each month I was able to eat but I sure wasn't putting anything into my pocket. Every other company I have been with has been either low miles as well or there pay was so low that they could get me all the miles I could handle but again by the time the bills were paid there wasn't anything left. I would like to find ONE company out there that could at least get me 1000+ miles a week with $.85+fuel. I would be so happy.

No question that they have to be maintained, but maintenance schedules for a Ford or Chevy are very different from that of a Sprinter. All the things you've learned about maintenance have to more or less be tossed out the window when it comes to a Sprinter. Even old standbys like you can't change the oil too often, or change it every 3000 or 5000 miles. Not so with a Sprinter. Using thinner oil in the winter and thicker oil in the summer is another no-brainer, except that will get you lots of repair bills in a Sprinter, and for things that are seemingly not related to oil at all. Using the ol' rock-solid Prestone antifreeze, even the one made for aluminum engines, can turn the entire engine into what amounts to a battery, which eats away at water pumps seals and heaters cores, and causes electrical problems which can result in premature failure with all kinds of electrical components, including glow plugs, injectors, fuel pumps, sensors, all leading to cascade failures of other components. That's one of the things that's so frustrating with a Sprinter, that many things don't seem logical, both in maintenance and repair, and in diagnostics. You can do the ol' tried and true with a Ford or Chevy and they're pretty forgiving when you make a mistake, but a Sprinter is brutally unforgiving. A Sprinter requires a certain commitment that many people are ignorant of, or are unwilling to make.

 

[CharlesD]

Hi, I was using 300+ miles as a low figure, when Load One forced me to DH home it was usually from AL to the Detroit area.

They didn't force you to deadhead anywhere if you owned the van. If you need to get home and there isn't freight going there, deadheading is still your decision and not something you're forced to do by your carrier. I'm still looking for that magic freight wand some people think carriers have.

 

[mjmsprt40]

So help me--- Gregg336 is complaining about the same thing the rest of us are experiencing. I'd be thrilled if I could get $1000 to$1500 a week steady, but it just isn't there. Even riding for multiple companies doesn't do the wonders one would hope.

It's the economy, as much as anything. In 2006, I made $2000 a week steady, in a standard Ford E-150. Last year, a really GOOD week might generate $1100 in a huge Sprinter. (The longest, tallest Sprinter 2500 they made in 2005). Average was more in the neighborhood of $850. This year, not so much. Plagued by bad luck into the bargain so I've taken a beating.

Right now, I reckon the thing to do is batten down and hold on. Nobody is doing much good in the vans, and truth to tell I doubt the bigger trucks are doing as well as they'd like either. Bigger truck = more income, but that's offset by bigger expenses.

 

[purgoose10]

This is really a funny business. You have guys running their butts off and you never hear anything negative, and the other half is going broke. Must be something in the way they are running their business.