More Home Time?

[jjoerger]

A few years ago, before the financial meltdown, most of the expeditors that we knew stayed out for about three weeks and then went home for about a week. This meant that on most weeks 75 percent of the fleet was available. Now due to the lack of frieght, most seem to stay out 6-8 weeks before going home. That leaves about 85-90 percent of the fleet available to handle a smaller volume of freight.

I am not a math genuis, but it seems to me that if everyone were to stay out for around three weeks then go home for a week, there would be enough freight to keep the 75 percent available busy most of the time and earnings would balance out over the year.

We seem to sit about 6-8 days a month not including weekends.
I would rather be sitting at home than the T/A.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

 

[Jack_Berry]

spent too much time at home already this year. wife wants me g-o-n-e.

 

[ATeam]

If you are in the business to make money, staying home so others can haul the freight is not in one's best interests. The fact that wait times between loads have increased is not a reason to deadhead home. It is a reason to stay out.

 

[m2106dunit]

For our two years of expediting, we would stay out about 8 weeks and go home for 2-3 weeks. We stayed home the whole month of the "slow" month, July.

It's been so slow for us this year dispite staying between Chicago and New York most of the time and setting the truck governor to 65 mph for all of those Canadian loads that that never really materialized, we just decided to go home and stay home until the first of September.

You folks can split our two loads per week that we were getting while we are off!

 

[guido4475]

If you are in the business to make money, staying home so others can haul the freight is not in one's best interests. The fact that wait times between loads have increased is not a reason to deadhead home. It is a reason to stay out.

Sorry, Mr.Phil, but I have to disagree with you one the part "the fact that wait times between loads have increased is not a reason to deadhead home.It is a reason to stay out". Please remember, not everyone has the luxury that you have of owning a paid-for truck/house on wheels where is can be cost -effective to stay out forever.There have been several times that I have calculated it to be cheaper to deadhead home than to sit in a truckstop for any length of time, weekend or not. And with trucking being the occupation with the highest number of failed marriages, I would think it would be a good thing to be home once in awile.I used to live in a truck, and had that same kind of mentality that you have.Due to that, I have lost some of the best women/relationships i ever came across, until now.I refuse to do that again, and lose who I have.

 

[davekc]

I don't believe I would use Phil's advice either, unless you live in a seldom traveled state. Availability is the bigger issue. In many instances it is more cost effective to DH home depending on the distance from your last drop. Just simple math. If your costs are greater sitting in a truck stop, then head to the house.
If they are roughly the same, still head to the house. One would have to make sure they are available or it may wind up costing you. Weekends many times produce some great loads.

 

[arkjarhead]

If you live in a decent load area why not go home and get on the load board there? The good thing about being in a tractor pulling a refer I have a lot of options.

 

[davekc]

If you live in a decent load area why not go home and get on the load board there? The good thing about being in a tractor pulling a refer I have a lot of options.

Totally agree. As for M2106, I think I would look for another carrier.

 

[piper1]

For a lot of folks, there are costs to staying out and not being busy. If I can deadhead home for less money than it will cost me to sit I will. Someone wise always told me if you can get home on a tank of fuel, do it.

 

[D Team Brothers]

Back when the bottom fell out I told my D Units to start heading home. If they're going to sit for days at a time I would rather they sit at home available and take short runs where they can DH home after the runs.

 

[greg334]

The bottom fell out? when did that happen?

 

[ATeam]

Please remember, not everyone has the luxury that you have of owning a paid-for truck/house on wheels where is can be cost -effective to stay out forever.

You make a good point. One person's approach to expediting and experiences in it is different than others.

There have been several times that I have calculated it to be cheaper to deadhead home than to sit in a truckstop for any length of time, weekend or not.

This is where our house on wheels approach really pays off. Because we cook and live in the truck, it is never less expensive for us to wait for freight at home than it is to wait for freight out on the road.

If we are waiting for freight, we park for free someplace and wait, often at a bookstore or local park. If we are home waiting for freight, the only money we save is what might be spent on coin laundry. That savings would be far exceeded by the costs of deadheading home.

Making a trip home to wait for freight may also save us the cost of having our mail FedEx'ed to us out on the road, but there too the cost of deadhead would likely exceed the overnight mail cost savings. Other than that, there are no additional costs of waiting for freight away from home.

Regarding truck costs and sitting, does it not cost the same to park the truck 500 miles from home as it does to park it at home? We know how much per day it costs to sit. It makes no financial difference if we are sitting at home or 500 miles away. If you are sitting, you are sitting. The truck costs are the same.

You could consider the difference between the cost of generator fuel used away from home and shore power used at home but we don't. Such costs are spread out over time and built into our cost per mile and cost per day. We track them not by the trip or location but by the month and mile.

And with trucking being the occupation with the highest number of failed marriages, I would think it would be a good thing to be home once in awile.I used to live in a truck, and had that same kind of mentality that you have.Due to that, I have lost some of the best women/relationships i ever came across, until now.I refuse to do that again, and lose who I have.

Relationships are important and going home to maintain them is a positive thing to do. Diane and I got into expediting as a team partly because we wanted to spend more time together. It works.

If your significant other is unwilling or unable to team with you, and if you want to maintain a relationship, you have little choice but to go home from time to time. Just note that in that case, you are not going home to wait for freight. You are going home because of the relationship.

There are lots of good reasons to go home. Going home for a combination of those reasons AND to wait for freight is understandable. Going home solely to wait for freight only makes financial sense if the cost of deadheading there can be justified.

If you regularly idle your truck, eat out, pay for showers and spend money on entertainment (casinos, video games, movies, etc.), it may less expensive to sit at home. Having the comforts of home and each others company in our truck, it makes little financial sense to go home solely to wait for freight.

 

[ATeam]

Back when the bottom fell out I told my D Units to start heading home. If they're going to sit for days at a time I would rather they sit at home available and take short runs where they can DH home after the runs.

I know several fleet owners that told their teams the same thing. It is easier to wait at home than out on the road. Even if it costs the fleet owner money to get the team home, it is worth it because the teams are less likely to quit.

 

[ATeam]

If you live in a decent load area why not go home and get on the load board there? The good thing about being in a tractor pulling a refer I have a lot of options.

We live in a very good express center (Minneapolis). If we wanted to be home, the last thing to do would be to stay in service and on the board. Offers would come in and we would be out in very little time (usually). The reason to not make a special trip home to wait for freight is that we would not be waiting long.

 

[guido4475]

You make a good point. One person's approach to expediting and experiences in it is different than others.



This is where our house on wheels approach really pays off. Because we cook and live in the truck, it is never less expensive for us to wait for freight at home than it is to wait for freight out on the road.

If we are waiting for freight, we park for free someplace and wait, often at a bookstore or local park. If we are home waiting for freight, the only money we save is what might be spent on coin laundry. That savings would be far exceeded by the costs of deadheading home.

Making a trip home to wait for freight may also save us the cost of having our mail FedEx'ed to us out on the road, but there too the cost of deadhead would likely exceed the overnight mail cost savings. Other than that, there are no additional costs of waiting for freight away from home.

Regarding truck costs and sitting, does it not cost the same to park the truck 500 miles from home as it does to park it at home? We know how much per day it costs to sit. It makes no financial difference if we are sitting at home or 500 miles away. If you are sitting, you are sitting. The truck costs are the same.

You could consider the difference between the cost of generator fuel used away from home and shore power used at home but we don't. Such costs are spread out over time and built into our cost per mile and cost per day. We track them not by the trip or location but by the month and mile.



Relationships are important and going home to maintain them is a positive thing to do. Diane and I got into expediting as a team partly because we wanted to spend more time together. It works.

If your significant other is unwilling or unable to team with you, and if you want to maintain a relationship, you have little choice but to go home from time to time. Just note that in that case, you are not going home to wait for freight. You are going home because of the relationship.

There are lots of good reasons to go home. Going home for a combination of those reasons AND to wait for freight is understandable. Going home solely to wait for freight only makes financial sense if the cost of deadheading there can be justified.

If you regularly idle your truck, eat out, pay for showers and spend money on entertainment (casinos, video games, movies, etc.), it may less expensive to sit at home. Having the comforts of home and each others company in our truck, it makes little financial sense to go home solely to wait for freight.

All of these reasons and examples show that you are simply blessed more than others to the fact that you have your wife with you, not only as a passenger, but a co-driver as well. And using money-saving devices pay for themselves over time,as well as for conveinence.I know you wouldnt go this far to save money, but I have been known to ask shippers/receivers if I could use their water faucet so I could hook up my 75' hose and wash my truck. You would be surprised at how many applauded that.And, of course,I'd drag the hose in the back of the box and take a quick garden hose shower while i was at it.After the first initial shock of cold hit me, it wasn't that bad. But I figured I saved close to $50.00 this way.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Totally agree. As for M2106, I think I would look for another career.

Fixed it for you, Dave. If he thinks it's so bad, he needs to stay off till Sept, the carrier is the least of his problems.

 

[nightcreacher]

History lesson
Once there was an expedite company,Roberts Express,and as all small companies that were growing back then,they had growing pains,trying to keep all the contractors happy at the same time,sort of impossible.
A idea was put in place that would get the drivers to stay out over weekends, instead of going home, or not doing week end loads.Foreign trucks to an express center would get loaded ahead of home bodies.
Now what that did for me,I had my own plan.Since when home, it would now take almost a week to get loaded from home,I would stay out for 3 weeks,then being home that week was like having a 1 week vacation every month,my revenue was thae same as when I was home every week end,and all was well,of course when we went to
co-drivers,being out 3 weeks sometimes was a little touchy,but they all like the 1 week off.
As time went on,the foreign truck thing ended,and we all became equal when we were home.
So my new game plan went into effect,10 days out 3 days home,was working very well 'til freight bacame slow.
Now for me getting loaded from home is back to either dead heading a long way to another express center to pick load up,or loads in the area not exactly what I need,so I'm back to the 3 weeks out again,but when home we now stay in service.No more long dead head home either,I'm willing to do one long dead head per load,not two.If I have to dead head to pick up,load better end up near a busy express center for me to take it.If it's time to go home,that load better be very close to home,or we wait 'til we get one that close,cause we might have a long dead head from home to that next load.
There are 365 days in the year,use them wisely,but remember,while sitting at home,mowing the lawn,or playing golf,or what ever your doing, there is good load out there that could have been yours.

 

[ATeam]

Your history lesson is a great illustration of how independent contractors adapt to changing circumstances. Under a variety of changing company policies and market conditions, Steve has modified his getting-home strategy to achieve what he wants.

There is an important lesson here for new readers. Things change. Market conditions are substantially different today then they were a year ago. Advice given a year ago that was very good may be wrong or meaningless today. What made sense under one company policy may no longer make sense under another.

This is one of the reasons I enjoy hearing from new expediters. Their view of the business is not tainted by old experiences and opinions, formed in another day, that may do us more harm than good today.

 

[hondaking38]

as a lowely van driver i cant remember the last time i had a weekend load!! probably a year ago or more....stay the weekend out within 500 miles of home????not a chance, for $70.00 i can drive home, sit around the pool drinking beer,have the kids over,have a bonfire...but then again i could sit in my van over the weekend in 90 degree weather.idling my $70.00 away,or maybe even splurge on a motel and food? another $70.00 geeze thats a tough decision to make...

 

[greg334]

Your history lesson is a great illustration of how independent contractors adapt to changing circumstances. Under a variety of changing company policies and market conditions, Steve has modified his getting-home strategy to achieve what he wants.

Steve is using a solid example of thinking outside of the box. If the company has some policy that you can take advantage of, then go for it. Outside of cheating to get into a position to have more opportunities, there is nothing wrong with thinking outside the box.

The biggest problem is the company that affords you the latitude to work outside the box. If you are in a employee mindset style company, like many of 'experts' are, then there is a box within a box you operate in. This means that you can only take advantage of so much by thinking outside that inner box but you will never breach that outer box because of the company itself. At that point the judgment I see Phil is making is only from his only position in only one company and it affords him less of an opportunity to understand how others can use advice or how that advice can be applied to different situations.

There is an important lesson here for new readers. Things change. Market conditions are substantially different today then they were a year ago.

But Phil, not to take your expertness away from you, that holds true for all times, not just the last year. This niche market had been blended more with mainstream trucking in the past year or two than it was five years ago and it has always been changing, evolving or being shaped into something different every day. The company, person and even the customer can not stand still in this business.

It matters on how the person can use the information from both the past and present to make sure they are moving forward not backward. A lot of it has to do with experience while a lot of it is the same with the Luck argument, many don't understand that this work is actually 80% of being in the right place at the right time.

Advice given a year ago that was very good may be wrong or meaningless today. What made sense under one company policy may no longer make sense under another.

It seems that people have to remember that everyone is different and everyone has different goals and needs. Companies change not because of the contractors, but because of the business requires them to change.

What sets people apart is how they use the advice, Phil is wrong in saying that advice of the past may be as good to someone now as it was then. The person who takes the advice and the information and uses it to think outside the box seems to be the one who will meet their goals honestly and moves forward.

This is one of the reasons I enjoy hearing from new expediters. Their view of the business is not tainted by old experiences and opinions, formed in another day, that may do us more harm than good today.

Actually Phil, that was a dumb comment. The new expediter is the one I avoid if I am looking for advice on any issue. They have little to offer people, unless they have been doing something like this for a while. Their view of this business is normally shaped by their circumstances or information sources (driver vs. owner, recruiter vs. realistic hands on experience). They can't offer advice during their learning curve as someone like Steve or Layout or DaveKC can (three out of many). They are tainted by the expectations of something new, their advice can do a lot of harm to others who discount experience.