new career questions

[roadee]

Hello and thanks for any replies!
I'm considering going in the Expeditor side of driving as a career move.
Are all companies "Lease/purchase programs" about the same?

Is 2500 miles/week realistic for a solo straight truck?

I know the 11hr and 14 hr rules and logging... is this the same for Sprinters and Cargo vans?

Which chioce is more lucrative? sprinter/van or straight truck?

I'm located about 2hrs north of the Minneapolis, is there regular expeditor freight that runs this area?

Any recommendations on carriers to avoid or that you would recommend?

email answers to [email protected] if you prefer
Thanks and safe driving to all

 

[ATeam]

Diane and I drive team, so I can't tell you much about solo. I can say that Minneapolis is our home express center and we seldom have trouble getting a load out. We also seldom get a load in. Freight that takes us home is a rare find. That suits us just fine, as we spend most of our time on the road anyway. But for a solo driver seeking freight that will take him or her home, Minneapolis would not be a place to count on.

The solo drivers I know that get home often AND earn a good living, live in California or the North East. I certainly don't know everybody. If there are solo drivers out there that are earning a good living and getting home often, readers would love to hear of it and the regions where successful solo expediting plus home time is possible.

I would think the Chicago area would be good for that, but know no solo driver earning a good living there. There must be some, even a good number. Am I right?

 

[Crazynuff]

As far as logging goes it isn't required in vans under 10,001 lbs. GVW .

 

[terryandrene]

Are all lease purchases the same? NO. Many of us think that a lease purchase with a trucking company or an owner/operator is a bad idea. A lease/purchase involves two contracts. The first is a contract to obtain a truck, the second is a lease agreement for use by a carrier. If you don't like the carrier, you can dissolve your lease agreement but you still have a contract for the truck. The truck contract may require you to return the truck to the owner if the carrier agreement goes awry; monies may be lost.

Expediter solo drivers occasionally have a 2500 paid mile week, but you will not average that many miles under lease agreement with most carriers. Fifty weeks at 2500 = 120,000; a typical solo will probably have about 80,000 paid/deadhead miles. There is a wide difference in pay per mile between many of the carriers shown on the EO pages.

Lucrative is not always determined by miles per week; or, revenue per mile; or, deadhead percentage; or, type of truck; or, equipment on the truck; or, carrier; or, combination of carrier and own authority; or, drivers' work ethic. Lucrative may be a combination of any or all of the above.

Do you get out of expediting what you put into it? Not necessarily! It is possible for a van operator to earn more than a straight truck operator; not likely but possible. It is possible for an owner in a new $100,000 truck to earn the same as an owner in a comparably equipped $200,000; possible and likely.

 

[roadee]

Thanks for the help/info. I have noticed posting for loads to ship, can a o/o that is leased by contract to a carrier, carry a load back on his own or is he obligated to wait for the next "carrier" load?
is it dependent on the carrier conract?

 

[roadee]

So if no logging is required on vans with a GVW under 10,001 lbs, a driver can could drive as much as he/she wants with out penalty/fine by DOT?

 

[terryandrene]

Some carriers, Panther in particular, have an active "backhaul" depatment that allows Panther drivers to obtain their own freight under the Panther authority. Panther takes a small percentage for their involement. Some drivers have their own authority and a lease with a carrier. If their lease allows it, they may get their own loads and hope to get paid

Operating under your own authority is not an activity for the faint of heart or owners without experience in trucking or business

 

[roadee]

How many deadhead miles do you run in order to get back to the twin cities,when you do get back?
Ever get any loads out of Duluth or Fargo?
Thanks for your help.

 

[ATeam]

How many deadhead miles do you run in order to get back to the twin cities,when you do get back?
Ever get any loads out of Duluth or Fargo?
Thanks for your help.

The answer to your deadhead question will vary from team to team and driver to driver. We stay out more than most. We have one planned trip per year home, for Christmas. If the freight takes us close, we may stay a few days or keep running, depending on how we feel.

When the time to go home at Christmas comes, we pretty much keep running right up to the last minute, monitoring our location as the holiday approaches, and leaving enough time to get home on the day we want to arrive. Once, we delivered 96 miles away from home on December 23. That was awesome! We have also deadheaded over 1,000 miles to get home.

In 4.5 years, we have had no loads out of Fargo or Duluth. We delivered to Duluth one time.

 

[LDB]

The first thing you should do is start working your way back through a year or messages in the general, newbies and recruiter forums. You will find the questions you asked have been discussed many times. You'll also find answers to many questions you don't even know to ask at this point.

Never lease from the company you contract with. That's a conflict of interest on their part.

Look for more like 1500 paid miles a week average and when you get those rare 2500 paid mile weeks put half away to offset the 400 mile week lurking in the shadows.

The larger the truck the larger the opportunities. A D unit truck can take D, C, Sprinter or van freight. A Sprinter can take Sprinter or van freight.

Don't do anything until you've read back a year. Less than that is cutting corners on education and preparation.

 

[roadee]

thanks for the info ,i will start going back and researching it more

 

[nightcreacher]

im a team tractor but i have run solo,if your going to get into expediteing running solo,your best move would be to move to chicago,there are plenty of solo loads out of chcago,and if you just work the chicago boards you might do ok,but if your getting into this form of trucking,i suggest getting a co-driver.as far as the cargo vans,there are to many of them,to much competition to make a steady living

 

[roadee]

Thanks for the straight forward viewpoint on the van situation.
Judging by the want ads on EO vans/sprinters are saturated in the market.
I don't plan on moving to Chicago, and hometime is not a pressing matter as long as the miles and or pay justify staying out.

thanks again,
roadee
minnesota

 

[dhalltoyo]

At this time of year most carriers have a "freeze" on adding any additional cargo vans.

Seems to be a decent amount of straight truck loads between Chicago - Milwaukee - Minneapolis - Davenport

As far as HOS in a van:
1. Yes, you are required to log in some states and with certain amounts of Hazmat in all states.
2. No, you can't drive as many hours as you want due to liability issues. Most carriers will hold you to a 500 mile range in 24 hours; most load offers are 200-350 anyways.
3. Have an accident or doing something that causes you to get pulled over by a "Diesel Bear" and they could ask to see your Qualcomm. Based upon when you were loaded and the time when you got stopped by the D.O.T., or any police officer for that matter, you could be cited for driving while impaired.

You will have greater load opportunities in a straight truck or TT.

 

[fastrod]

Actuality if you are independent you can drive as many hours as you want in a van. Carriers that limit van miles do so as company policy.

 

[Crazynuff]

So if no logging is required on vans with a GVW under 10,001 lbs, a driver can could drive as much as he/she wants with out penalty/fine by DOT?

Yes , that's one of the main reasons people choose cargo vans . I should have noted that any vehicle placarded for hazmat has to log .
But you still cannot run as much as you want . You can run as much as dispatched and solo dispatch is mostly under 500 miles . The main advantage of not logging is you do not have to take mandatory 10 hour breaks .

 

[starski]

If you choose a van, you don't have to worry to heavy on DOT regulations. It might be a good idea to become independent. That would cut out alot of carriers trying to hold you back because of their company policy. Good luck!