newbie in TX

[fatman]

i have been toying with the idea of going into expediting here in Austin,TX.I use to run for Roberts way back as a D solo.It was pretty good bck then and i liked the business.The only reason i left was because i started a local trucking company in NY.

I am thinking about a sprinter with a unicell body.I have been reading the posts here and on another web site and i think the sprinter is the way to go.

I need to know if there are any companies that expedite alot out of TX.I am not expecting to make a million but i would like to at least gross on average 7000 a month.I have no problem staying out on the road for long stetches of time(three or four weeks at a time,20r 3 days off).Even if it means staying out of TX and in the freight lanes.

Thanks in advance for your help.

AND....thank you all for being out there.Without you ,this country would stop dead in its tracks.

 

[terryandrene]

I have no hands-on experience with a Sprinter, nor do I have experience with a unicell, so my comment is based on opinion. I think you are defeating the purpose of buying a Sprinter cut-away and adding a unicell body. You would gain little or no extra freight space nor improve your weight carrying capacity, unless you got the six wheeler. You would then have the pleasure of logging and, perhaps, an additional tax burden. You'll not be dock high so you'll still be classified as a B van by most carriers, so you'll mostly be getting van revenue.

Freight rates have not kept pace with inflation since your days with Robert Express, If they had, You could easily gross $7,000 monthly in a van. The truth of the matter is that only a rare few solo van operators gross in excess of $80,000 annually. Perhaps one of them will follow-up here and tell you what it took to do that in 2005.

Good luck with your choices.

Terry

 

[LDB]

I'm not a van operator so this is all 'outsider' observations. I really like the Unicell body. If I were doing a van it would be the full Unicell body in 17' length so I could build a very comfortable sleeper and still haul freight. I absolutely would not put it on a Sprinter chassis. It is too weak for it's own body much less a larger body. I'd put mine on an E450 or G4500 chassis if/when I did it. Yes, I'd have to log but that's ok because anything that can't be driven with a legal log is too much anyway (for me). As to income, I'd think $6,000 monthly gross on an annualized average would be pretty top end for a van but I don't know so we'll see what others say on that.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
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