Please offer experienced advice on bidding

[Gus123]

I have made an initial agreement for local haul work using my one-ton 6.7 dually and a 40 ft flatbed. So far I have only spoken with the office personnel who informed me I would be called by the company prez to finalize a work agreement.
I got the impression from talking with two of the company folks that due to the new startup, they dont truly know what to offer as far as mileage/hourly/load pay etc. In a nutshell, I will be moving about 8K to 10K loads over a 55 mile one-way distance from one town to another. I will be loading and unloading the large parts (easy load, no tarp). Some days I will be running loads a distance of 20 miles one way. I truly need some input from some of you folks that have had experience with this sort of work, as I am not sure at all how to bid this. It will not be daily work, but at least steady part-time, and at some times, quite busy. Initially I can use their trailer until I obtain one of my own. I will run under their authority, as they use several semis for long-distance heavy haul. Please advise,,,,and much thanks in advance for your help. gus

 

[paullud]

When bidding on things like this you don't want to go in with the idea of placing a high bid thinking they will talk you down, they have no idea what they are doing here so I would say you will only have one chance. I see this a lot with newer brokers when bidding on loads but you have to determine if they really don't know what they are doing or if they don't want to show their cards as to how much they can actually pay you. Since the loads are very short you will want to bid this according to how much time you will spend on each load instead of focusing on fuel and maintenance. The other thing to consider is your local area and if there are 20 guys out of work with pickup trucks I would place a lower bid than if that were not the case. In an area with a decent employment level I would bid $150 on the 55 mile trip and $100 on the 20 mile runs which is just a guess on my part based on the information provided figuring it will take an hour to load and unload. It would basically breakdown to around $50 an hour before expenses so if you average 13mpg you would spend $35-40 for fuel on the 55 mile run round trip, then take $5-10 out to build up a maintenance fund, some for a trailer, a couple of bucks for insurance, and the rest is yours.

 

[BobWolf]

I do a mix of local and Regional 500 mile radius type strait truck work maby I can help.
Allot goes into this phase it will makeor break you
The first place to start to start is determine how much your vehicle and equipment will cost you per mile.
This includes fuel, maintenance for your vehicle both parts and labor, taxes, tolls, permits, and if you have to stay in hotels or live on the road, every thing that will cost you money. Add in a reasonable salary for your time.
For example, local work may average 45 mph take your hourly salary and divide it by the average speed you anticipate driving that is your salary per mile add fuel, maintainence and expenses per mile add it up and there is your rate.
Dont Forget tools, and equipment straps, chains pins, blocking etc. all have a life cycle and will need to be replaced. For example ratchet straps once on and off per day exposed to the elements. With good upkeep will last 6 months to a year how many do you need and how long before replacing. so realy crunch the numbers after adding it up decide if your rate is realistic and would you be willing to pay it.

Then dont forget some guy. You know, the mysterious guy a customer knows that can do it chaeper than you. I havent met anyone named Sum and I have a bone to pick with him.
In other words dont work dirt cheap

A good sorce to get a realistic idea of maintainence in your area would be a towing company explain to them you plan to use the truck for towing trailers Im sure some will give you a fair idea of how to figure out your maintainence as wreckers get allot of wear and tear.

I am pro own authority if for any reason you are not at the mercy of an owners employeees destroying thier safety record causing you to get inspected at every DOT stop. At the scale remember Green light good Red light bad.
anyway feel free to PM me if you have questions

Bob Wolf
Wolf Trucking

 

[x06col]

Those short load situations either need to be bid as a percentage or by the hour. Mileage will be a loser for you. I'd prefer a straight hourly rate, unless, YOU are actively engaged in the bid.

 

[zorry]

Would it be good advice to run a 30,,60,or 90 day trail. And then, when everybody understands the costs and benefits,sit down and work out a long term deal.

 

[zorry]

I would put the loads into zones. 0-25 miles one way,26-50,etc.
If you were experianced in this or had some history with the shipper hourly would be the way to go.
If you go in now at $45 an hour, the first time there's any issue it'd be easy for someone to say " my retired neighbor says he can do this for $40 an hour."
You can't be too complex; you can make too simple.

 

[Brisco]

Check your PM's Gus.......

You're on the wrong board seeking this type of advice.

Sent you a Link to a place where you'll get the best advice on what it is you're looking to get into.....

And....you'll probably be getting the the same answer from multiple drivers over there that ARE out there doing this type of work today instead of 7 different answers from 5 Drivers who are NOT out there doing this type of work.

Tell 'Em I sent ya..........................

 

[BobWolf]

I have one semi regular local customer I fill in for a few days in a month to help him cover drivers days off.
The work is arround town and within 50 miles of home Low miles but time consuming.
I figured out my hourly rate salary, fuel and truck expenses is arrornd 80 bucks an hour for van work. Minimum of 4 hours to make it worth tying up my day..