Pros and cons of camper hauling vs straight truck expediter

[HaulTow]

I was considering switching career fields and could use your help. I am currently driving what is called a "tow n haul" truck hauling 2 campers from Indiana to whereever i choose. The pay is $2.20 a mile and reload pay from the drop off point typically is around .60 to .70 a mile. I own a fleet of these tow and haul trucks (one camper on top, one pulled behind) and I just recently bought a Landstar straighttruck i was considering converting into a tow/haul truck (costs $15,000 to convert the bed). Thats when i started thinking that maybe i leave the box on there and use the truck for what it was originally built for. I would like to hear your thoughts and comments regarding comparing the MULTIPLE camper hauling field to expedited trucking with a straight truck and 23' box. (remember my tow/haul truck is also a converted straight truck).

Am i currently in the best highest paying field possible? Does camper hauling offer more freedom and higher pay then Landstar or any of these other expediter companies? I want to learn as much as I can about why hauling expedited freight is either the best decision of my life, or if i should continue doing what i am.

Currently i have to deadhead 250 miles to pickup the campers from Elkhart Indiana, however we can load day or night. We have the freedom to choose any loads we want and run as little or as much as i choose. Reloads we go to a loadboard and try to find the highest paying single car heading back home... these typically range from .50 to .90, most of the time it involves deadhead miles to pickup and dropoff to home. We are paid 1/2 the load up front and the final half immediatly once we turn in the paperwork. I am typically 65-80 feet long when i have a trailer on top and one behind but weight is never more than 9000 lbs.

I would love to hear your experiences and opinions on this topic and happy to share my own regarding the rv hauling side.

 

[BigStickJr]

I would think the RV's may be a better option because of the freedom allowed.
The ability to load at your convenience, if there is a relatively constant available freight I guess would be huge.
So much hit or miss in expediting.
And loads going away from home when you you want/need to be home.
If you can find a good reliable team for the truck, you can try expediting, and then do the conversion if it bombs.

 

[HaulTow]

Isnt Landstar also total freedom allowed? It is non forced dispatch. I would assume landstar would also have much more freight options than the camper industry which is very cyclical regarding availability of freight.

what do you mean by "hit or miss" in expediting?

If you can pick loads on the landstar board then you can determine how far you would like to travel , correct?

No i have zero interest in working with a team in my truck, i like to ride alone or in a convoy with friends, but the truck space is my own domain

 

[FlyingVan]

Isnt Landstar also total freedom allowed? It is non forced dispatch. I would assume landstar would also have much more freight options than the camper industry which is very cyclical regarding availability of freight.

what do you mean by "hit or miss" in expediting?

If you can pick loads on the landstar board then you can determine how far you would like to travel , correct?

No i have zero interest in working with a team in my truck, i like to ride alone or in a convoy with friends, but the truck space is my own domain

Landstar's load board is mostly intended for big trucks. You will find straight truck loads there once in a while but it is usually cheap freight.


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[RoadTime]

I saw a Land Star marked pickup hauling a flat bed type trailer last night in Texas. That was interesting to see...

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[crich]

landstar has a hotshot division I was leased on for the first 6 months of this year its not horrible had a few 6k weeks and some runs under 100 miles that would pay 1k. biggest problem is your only getting 70% for the pick up and trailer. plus being stuck with just landstar freight. eld was an issue also not that it did not work correctly cause it did but really by the time you pay for all the fees a guy even a 1 truck operation can consistently do better under his or her own authority.

 

[HaulTow]

"Landstar's load board is mostly intended for big trucks. You will find straight truck loads there once in a while but it is usually cheap freight. " my truck has a gvwr of 48,000 so i dont think "big truck" freight is an issue... Also Landstar Express America does not use the LS load board is my understanding.

 

[HaulTow]

"by the time you pay for all the fees a guy even a 1 truck operation can consistently do better under his or her own authority." what fees ? i'm told its easy to average $2 a mile take home (in your pocket after LS takes their cut) both ways. Insurance fees look minor. Campers pay $2.20 a mile and .60 on backhaul. They also gouge the driver for all sorts of fees.

 

[HaulTow]

i guess the point of this thread is what job offers the most you can make with a straight truck. so far everything is pointing towards Landstar for me, i know the camper hauling industry very well... it is lucrative if hauling 2 or more. However LS freight might offer new opportunities and better reload options returning home. However i was hoping someone with more experience rather than guessing might know more than me.