HOwdy y'all, as I said in the past I was going to stretch a semi for expediting. Well now that I have this beautiful piece of machinery sitting in my yard I feel it would be a shame to stretch it... I have my CDL-A and have driven semi in the past but never Expedited in a semi.. So my question is should I sign this truck on my lease with Express-1 or should I find a regular trucking company? I Just don't want to sit around waiting for loads as much as I did in a D unit. I hear it is easier to get a load for a semi but can someone that runs one in Expedite verify that for me? Well if anyone has any useful info on this subject please let me know. Thanks and y'all have a wonderful holiday, Andy
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Semi- to expedite or not???
- Thread starter Bigtyme
- Start date
You didn!t mention if you were going to run as a team. The oufit I am with (starts with the letter F)seems to bend over backwards to keep their E units(tractors) happy. I have been passed over on trips that I could have carried but Tractor units seem to get them. They are the most versatile type truck as they can haul everything,the only drawback is getting into and out of some locations. If I was advising a young couple how to go,I would say go the Big truck way,If it doesn!t work out there are umpteen companies you can go to, but the streched D unit has limitations. My thoughts only.
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This is a good thread to have. I've been thinking along the same lines, although I don't have the T/T experince.
My thinking is that after 6 years you have to sell the expedite truck (in most cases) and the market for 6 y/o expedite trucks can't be all that good when most of the company's are requiring newer trucks than that. The T/T truck would still be very saleable with less depreciation. Depreciation is something that I've learned the hard way that depreciation is one of the things that sneak up on ya real hard with these big trucks.
I've been thinking too that if you could stretch the truck in such a way that it allows you to "undo" it later, then you could sell the tractor and possibly use some the same materials to stretch the next truck. I have talked to a few in the business of stretching trucks and they all agree that welding is only done at the point where the 2 frames meet. Then they double frame from the drive axle/s to at least the cab mounts, preferrably to the engine mounts. If done in this way, the whole thing could be put back to it's original state and sold.
This would obviously require a lot of work and rework when you trade trucks, but it might save/make you some money.
My thinking is that after 6 years you have to sell the expedite truck (in most cases) and the market for 6 y/o expedite trucks can't be all that good when most of the company's are requiring newer trucks than that. The T/T truck would still be very saleable with less depreciation. Depreciation is something that I've learned the hard way that depreciation is one of the things that sneak up on ya real hard with these big trucks.
I've been thinking too that if you could stretch the truck in such a way that it allows you to "undo" it later, then you could sell the tractor and possibly use some the same materials to stretch the next truck. I have talked to a few in the business of stretching trucks and they all agree that welding is only done at the point where the 2 frames meet. Then they double frame from the drive axle/s to at least the cab mounts, preferrably to the engine mounts. If done in this way, the whole thing could be put back to it's original state and sold.
This would obviously require a lot of work and rework when you trade trucks, but it might save/make you some money.
You might want to talk to Landstar Express America and see if expedite was slow could you haul regular Landstar freight or use regular Landstar freight to get you to a better expedite area with minimal deadhead?
Or at least check with the CO. you are considering signing on with if they will let you trip lease or haul broker freight rather than deadhead.
I see that possibility as the advantage of the E units.
Or at least check with the CO. you are considering signing on with if they will let you trip lease or haul broker freight rather than deadhead.
I see that possibility as the advantage of the E units.