WHAT CAN I DO

GMG

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Hello, im a first timer in this forum, and i have been reading for a couple of months now. I hope to be posting questions to you experienced drivers. I have a class A CDL and have driven KW's, fld 120's, and century class, 9 speeds and 10 speeds, but dont have any verifiable experience. I am interested in driving for an O/O in a class D truck. Some of my questions are: 1. What kind of experience will I have to have to get hired or will the major Co. require. 2. Ihave a job Ive been at for 8 months and were almost starving. I make 350.00 per week. With the major slow down of expediting, car manufacturers and Ect and at 60% and paying the fuel, will I be able to improve my income. 3. How many miles per week on average does or can an expediter run? Im thinking 1500. I know 18's T/L average about 2500-3000 per week. thanks for any info you can give
 

Goosy

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Dear GMG,

What City and State do you live in? I am the safety & compliance director for an expediting company in the Cleveland, Ohio area. I may be able to help you. My e-mail address is [email protected]. Write to me and tell me exactly what kind of "d" unit you are looking to drive. This information is important. In reading these forums, I have found people referring to "d" units as anything from a pick-up truck to a small stake truck so I am not sure what exactly you are looking for.

Stacey
 

RichM

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Having a Class A CDL is a good start.Most carriers also require a Haz?Mat endorsement plus a clean driving record.You sound like you want to drive for an owner who may have several trucks leased to one of the expediting carriers. Yous should be able to earn more than $350 per week doing this,assuming you are running at a 50-50 split of the gross I would think a minimum of 600-700 per week is possible,however your truck owner may require you to purchase fuel,tools etc..Best to get that out of the way first. A D unit is a staight truck that can usually carry up to 13,000 lbs or so 20-24 feet long.I don!t know of any of the major players that have company drivers,so you either need to own your own truck or drive for someone who does.Good luck,try to get your experience verifed somehow as it will certainly help,many small fleet owners are always looking for drivers on this web site so click around ..
 

GMG

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
THANKS TO GOOSY AND RICHM FOR YOUR REPLYS: Was wondering if anyone was out there. I live in Cedar Mnt. N.C.- 1HR. from Greenville SC ,Spartanburg SC, Asheville NC, I85, I40, and I26 . By class D I mean 6 wheeler 20-24 FT. 6 speed With 60 to 72 inch sleeper. Richm is that 600 to 700 gross before fuel or net? Will I bring home more money with 18s T/L than with expedite? What is an average milage per week in expediting a D unit? Thanks for any and all replies . MOUNTAINGYPSIE
 

Goosy

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Mountaingypsie,

My O/O's with that size truck are earning 75% of $1.55 per loaded mile plus 75% of whatever the freight charges were for each load. The size and weight of the load determine the freight charges. But, I can tell you that on an average my O/O's are bringing home anywhere from $900.00 to $1800.00 per week. Most of them are home nightly and the ones with the higher paychecks are the ones who "haul-#####". Excuse my french. My flatbeds are earning a tad bit higher than my box trucks. Mainly because the flats haul steel. BUT, the box trucks haul Haz. So it kind of even's itself out. My drivers have to pay for all of their own expences. With the way things are going these days the expences just keep getting higher and higher. This year alone people will see a MASSIVE increase in their insurance rates. The insurance industry say's that this increase is "perfectly" normal, and that we have not had a major increase in over 10 years. We cover the cargo insurance but the O/O must provide his/her own primary. Another thing to watch out for is the up and coming changes in the DOT regulations. More and more big-rigs are being parked because of it. If you stay with a truck under 10,000 GVWR you are (for the most part) exempt from the regs. Except if you haul haz and blah, blah, blah. And these trucks under 10,000 are earning just as much as the larger trucks (depending on who you run for).

Ah gee, I am rambling. I get on a roll and can't stop. I would be more than happy to answer any questions I can for you. I have MUCH experience on the office end of trucking. Safety & Compliance = 8 yrs. Dispatch = 3 yrs. Settlement Processing = 1 yr. Haz. Mat & Haz. Waste transportation = 3 yrs. Fleet Maintenance = 5 yrs. I even drove for a year.

Stacey
 
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