What truck should I get?

[LDB]

This is one of the most common questions people ask before entering this business, right after they ask how much they can make. Here's an example that hopefully will help clarify unit selection a little bit.

We'll use Acme Widgets as our shipper example. They represent every company that has something to ship. They have things of all shapes, sizes and weights to ship. For illustration, we'll imagine an olympic swimming pool with a hot tub and a 4' kids pool next to it. The pool has 9 lanes. They will all represent freight needs.

In the 9 lanes of the pool, 2 require a C unit and 1 a C refrigerated, 2 a D and 1 a D refrigerated and 2 an E and 1 an E refrigerated. The hot tub has to have a Sprinter or Aerocell and the wading pool needs a van. That's a total of 11 possible freight sources. An E refrigerated unit can take loads from all 11, an E from 10. The DR has 9 options and the D has 8. It goes down until you get to the "less expensive" standard van. It has 1 freight source, and the smallest one at that.

The van is less expensive when you look at the price but when you factor in the opportunity cost to the overall cost is it still less expensive? The Sprinter/Aerocell has a second freight opportunity from the hot tub so the "pool" of potential work is greater. As you move up the chain to a dock high truck, the "pool" of potential work exponentially increases. The farther up the chain you go the greater the pool. At some point, for some individuals, the additional work opportunity may not exceed the additional opportunity cost of the equipment required. There is no magic answer and it wouldn't fit everyone even if there was. You have to look at your individual situation.

This is an example of why driving for a fleet owner can be valuable. You get exposure to all this without locking yourself in to a unit type that may not be the best for you. You have the time to see the various lanes firsthand and determine which parts of the pool you want to be able to swim in.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB
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Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
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[terryandrene]

Truckload and LTL carriers base their profits on stuffing a truck full of freight from one or more customers destined to one or more locations or consignees. The bigger the truck, the greater the opportunity for maximum return on investment. Expedited freight, on the other hand, is generally defined as door-to-door, exclusive use, and time critical. Expediters provide a service that is more related to special handling than to quantity.

Leo's Acme Widget Factory will generally use a Schneider or JB Hunt to haul its everyday full truckload widgets. They would call an LTL carrier to haul one or more skids of widget destined for the Wal-Mart shelves. But when a customer has an urgent need for a set of replacement widgets, Acme will call the expediters to arrange an overnight delivery. Therefore, I think Leo's analogy is appropriate for the trucking industry in general, but not necessarily for expediting.

The answer to most appropriate truck size, I think, lies with the opportunities available from the carrier to which a person is leased.
There are carriers that have more vans and more van compatible freight. The larger carriers have freight for all truck sizes, but the amount of freight for each truck size is not equal. I believe you will find that better than 50% of all true expedite freight is 5000 pounds of widgets, or less. There will certainly be more opportunities for a Tractor/trailer to haul that 5000 pound load, but not likely at the T/T tariff.

 

[LDB]

You are right. In many cases a C unit is sufficient. My main point was there are opportunities in each lane of the pool. When one is limited by vehicle capability you absolutely get nothing from the higher lanes. I regularly transport loads that could classify as C or B in my D unit truck. I also transport loads that are B weight but require at minimum a Sprinter/Aerocell due to dimensions.

My point is when you are waiting at the corner of walk and don't walk and the customers are calling in for trucks, if you've chosen a van you will be unable to take as many of the potential loads for the day. The right carrier will keep the vans as busy as anyone, especially when the van operators know what they are doing and proactively position themselves in the right areas.

Unfortunately, newcomers don't know those areas yet and many get into this in a van thinking they've minimized their financial exposure but at the same time minimizing their opportunity pool. I just hope to get people to think about all the options and what may be best for them specifically, as well as the possible benefit of driving for someone to learn the business and what portion of it fits them best.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB
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Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
EO Forum Moderator
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Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[arkjarhead]

Another thing about the pay is how desperate the customer is. I hauled a a skid with 38 pounds on it once in a d unit with full d pay from Kansas City to Dale,IN and then swapped onto a sprinter by grabbing the skid and placing it into the sprinter. Evidently that customer felt that skid moving was urgent enough to pay a d rate part of the way.

 

[ATeam]

People have different things in mind when they buy trucks, many of them NOT business related. The non-business factors should be thought through too, as they affect business outcomes.

While there are drivers out there that don't feel like real truck drivers unless they are driving real trucks (big rigs), there are also people out there with no shuch feelings. When they say they want to see the country, they mean more than seeing the country's truck stops. They buy straight trucks or vans that can park elsewhere and provide more tourist opportunities.

The more content you are with the TYPE of truck you drive (B, C, CR, D, DR, E, or ER), the more likely you are to stick with the truck you choose and the kind of freight it will end up hauling.

I suggest that before first-time truck buyers take the plunge, they determine as best they can what TYPE of truck is right for them. As Leo already suggested, driving fleet owner trucks is a good way to decide. Once you know what truck TYPE is right for you, you can explore the revenue opportunities and spec options within that TYPE.