Driver Lifestyles
George McDonald: Changing Gears
George McDonald has changed! This veteran expediter and long-time EO contributor has moved from the 6-wheeler world to the 4-wheeler domain and he says he couldn't be happier.
But why the change?
George has been plying his trade in a series of straight trucks since he started in the emergency freight business in the early 90's, including his UD ,his FL60, and most recently, his beloved 2001 Western Star. After many profitable years with Roberts Express/FedEx Custom Critical, George was somewhat road-weary and he sought local trucking work around his home base of Newport News, VA.
In February 2003, he signed with Eagle Global Logistics (EGL), and began running local freight. He discovered that, despite his love for his 2001 Western Star (setup as a "C" unit with 16' box), the straight truck was just a little "too much truck for driving locally."
"I'm averaging 150 to 200 miles a day," says George. "I run from the Norfolk Naval Base to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard to the Oceania Naval Air Station and back to the Naval base. I do that schedule twice a day. At night, I take a load from the Military Airlift Command to the Norfolk Shipyard."
George says that when it came time to make the change from his Western Star to the Sprinter, timing was everything. And, he gives credit to Expediters Online's Free Classifieds for making the buyer/seller connections:
"The buyer saw the Star advertised on the Free Classifieds and I made arrangements with Akron-OH dealer Dan Schultz to take care of the sale for me. During this same time, former truck dealer Dan Tilley had placed an ad on the Free Classifieds that read:
[2003 Sprinter!! Less than 800 miles. Can help with financing! All options. Purchased new and prior to signing on with expedite company, customer changed his mind. Now he has a Sprinter that you can get a deal on.]
"I was very interested in that truck, especially when I saw the asking price of $31,000."
"I took my Star up to Dan Schultz to finalize that sale and the Sprinter owner was kind enough to drive from Philadelphia, PA to pick me up in Akron. We drove on back to Philly, where I took possession of the Sprinter. That was around the end of July."
George's new ride
"My Sprinter is a 2003 Freightliner 2500, with the 158" wheelbase and 73" tall roof. It has the 2.7 5-cylinder diesel and a 4-speed automatic.
"The van has a bulkhead installed, and because I'm running only locally now, there's no need to install a bunk or carry much in the way of personal gear."
George says that he experienced a degree of "equipment culture shock" in moving from a straight truck to Cargo Van, particularly in the area of loading/offloading.
"For many years, I had forklifts running in and out of my trucks and never really gave the process much thought. When I got the Sprinter, I tried to think of a better way to get the freight in and out without using pull straps or tow bars. I came up with something a little different."
Something a little different, for sure George's Sprinter is possibly the only vehicle in expediting with built-in rollers. Yes, the same kind of "gravity conveyor" roller system that is used in warehouses, factories and unloading trailers at the local store.
"I found the rollers at W.W.Grainger, who originally quoted me a price of $680.00 for all three sets. Well, they didn't come in when they were supposed to, and, when they did arrive, one set was damaged. They found another set that would do the job and dropped the total price to $400.00."
"A friend of mine who owns a shop did the installation on the rollers and the e-track. I traded out my services for the install. When he needs freight picked up or delivered, I'll take care of it for him."
"There are 3 sections of rollers - one set is 18 " wide and 10' long. The second set is 24" wide and 10" long and the third set back is 24" wide and 3' long. The only space I lose is the two inches of height.
"The space in the middle of the rollers is a 6" walkway to handle freight better. So far, the heaviest pallet I have had was 1900 pounds and I encountered no difficulty in on-loading or off-loading."
"Even though the freight sits on the rollers, I can secure it very well by using straps and load lock bars. I also have tie-down rings on the floor."
"Several customers at first thought there was going to be a problem taking their freight on and off the van until they realized I had rollers in the back."
George continues, "The cargo rolls on and off with an easy push and all I have to do is secure the load. Of course, because of the tight space, you have to load the freight in the order in which it's going to be delivered. Unlike the straight truck, you can't move skids around to get to one in back."
"There are other cargo van owners around this area who have seen this setup and are considering rollers now."
The bottom line
George states that, although he had worked the figures out before the change to the Sprinter, he has still been pleasantly surprised by the savings he has experienced.
"Obviously, I've increased my fuel mileage," he says. "It costs a lot less to fill up this 30 gallon tank compared to the Western Star."
"For the month of August I used 228 gallons of fuel. Total miles driven were 4,897 - an average of 21 mpg, and that's mainly city driving." (George says that he is always conscious of his driving, no jack rabbit starts, no idling at the pickups or deliveries, run at the speed limit, etc.)
"There is also a savings of $290.00 as I am no longer required to pay an additional fuel tax or highway usage tax. (IFTA)."
"My truck payments and insurance prices are lower, thereby saving more money. The difference in truck payments is $524.92 a month and my insurance payments have dropped a total of $160.00 and now my insurance is $200.00 a month."
He continues, "With the Sprinter, there is no longer a requirement to fill out the DOT logs, thereby saving time so I get to bed earlier and am more alert in the morning. (Less cups of coffee thereby saving money.)
"I figure the cost of maintenance on the van is cheaper, i.e., on a complete set of tires, I figure to save around $1600.00 and an oil change is about $40.00 less."
"I calculate that I'm saving $1,000.00 a month now with the Sprinter."
George says that Eagle Global Logistics thought that going to a Sprinter could be a mistake: "When they pictured a cargo van, they were thinking of Ford or Chevy vans that simply do not have the stand up room that the Freightliner Sprinter has."
EGL has been very surprised at the amount of freight that I can get on a Sprinter. It's worked out very well because I'm still doing the same runs and making the same money, but my expenses have been cut dramatically."
"The only real change I have encountered is that I get to put more money in my pocket."