I am currently attending Truck Driver school in Cincinnati Ohio and I get to speak with a lot of recruiters. Most are promoting Flatbed to make more money. Is this true or is it bait and switch? Pays more but you get fewer loads due to tarping and averaging out the same as a dry van with no touch. Or is it as they describe and you can make as much as 10K more a year just doing Flatbed.
JoBernard
Member
Van is obviously less work, being more work Flatbed should put one in a better position to ask for more money. Running van I've charged as much as an extra 200 to put my hand on anything, but that's in a decent market, in a dead market i might off load the whole thing "if" I can get the bottom dollar rate that I have to make, so I know brokers are getting at least 200 or more, Boone's right, in most cases brokers strip as much opportunity out of the loads as possible. This whole argument Flat vs Van goes back to that ol' Van vs Refer or something: it all boils down to a personal preference, but as far as the bottom dollar is concern it's a market thing: In a decent market, and if you know your market and how to command it, "you work harder-you charge more" but if you don't know your market and how to command it, I don't care what you run, you gonna take nothin but a bludgeoning.
Flatbedpete
Drivers unite
WOW that's a good one. Kinda like, Its my lie and I will tell it the way I want. Well we do flat bed and RGN. My opinion is the rates all suck, the economy is in the gutter, so a truck is a truck. Flatbed work is slow and that is why the flatbed rate is low now. I don't know about van freight, because we don't do any. I do know that I will make more per job, mile, weight any way you want to do it with a flatbed over a van. Or we don't start the trucks. To many people are cutting the rates just so they can make the car and house payments. Everything I have I own. I sat for many months with no work, and can still out last many who will go broke trying to make ends meet pulling cheap freight. Now don't take me wrong, I am in no way above anyone. I have not run a truck in the last 3 months because I am not going to wear out my equipment, burn up fuel, and haul some tight asses freight for a buck and a half a mile. Flatbeds don't move until the daily average fuel rate with tax is met per mile and RGN service starts at 250 per hour on low end. So with that said you know I am not moving freight. Because of the last two trucks we sent to the pro's at authorized repair facilities, and ended up with two trashed motors. We have decided to open up a full service repair shop. This will keep us busy. We are in Indiana, and no one I mean no one we have dealt with here knows how to fix shit. We are going to do something different on this end. If we don't fix it, you don't pay for it. I feel that its our job, to correctly diagnose and repair the vehicle. Not to charge for hours and hours of incorrect diagnosis and then faulty repair. So far that is working well, and our shop rate is far less than any dealer and most repair shops. We may not change the water pump in one hour, but maybe in one and a half. But the job will be done right the first time, not two or three trips back for the same thing. Well I got way off subject here, so to all of you have a safe trip and enjoy the time you have with your loved ones.
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