Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/135388
VOICES SHARING KNOWLEDGE What's your best advice for choosing loads? " We might deadhead 1,000 miles for a 300-mile load. You look at the miles and the total revenue, and you make a business decision on that. Can you make money on that load? " Linda Caffee | leased to FedEx Custom Critical A ny number of factors, in addition to the basic rate, can influence a decision to accept a load. Required deadhead, backhaul potential, likelihood of dock delays, load weight and other things can make a haul profitable – or not. Here are factors that stand out to three experienced owner-operators. Voices: Sharing Knowledge brought to you by: Visit OverdriveOnline.com/ SharingKnowledge to answer this month's question: What's your best tip for cutting fuel costs? You could receive a Mobil Delvac jacket for participating! Do unto drivers … Many drivers call me for prayer because of the way they are treated. Too many shippers and receivers do not provide restrooms. We are treated like cattle — no overnight parking, and long waits for loads either to pick up or deliver. Many times I have waited 30 hours or more for a load. The Bible says to treat others as you want to be treated — we sure are not. — Bob Sauter, driver and pastor, CDL Drivers Church of Delivery Scan the QR for Sauter's account of a recent nightmare delivery in Dallas, or search "Bob Sauter" at OverdriveOnline.com. " I try to keep in the specialized area. You're not having to sit in line on both ends. " Tim Philmon | leased to Landstar " We can pull an empty shipping container, and it's like pulling a parachute, but we can put a heavy object on the trailer, like building supplies, and we get better mileage because it works better with the flatbed. " Tom (and Karen) Moore owners of Tom Moore Transportation Looks like we got ourselves a 'parade!' Convoys, a thing of trucking Sam Peckinpah's 1978 "Convoy" flick memorialized the truckers' protest convoy in the days of the lore, occasionally are today's 55-mph speed limit. The C.W. McCall song on which reality. Knoxville, Tenn.-based it was based scored No. 4 on our 2011 reader poll of the top 10 trucking songs, behind "Six Days on the hauler Kyle Cantor sent us Road," "East Bound and Down" and "Teddy Bear." a letter suggesting a Memorial Day convoy to "show these young dogs how much fun" trucking can be. We posted it to Overdrive's Facebook page and asked how often convoys happen in this day and age. Jeff Mathews was among the first to chime in: "Convoys are illegal. … I prefer the term parade!" Parade it is, Jeff. We asked readers "What was the last impromptu convoy (er … parade) you've seen?" Lee Rexroad: Twenty-one trucks rolling out of St Louis on I-70 heading east, had the back door. Looks good from the back. Scott Davis: I had about 15 trucks coming out of San Antonio – a "good-time gang" with me in the rocking chair. It was pretty cool. 6 | Overdrive | June 2013 Voices_0613.indd 6 5/30/13 5:57 PM