Cargo Van Owners with Authority subject to DOT driving limits?

Yes, that's what I thought , as far as the rules. Other than the normal things all drivers are subject too. I dont know if you call it expediting or ltl, but there is a decent amount of freight on the load boards. I even had shippers proposition me on making runs already, and Ive only been on the boards a couple of weeks. Im in NJ, pretty close to nyc. Seeing a decent amount of loads going over $2/mile around here and $1.50 plus for long hauls to florida, california. Not bad.

 

Maybe I am, but ive seen stuff weighing 1k, 2k pounds. May be van , but the dimensions looked like the stuff would fit. Were paying pretty decent, so I dont see why it would matter to the shipper whether its on a tractor or in a cargo van. If they are paying 1.50 for something that weighs 1500, 2000 lbs...the cargo van has the advantage. Gas costs are much cheaper. But, im not sure. Maybe this 1k-2k stuff wont fit?

 

You guys make it sound as if its impossible to owner/operate a cargo van. If this were the case, you wouldnt have fleets of cargo vans paying drivers .80-1/mile and still making a profit doing that. Believe me, I am new , but there are people who are doing well that dont want to ruin it by posting it all on a message board so the opportunity is ruined. From people I know that are doing well, getting hooked up with some good brokers is part of it. Now, no question there is way more freight for the big trucks, but there are also many more big trucks. Also, I only need to find stuff for one van. if there are companies with 20 vans finding freight to ship, its out there. I havent done anything yet, and I am in negotiations on a daily route one day of the week. Guy wants to pay $450 for a 270 mile run...im asking for $500. Not bad for driving a vehicle that gets 15-20mpg. If you figure the fuel I pay versus a tractor, I have 1/3, maybe 1.4 the fuel costs. I can also drive faster. That creates a market.

 

Did you have your own authority? Doesnt sound like it. The guy that found me off a load board did so because he saw that I recently obtained authority. His company is a courier company and he wanted to pay $450 for that 270 mile trip because hes going to even make a decent profit on top of it. It sounds like you may have been doing courier work. I did that too, for a short time, and that paid very poorly, mainly because you had no say on what loads you could take. Having your own authority is the only way you can take frieight from these brokers it seems. They are paying pretty decent from what I see, but I havent done it yet, so it remains to be seen in practice.

 

Yes, I agree. Thats not the same thing as this...a good sign is that a courier company offered me that $450 for 270 miles. before he even offered, I was thinking 500-550 based on what ive been seeing on the boards locally. Having your own authority , paying the big bucks to get 1 million liability and 100k cargo, is the way to go. basically expediting, but cuttng out the company raping you and idling you because it benefits them. Doing it for yourself, you can save time. just find the freight. Expediting would really be a waste of time if you are sitting for 2-3 days at a time.