Dead Heading - How far have you been dead headed?

You do a lot of that if you do tanker/hazmat. I've deadheaded many, many times from CA to East Coast, from WA to East Coast, from AZ to East Coast, from Canada to East Coast. Same pay for me loaded or empty. It's all figured into the billing of the shippers & receivers. In many tanker/hazmat companies, 50% of your miles will be deadhead. It's great if you live close to the home terminal, because you're making good OTR pay and plenty of hometime; every time you unload, you head for home. No hanging around a truckstop waiting for a load.

 

Depends how the freight is rated. Oftentimes if it's going to a dead zone your company will have factored potential deadhead into the rate. Pulling tanks, we sometimes have dedicated loads in excess of 1,000 miles where you come back empty. I'm about to go from GA to CT on a dedicated load.

I've deadheaded from Saskatoon, SK to Chicago, Sahuarita, AZ to Lake Charles, LA. I believe both of those were 12 or 1300 miles.

 

Stevens used to deadhead me from El Paso to Amarillo to pick up a meat load when I came off of time off. The longest deadhead I've had with my current employer has been to Calexico, CA from Las Vegas, NV. That load was 5 pallets, lol.

 

From Houston to LA once.

 

ive deadhead a little over 1000 miles before to pick up a load of art work lol

 

Okay, before I start naming off distances, let me clarify: Before I accept a load to a dead zone, I insure that I can make a decent profit even if I bounce all the way back into my freight lane. Took a 6 axle load out to OtayMesa. Got empty and the first load offered was paying $.58 per mile to go to Chicago. The next one was $1.18 per mile to go to Connecticut. Dispatcher calls me the next day.
"Where are you at?"
"Fort Stockton"
"Where is Fort Stockton?"
"Right between ElPaso and San Antonio."
"Texas?"
"Yes."
"What are you doing in Texas? We had freight in California!"
"Not for me, you didn't."
"Let me see what we have in that area."
"don't bother. I won't be able to pick up a trailer until I reach Houston or Laredo."
" You're bobtailing??? Why didn't you bring a trailer with you?"
" My empty weight with that trailer is 43000 lbs. why should I tote that heavy trailer around when we have a drop yard in San Diego?"

man was dispatch pissed. Oh well.

I've bounced from Salt Lake City to Laredo, Moab,UT to Laredo. Pueblo,CO to Laredo, San Diego to Laredo, Nogales to Laredo, Dartmouth,novaScotia to Youngstown,oh.

now, I don't just bounce to bounce. It's a strategic move. How so? When you go to a dead zone, the shippers and brokers think, "Ha, these dumb truck drivers will pull this dirt cheap load just to get out of the area." And a dispatcher will tell you, "Driver, that POS load weighing 44000 lbs and paying $.70cpm will help pay for fuel and get you into a better place."

Really? If it costs you $.80 cpm to operate your truck when loaded, maybe $.60cpm to bounce, and they offer you $.70cpm to take a BS load, which is more advantageous for you? Well, if you take the load, you have to go load it and unload it. Dispatchers and brokers get paid whether you make a dollar or not.
1. This load doesn't pay for the time it takes to load it and unload it, bouncing saves loads of time. The more time you save, the more opportunity you have for making money.
2. You're the freakin driver. You're dong all the work and assuming all the responsibility. Why should everyone else involved (shippers, brokers, dispatchers) make money, and you, the person who did all the work, get zilch? If I don't get paid, why should anyone else profit from my loss?
3. A bounce from a dead zone for me is normally 1200 miles. If you're paying for fuel, would you rather weigh 34000 lbs or 80000?

dont make the mistake and reach for the quick buck. You will wind up spending $4 a gallon just to make a $.10cpm.

 

Montana to Alaska.

 

Just so long as you're getting paid, it doesn't have to make to sense..

 

Or, you could bounce empty and take a $.60 per mile loss. Other than standing on principle, I've never understood bounce empty to a better area. You will soon go out of business doing that!