Can I make a decent living as an Expediter??

[shakeytails]

Hi y'all. Just discovered this board... LOTS of useful info! I am not a trucker of any kind, my only experience with trucks is loading them. I drive a forklift and work on the shipping dock of an automotive parts factory.

I was talking with one expediter on Saturday about how things work. He was telling me that the truck he was driving- Freightliner w/ a small sleeper and about a 20' box- ("D" unit, right?)- made him about 90G last year, and he doesn't stay on the road constantly. He told me I could get a similar truck, used, for about 20,000 and do quite well in this business. Was this guy pulling my leg?

Do you guys think it would be possible to net about 30,000/year as a solo staying within about 600 miles of home. I'm really not interested in being away from home for days or weeks at a time. Home is Central KY, right off I-65 and the Western KY Parkway. I have a small farm and I'd like to have more flexibility with my time, so if we have hay to put up,for example, I can go out of service for 2 or 3 days. Right now I'm just exploring options for other employment- I DON'T want to spend the rest of my life in this factory!

 

[Weave]

It is easy now to get a decent piece of "starter" expedite spec. equipment in the $20-30K range to meet the needs of a solo operator. However, in my opinion, regardless of where you live or the equipment you run, (you live in a pretty good spot for freight) to net in the $30-40k range you will more than likely need to run or be available to run for 8-10 days out at a time. I use some funny terminology to describe expediting to people -- "It's over the road trucking..but it's not."
What I mean by that is in order to make some bucks you'll have to stay away from home a bit. But you don't have to do the grueling months away form home on the road some folks on this forum insist you have to to make a good living (unless you WANT to.. don't want to make you die-hards mad.) The saying "Trucking is not for wimps" still holds true in expediting- It is not easy to live in a truck. The longer you can stay out, the more money you will most likely make, but if you can't hack at least 8 or 10 days away from home you are better off keeping the day job.
-Weave-

 

[teacel]

Weave did sum up the time out on the road thing, and he is right on. Unless you can find a company to work for where you may be able to land a dedicated run, then everything that Weave told you stands. Some of the best runs come in on the weekends, and there isn't every many drivers that are in service then.

Another choice you have is to go into another type of vehicle. Here is a link (http://www.expeditenow.com/2000/July/Soap_Box78.html)that gives you an idea about the types of vehicles used in the expediting field, and the revenue that they can make.

The 90K may have been stretched a bit, or maybe not. This is a strange business and very unpredictable. Anything can happen, and most of the time it does. I don't think the driver you was talking to was pulling your leg at all. If he wanted to pull your leg, he would have told you that this business sucks and not to get into it, WHY? because then that would be one less driver to worry about getting a load that he could have had.

For the most part and if you play your cards right, I would have to say YES!!! you can make a decent living as an Expediter. Good Luck!

 

[Weave]

My average gross over 4 years running the D units has been $80-90K, running solo out 8-10 days. Effeciency is the key to net pay- it's not the money you make, but the money you KEEP. That all comes to life at tax time. Has anyone else on Earth noticed how many places go out of business every year after April 15th? Running a business is like a delicate coal furnace- you have to figure out what how much you can take out and how much to shovel in. No joke, I have a friend who went under last year at tax time who solo grossed $115k with his D unit. But he sucked every penny dry and didn't put anything back in. Uncle Sam just LOVED him!
-Weave-