Instead of buying a really small trailer, why not stay at a really small hotel? Microtel: online hotel reservations, hotel discounts, hotel packages, hotel promotions
Pulling a really small camper
- Thread starter rainbowwar24
- Start date
Brisco
Expert Expediter
Wow....talk about a price hike!!
Cabela's: Luggable Loo Bucket Lid Toilet Seat
At least you can still find 5 gallon buckets for free outside any paint store.
Cabela's: Luggable Loo Bucket Lid Toilet Seat
At least you can still find 5 gallon buckets for free outside any paint store.
Brisco
Expert Expediter
This would be even better than toting a trailer around.
If you don't get a load offer by 4-5pm or so, just go ahead and check into a hotel for the night. No muss, no fuss. You'll have all the amenities you seek right there. Clock back in by 8am the next morning, and if no loads are offered, just check in to the hotel again.
It's not that expensive......a lot of guys here do this every night.
There's a reason nobody seems to like your idea. It's because (1) you're not the first person to come up with idea (meaning, the wheel has already been invented, many times by many people), and (2) if it were viable and acceptable to do what you want, then there would be a significant percentage of expediters doing it, for the same reasons you've stated.
You can call it whatever you want, be it a SUPPORT/CAMPER or a trailer or a widget-on-wheels, it doesn't matter. Nor does it matter if it's YOUR truck. If you are leased on to a carrier you are running under THEIR authority. When you lease on with a carrier you are you are literally transferring the right to possession and/or use of goods or equipment (your truck) for a term in return for consideration. You need to fully understand what that means.
Pay close attention to the first sentence of Blizzard's post. And to the second, for that matter. It's like those who complain about the loud noise of big trucks, or of the diesel fumes. If you don't like it hot, don't become a chef, or a dry cleaner (you have no idea). But absolutely don't become a chef or a dry cleaner and then constantly complain about the heat, or become a truck driver and then complain about all-things thucking. If you don't like diesel fumes, or loud truck noises, or truckstops, then a career in trucking might not be for you. And if you don't like to be baby-sat, I can give you the name of a carrier that might not be for you, too. <snort>
Brisco's post should be well-heeded (with the exception of the 10,001 pounds being somehow important for CDL licensing, since you don't need a CDL until the vehicle hits 26,001 pounds, or you are hauling HAZMAT). But everything else matters. It's not the actual weight, but the rating of the combined vehicle. And if the combined rating of the van and the trailer exceed 10,001 pounds, then you've gotta log and scale regardless of the actual weight, loaded or empty.
I do, however, think you are worthy of people's attention here, if for no other reason that there will be others out there who will be thinking along the same lines you are, trying to re-invent the wheel yet again, and will come across this thread and learn something. The beauty of expediting is, the more you learn, the more you learn you don't know. And what's more, when you think you've learned a lot, and you're ready to get out and there and do it, once you get out there and start doing it you realize you don't know half of what you thought you knew.
Brisco
Expert Expediter
And I always get all screwy backwards on the weight issues between licensing and logging.
We covered this before. Guys talking at truckstops don't say, "10,001 Lbs or more". We speak in terms of "10K, 26K," and understand what we are saying to each other.
IMO, don't really think rainbow will ever be out there trying to live the life of an OTR driver anyways. Let's just say it's a feeling I have, OK.
BigRed32771
Expert Expediter
Wow....talk about a price hike!!
Cabela's: Luggable Loo Bucket Lid Toilet Seat
At least you can still find 5 gallon buckets for free outside any paint store.
Lowe's changed their paint buckets. Not sure if lids designed for the traditional bucket will fit them anymore.
moose
Veteran Expediter
Thanks to the FMCSA and their crystal clear as mud prose, a lot of people do.
The same "we" that always gets it screwy backwards on the weight issues between licensing and logging? Those "we"? LOL Sorry, couldn't pass that one up. But imprecise language results in imprecise knowledge. What works well at truckstops and on the CB doesn't necessarily work as well on a site where there are many invisible newbies lurking about trying to soak up knowledge and information.We covered this before. Guys talking at truckstops don't say, "10,001 Lbs or more". We speak in terms of "10K, 26K," and understand what we are saying to each other.
I read this site for 2 or 3 years before I became an expediter, and another year or so before I joined. I'm probably not unique in that, there are likely a lot of others in similar situations, and those are the people I post for, mainly.
rainbowwar24
Active Expediter
Wow, i'm sorry for "spouting" off!! lol!! I am just going by what my brother has been telling me. He has been a truck driver for 35 yrs! And yes, i have been out in my van for weeks at a time. I personally thought it sucked. So I figured if i was going to do it full time, i was gonna make it nicer for "me". I actually thought expediters did not pull a camper was because of the hassle, an backing up issues. i drove a 30' rv, with a 22' camper behind it! I never had any issues. For the guy who chimed in on how much my camper would weigh, go to Toad Campers: Home. You need to catch up to 2011. They make a 16' camper with all the bells and whistles weighing in at UNDER 1,200 lbs!!! Heck, I don't even want one that long! They said they will make it any way I want. I am not worried at all about how many times I have to unhook, and hook back up. The benefits outweigh that! The job I will be doing is going to Automobile plants. $1.00 a mile loaded, all in, and .20 deadhead, all in. In fact, I will just look like a van/cube pulling a camping trailer!! I will have no lettering on it at all. Y'all have a great night!! Thanks for all the input!
You can have a camper or whatever else you want out here on the road, fact of the matter is you will be parked in some nasty noisy parking lot somewhere. It doesn't change the fact that you are living like an animal on the road. I personally prefer to live like an animal during the week and get hotel rooms on the weekends. It cost me about 4k a year, but for two days a week i'm not in the parking lot listening to car alarms chirp and pick-up trucks with loud mufflers roar past my van. I look at people with hundred thousand dollar RV units and think to myself "you just spent all that cash to live in a truck stop/wal-mart parking lot. lol.
If you want a trailer, that's cool man, but it's going to be a lot of hassle. Also, I don't know what company you are working for with no decals, because there are automotive plants that won't even allow you on their property without atleast a magnetic sign. What do you think the security guard at unionized Ford plant is going to say when he see's your "unmarked" box truck pulling into his plant with a delivery looking like some sort of recreation vehicle! I mean, that is not a very professional look to say the least. You sure you gonna make a dollar a mile hauling automotive freight? lol. I don't think automotive freight pays that well these days!
If you want a trailer, that's cool man, but it's going to be a lot of hassle. Also, I don't know what company you are working for with no decals, because there are automotive plants that won't even allow you on their property without atleast a magnetic sign. What do you think the security guard at unionized Ford plant is going to say when he see's your "unmarked" box truck pulling into his plant with a delivery looking like some sort of recreation vehicle! I mean, that is not a very professional look to say the least. You sure you gonna make a dollar a mile hauling automotive freight? lol. I don't think automotive freight pays that well these days!
zero3nine
Veteran Expediter
I have yet to find a shipper that wont let me on the premises without a sign or lettering on the van. I run plain white a lot of the time unless I'm representing someone else, which is about 20% of the time. In these cases, I slap the magnets on so their customers can see the name.
That being said, I'm not pulling a camper onto their lot.
I'll be curious as to Mr. Rainbow's progress. I hope he will post up when he finds his trailer missing. I just hope he adds the cost of impound fees into his yearly outlay of funds.... maybe twice a year if he's putting on any real mileage.
Oh, and the trailer staying "out of the air".... LOL that is a good one.
fired at you from my Droideka
That being said, I'm not pulling a camper onto their lot.
I'll be curious as to Mr. Rainbow's progress. I hope he will post up when he finds his trailer missing. I just hope he adds the cost of impound fees into his yearly outlay of funds.... maybe twice a year if he's putting on any real mileage.
Oh, and the trailer staying "out of the air".... LOL that is a good one.
fired at you from my Droideka
Me, too. This is exciting. I can think of a dozen automotive plants right off the top of my head where that trailer will absolutely not be allowed on the property, and there's no place to drop it while delivering.
I wish he was going to be a regular expediter instead of just an automotive plant expediter, because I'd love to read the recount of the first time he pulls up to a nuclear power plant with support/camper trailer in tow. Or a military base. Or delivers to a gold mine off the Interstate and 58 miles up a gravel road in Nevada. Or delivers to pretty much any location in Manhattan. Or to Ceva Logistics in Miami (with it's tree-trunk speed bumps and man-trap entrance and exit.
) Calling it a hassle is very mild. Likely, it's a hassle that will result in a late delivery more than once. The customer nor the carrier is gonna care that he arrived on-time but has to leave the consignee and go find a place to drop that trailer only to come back and deliver late. Bottom line is, if you want things to be comfortable, then build a comfortable sleeper in the truck or van. I did. And I'm very comfortable.
Camper
Not a Member
Instead of tying yourself up in knots, trying to reinvent the wheel for the sake of creature comforts, perhaps you should use the "search" feature and look through the archives. I think you'll find that the question of trailers has been discussed numerous times. While you're at it, you might want to check out the cargo van setup guide:
http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/truck-talk/44065-cargo-van-setup-guide.html
I think you'll find that most of the creature comforts you seek can be had by outfitting the existing space in your van to comport to your level of comfort. As for showers, just get yourself the expediter card for use at TA/Pilot stops as was suggested in previous posts.
http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/truck-talk/44065-cargo-van-setup-guide.html
I think you'll find that most of the creature comforts you seek can be had by outfitting the existing space in your van to comport to your level of comfort. As for showers, just get yourself the expediter card for use at TA/Pilot stops as was suggested in previous posts.
Last edited:
zero3nine
Veteran Expediter
Yeah, or how about delivering to the 40th floor of a building where the loading dock is underground...?
There is absolutely no scenario I can think of where a trailer would be a good idea.
I'm happy with the bed in my van, Tempur-pedic mattress and all. Got a portable latrine, shower, and I carry a hammock and tent. I stay at campgrounds whenever possible, love sleeping outdoors.
Still, I'm not above sleeping in a truck stop when necessary. The sound of diesel engines idling is soothing to me... and foam earplugs are cheap.
fired at you from my Droideka
There is absolutely no scenario I can think of where a trailer would be a good idea.
I'm happy with the bed in my van, Tempur-pedic mattress and all. Got a portable latrine, shower, and I carry a hammock and tent. I stay at campgrounds whenever possible, love sleeping outdoors.
Still, I'm not above sleeping in a truck stop when necessary. The sound of diesel engines idling is soothing to me... and foam earplugs are cheap.
fired at you from my Droideka
rainbowwar24
Active Expediter
Thank you for your input. Like I said before, I don't mind the hassle. I have been messing with rv's and campers all my life. I have been delivering to plants, military sites, boeing, etc in my car, without any decals. I just show them my manifest/order sheet, and I go right in. I am sure I will have a set of magnets that I can use if needed. My van is $8,000, and the new camper will be $3,000. So with $11,000, i will be totally set up. I am not complaining about the noise at the truckstop, it's the disgusting parking lots, restrooms, showers, and garbage food. Plus I have 2 dogs that I take everywhere I go. So getting a hotel room costs more for me, plus you have to find one that lets dogs in. As far as the money goes, I am getting $.85 a mile during the day, and $1.00 to $1.05 a mile after hrs in my car. But the runs are no longer than 200 miles or so. Some days I make up to $500, but there are days I make $16.05 a day, for just one in town run. I like the longer runs. I haul for the Red Cross, Airnet, Green Ribbon, MNX, FedEx, Ups, Network, Etc. I am on call 24/7. So I figure if I am goning to be on call all the time, I might as well be working all the time, or at least most of it. So I am going to venture out on the road. Here is what I will be doing, I just copied and pasted this: We are an expediting company based in Michigan. We mostly expedite auto parts for Chrysler - Ford- GM - Nissan - Honda- FedEx..etc, so our freight is pick up and go.the freight can vary from cargo van to tractor trailer. Our van freight can be small boxes to 2 skids (5lbs to 2000lbs).
We have drivers located throughout the US, however we do not have anyone in your area and your area has become quite busy.OWNER OPERATORS WITH CARGO VANS-
$1.00 loaded (all in), $0.20 empty (all in) LOCAL $75 (all in)
ALL expedited moves, mostly automotive related.
All miles paid
NO upfront $, NO escrow, NO hold back,
NO charge satellite, two way communication.
Quick settlements, this week's work paid next Friday. So as you can see, I am really interested in trying this out, with not a whole bunch of money invested, plus, I love to camp, and I will already have the set up I need to do it in!!! LOL!! Y'all have a great day!! Stay safe!!!
We have drivers located throughout the US, however we do not have anyone in your area and your area has become quite busy.OWNER OPERATORS WITH CARGO VANS-
$1.00 loaded (all in), $0.20 empty (all in) LOCAL $75 (all in)
ALL expedited moves, mostly automotive related.
All miles paid
NO upfront $, NO escrow, NO hold back,
NO charge satellite, two way communication.
Quick settlements, this week's work paid next Friday. So as you can see, I am really interested in trying this out, with not a whole bunch of money invested, plus, I love to camp, and I will already have the set up I need to do it in!!! LOL!! Y'all have a great day!! Stay safe!!!
Getting into expedite so you can work all or most of the time. Now that's funny. He obviously hasn't done much reading here.
Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
My thoughts exactly.
In software engineering there's a saying, Reinventing The Square Wheel, which is the practice of unnecessarily engineering artifacts that provide functionality already provided by existing standard artifacts (reinventing the wheel) and ending up with a worse result than the standard (a square wheel).
This is an anti-pattern which occurs when the engineer is unaware or contemptuous of the standard solution or does not understand the problem or the standard solution sufficiently to avoid problems overcome by the standard.
It is mostly an affliction of inexperienced engineers, or the second-system effect (which is the tendency for small, elegant, simple and successful systems to have elephantine, feature-laden monstrosities as their successors.) Although expressed as a problem of software design, the second-system effect is observable throughout all human design effort.
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
HUH?!?!?
gatorfan068
Active Expediter
So you lie to the carrier,and you pull into the shipper which happens to be a nuke plant,what do you do with the camper when they ask why you are pulling that.or they say the camper is not authorized? Do you leave the camper at the front gate? A shipper calls your carrier and asks them about the camper? How about you get pulled in at a weigh station for a random inspection,which I heard two people have been??
rainbowwar24
Active Expediter
Wow, way too much negativity here. I guess even the guy who did invent the wheel, got some negativity too, but thank god he kept at it!! LOL!! What the hell is the difference if my "sleeper" is on the back of my van, or in the middle??? Semi's have a 53' trailer hooked to them, and they have to deliver just like I do. My brother has had to unhook thousands of times! and pull away from his trailer until it was unloaded/loaded. I have unloaded at 100's of places. If they won't let me in with the "sleeper" so be it, I will unhook outside the gate! If they have room for semi's, they have room for me. I have not been to a place yet, that I could see that I could not unhook, even outside the gate. I look everyday. I live a mile from a Pilot. There is a Nations Express van that has been sitting there since Thursday. He is still there now, sitting in his 30" X 5' space. If he is happy, great for him! I can do that too, and will have to until my camper is finished. I am not here to throw slings at each other, if you don't like what I want to do, thats cool with me. I will try it, and if it does not work out, that is fine too.