starting to drive for fleet owner with cargo vans!

[Turtle]

A van fleet owner is, in my worthless opinion, someone who owns three or more cargo vans, none of which they drive themselves. The more vans they own, the primary incentive becomes to keep the vans moving, using whatever means necessary, which often means getting a warm body behind the wheel and nothing more. There are good van fleet owners and bad ones, but by and large the good ones are the exception to the rule. So, too are the situations where driving a van for a fleet owner is a road to van ownership. It happens, but it's not the norm. It's rare, it's the exception.

The turnover rate for van drivers driving for fleet owners is far greater than the turnover rate for van drivers who drive their own van. Those who drive their own van have a much greater chance of success out here than those who drive for someone else.

As for what kinds of numbers to expect with a team driving a fleet owner's van, it's half of what you can expect if you drive your own van.

While there are exceptions, to be sure, EO tends to attract the cream of the crop insofar as drivers and fleet owners, cargo van fleet owners included. So it should come as no surprise that some of the worse stories about some of the worst fleet owners are about fleet owners who do not participate here on EO. Most of the fleet owners who participate here on EO are by and large good fleet owners, those who do not participate here on EO tend to be, by and large, the scum of the Earth. This is especially true of the van fleet owners. Van fleet owning is low risk and low investment, both in terms of money and time, because the carrier will recruit and vet out the warm bodies for you, over and over again. As such, it attracts those who are looking for easy money.

Again, most of the van fleet owners on EO tend to be the exception to that, as are those who drove their own van for a couple of years or more. But those who drove only for a short time, and those who have never driven their own van, tend to be nothing more than icky gooey slug trails.

 

[chefdennis]

Our "Shelled Friend" make a excellent point...Those of us here on EO tend to look at ourselves as the "majority" of those on this business, where in reality, we are probably not even 30% of those doing this.....

Funny how we can not see the forest for the trees or look thru those "Rose Colored Glasses"....

 

[tenntrucker]

Our "Shelled Friend" make a excellent point...Those of us here on EO tend to look at ourselves as the "majority" of those on this business, where in reality, we are probably not even 30% of those doing this.....

Funny how we can not see the forest for the trees or look thru those "Rose Colored Glasses"....

True, but we are the most important ones in this business!

Sent from my DROID X2

 

[AMonger]

It might actually be a good ad, but it sure is poorly worded .... I kinda took away, "We can push our drivers in the vans harder than regular drivers" .... or something to that affect.

Who said anything about pushing or being pushed? What you should take away from the ad is, "Van drivers are not limited to driving fewer hours than they are able."

1000 miles in a van is less fatiguing than 650 in a big truck, or even a straight truck. I was shocked at the difference when I made the switch.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: driving longer distances and covering more ground in the same amount of time is the reason for the existence of the expediter van. It's our unique selling proposition. Trucks have to stop after 11 hours; vans don't. There's our worth. Entirely appropriate ad.

--

You know the problem with bad cops? They make the other 5% look bad.

 

[AMonger]

This guy ask our advice.He ask for some numbers. What did he get? Nothing. Go away! It is not for you! Team with cargo van is bad. Cargo van is bad.Fleet owners are bad . Do not come in this business. C'mon guys ,guys ,you can do it much better. This forum turned in some personal disputes ,ironies , discouragement .When I started this business I had ZERO money and my first question was, what type of van should I buy and how to finance. Thanks to this forum now I have 15 vans all paid . So please DO NOT DISCOURAGE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO COME IN THIS FIELD.Give them numbers and let they decide if is good for them or not. Give advices how to do profitable this job.

there are already far too many of us on the road. We should have dissuaded the last thousand new contractors. We'd have done both them and ourselves a big favor.

--

You know the problem with bad cops? They make the other 5% look bad.

 

[AMonger]

Yes I do man. I'm gonna add a youtube video of a cargo van being loaded while a big truck tries to back into a dock. The cargo van will be loaded and gone before the bigger truck even bumps the dock. It's going to have audio and someone saying "by the time this semi even backs up to the dock and releases it's air brakes, your shipment will have already been loaded and gone!" Call us today and we will send in a cargo van to handle your just in time shipment! lol

Btw, it should read, "By the time the semi backs up and SETS its brakes..." Then the audio should include the sound of it doing just that: PSSSSSSHHHHHH!

BUT: with that alone, the difference in transit time still might be inconsequential, so make the point that, all over the country, there are frustrated big truck drivers sitting around because, though they are plenty alert, the law mandates they stop, even if they haven't driven their maximum allotment of hours. Point out that the customer's freight is sitting there, too, while the vans driver is still enroute. Point out all the chicken houses and regulatory delays "enjoyed" by the truck drivers. Point out how the DOT is becoming more stringent in enforcing all these regulatory delays. In a split screen, show the van, still rolling. It's the tortoise and the hare all over again, but this time, it's the tortoise who's making all the stops and the customer who loses the race. Then show the receiver shaking the van driver's hand, and the happy look on his face. Then zoom out, a la google earth, showing the big truck 500 miles away. Zoom in on him in the truckstop, looking at his watch, and waiting for the time he can get back on the road. Then show a skid of delivered parts being moved through a factory--the customer's factory--then zoom out and in again to a shot of a truck pulling into a long line at a scale, with the sign saying ALL TRUCKS MUST STOP.

I suppose if I were back in a big truck, I'd be saying BAN THE VAN, too. Can't compete with that.

--

You know the problem with bad cops? They make the other 5% look bad.

 

[Turtle]

Most expedited trucks are teams, and team trucks don't have to stop after 11 hours, and can drive circles around a cargo van. You're not worth as much as you think.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Most expedited trucks are teams, and team trucks don't have to stop after 11 hours, and can drive circles around a cargo van. You're not worth as much as you think.

Hey now..I am worth as much as I think i am worth....

 

[AMonger]

What are the stats on teams vs. solo, and and where did you get them? Second, even as a team, they WILL still have to stop. Even before the change in the 14 hour rule and split sleeper berth rule, this was true. But it comes sooner now. Third, the alleged "can run rings around you" doesn't kick in until after the 2nd driver swap, something that's irrelevant for almost all expedited runs. On any average/routine long expedited run, say, 1500 miles, an unregulated CV beats the big truck team.

My 2 longest runs: one from Virginia to California and the other from PA to El Paso. I had 3.5 days to get to California. Had it been a true rush job, the team truck would have beaten me. The El Paso run, though, was different. That went straight through. No way does a team make it there faster with the regulatory burdens and slower ground speeds. And that goes for any such run in the waking driving distance of a CV, or even that plus a couple hours for a nap.

Coast to coast? Sure, the team wins. But 1500 miles, I win every time. Maybe even 2000.

--

You know the problem with bad cops? They make the other 5% look bad.

 

[tenntrucker]

Hey now..I am worth as much as I think i am worth....

You are truly a legend in your own mind!

Sent from my DROID X2

 

[OntarioVanMan]

You are truly a legend in your own mind!

Sent from my DROID X2

aren't we all tho?....

 

[tenntrucker]

aren't we all tho?....

I know I am, if you don't believe me just ask, I'll confirm it, lol

Sent from my DROID X2

 

[Turtle]

There are 168 hours in a week, and a team in a truck can drive 140 of them. I know of no solo driver in a van who can do that.

 

[AMonger]

There are 168 hours in a week, and a team in a truck can drive 140 of them. I know of know solo driver in a van who can do that.

how many expedite runs will require that? or even anything close to that? based on what really happens in expediting, all but crazy long run, vans beat trucks nearly every time.

then again, one thing that team trucks can do that solo vans can't is do a very long run, arrive and deliver, then immediately do another, back to back. But for everyday expediting, 1500 miles or less, the van beats even a team truck by a little, and a solo by a lot.

 

[MCGohio1985]

I have 3 cargo van and I and my driver do well but we also run for 3 out fits so we stay moving a cargo van will make money if u have a owner that cares about I do oil changes every 4 to 6 thousand miles and stay on top of thing any of my drivers can ask to see what a load that did payed before there split so if u only run with one outfit u may not make a lot of money

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

 

[blizzard2014]

There are 168 hours in a week, and a team in a truck can drive 140 of them. I know of know solo driver in a van who can do that.

Shippers ain't gonna pay a team truck 2.20 a mile plus broker fees to do what a cargo van can get done for a dollar a mile to the carrier and another 30-50 cents tacked on for the broker fee. It ain't gonna happen unless the load needs a bigger truck. Plus there aren't many team Tractors sitting around waiting for those long team runs. It's a cargo van mans life baby!

I can run 2100 miles in 47 hours and that is with two 4 hour sleep breaks in there, 4 fuel stops, and a couple of bathroom breaks. I can also run higher speeds and I do not have to worry about getting detained for an inspection at a scale-house which can make or break an on time delivery schedule (trust me it happened a lot when I was a big truck sriver). I was only 30 miles from my next stop on a just in time delivery for sears when I was pulled into a scale house and given a level 3 inspection. Then I got written up by my company for being late when it was beyond my control! The cargo van wins every time.

 

[blizzard2014]

I have 3 cargo van and I and my driver do well but we also run for 3 out fits so we stay moving a cargo van will make money if u have a owner that cares about I do oil changes every 4 to 6 thousand miles and stay on top of thing any of my drivers can ask to see what a load that did payed before there split so if u only run with one outfit u may not make a lot of money

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

There is money to be made in the vans if you have good drivers and you treat them well. You just run older vans and keep them in tip top shape. I run an older looking van "looks weathered" but every replacable part is new on it and it ain't gonna be breaking down on the side of the rpad anytime soon. The same can be done for fleet vehicles. Also, working for multiple companies will give your drivers more load opportunities. Me, if I ever get some cargo vans to run, I have my own company and can also load the vans up directly which means additional revenue for both me and my drivers. It can be done!

 

[Turtle]

I drive a Sprinter. Used to drive a cargo van. I'm a fan of the van. I'm just not delusional about it or my place in the industry. There are reasons why a cargo van will get dispatched around to put van freight on a straight truck, and it ain't because the van can do it faster, or cheaper. Think about that.

 

[davekc]

I drive a Sprinter. Used to drive a cargo van. I'm a fan of the van. I'm just not delusional about it or my place in the industry. There are reasons why a cargo van will get dispatched around to put van freight on a straight truck, and it ain't because the van can do it faster, or cheaper. Think about that.

Bingo.
The revenue from a van isn't remotely close to that of a team straight or a tractor regardless of who the carrier is.

 

[Moot]

But 1500 miles, I win every time. Maybe even 2000.

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You know the problem with bad cops? They make the other 5% look bad.

Just because you can do it doesn't mean the rest of the expedite van industry can match your pace. You are in the upper echelon of all expedite van drivers so your generalizations are misleading to shippers. Most shippers won't be able to find a van driver of your caliber on short notice to handle their 1500 mile direct runs. Even if there were a hundred of you, shippers would still have to bite the bullet and get a team. It's a numbers thing and you are one of a kind. Well you and that other E.O. guy that averages 85 mph in his van are the only ones that have the skill, stamina and git-r-done attitude to handle these demanding loads.

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You know the problem with ignorant vanners? They make the other 99.9999% appear intelligent.