straight truck box size
- Thread starter denny2010
- Start date
Diane and I drove D and DR-units for three years before buying a CR-unit of our own. The D and DR-units had 72" sleepers and boxes that were 22' or 24' long. The CR-unit has a 132" sleeper and a 16' box (truck specs here).
We cannot say about recession years because we only drove the CR-unit during the Great Recession. But comparing normal years, the CR-unit has outperformed the D and DR-units in terms of gross revenue.
Even then it is hard to say for sure. The D and DR-units belonged to fleet owners. Some of the decisions they made were not decisions that we would have made and our D and DR-unit revenue was lower as a result.
There are many variables but in general I feel it is safe to say that we suffered no gross-revenue harm by opting for a big sleeper and C-size box. Indeed, if you rule out the recession years, we have grossed more money per year in the CR-unit than we did in any year in a D or DR truck.
Notice that lucrative TVAL loads were just beginning to exist when we made the change. Our CR-unit has been a TVAL truck from the day it went on the road. None of the DR-units we drove were TVAL qualified.
Even so, if there are any TVAL DR-units out there that can consistently outperform a well managed CR-unit over a meaningful period of time, I have yet to learn of them. TVAL freight being what it is, the boxes are seldom filled.
Also notice that Diane and I are qualified to haul nearly every kind of freight that our carrier can book. In many cases, it is not the size of the box that gets you a good load but driver qualifications.
A lot depends on if it is a dry box or reefer/TVAL. I THINK that a "C" dry box MIGHT be at a disadvantage. It is very easy to put together a 22' box with a 96" sleeper and have room for White Glove toys. That is how we are set up.
We are a TVAL truck and without a doubt could do just as well with a "CR" unit as we do with our "DR" unit. We seldom carry loads that exceed 5000lbs. We would lose a few loads, not to weight but number of skids. We do, every once in a while, fill the entire 21.5' of floor space, but it is rare.
We are a TVAL truck and without a doubt could do just as well with a "CR" unit as we do with our "DR" unit. We seldom carry loads that exceed 5000lbs. We would lose a few loads, not to weight but number of skids. We do, every once in a while, fill the entire 21.5' of floor space, but it is rare.