To All My Devildog / Leatherneck Brothers And Sisters I Need A Little Help!

What's going on Hard Chargers I'm unfortunately leaving the Corp because I got hurt going to Jump School at Ft. Benning so my days of fun and adventure are coming to a close. My brother in-law wants me to be a dispatcher for his Trucking Company. So from my research it seems to be very lucrative the issues that I have seen is negotiating price for the driver to pickup pickup and deliver a load. I'm the Statistics NCOIC at WFTBn at Parris Island so I created a spreadsheet that evaluates loads to to ship.

This spreadsheet is able to web scrape from Google Maps the Origin, Destination, Trip Time, and Distance its able to display the Map/Route the driver will take! This spreadsheet calculates the amount of fuel needed to pickup a load from its Origin to its Destination. This spreadsheet web queries the Diesel Average for FL, Ga, SC, NC, VA, AL, MS, LA, and TX .

It calculates the total fuel cost for the trip and fuel cost per mile. The formulas I have done myself. What I have problems with is being rather secretive with the MPG his Volvo 780 2015 Semi gets what is the true MPG for this truck this is info I need to know he some what shady. So when I type in the Origin and Destination the fastest route will be chosen In Google Maps. This is something that I have never done before so I'm a little lost. Any guidance as to how I can accomplish this task would be greatly appreciated.

Also what's your opinion iIwould really like to know on Freight Dispatching. Hard chargers I need Brutal Honesty no sugar coating!!!!

I drive for a southeast regional company and will give you the best answers I can think of, off the top of my head.

1. I have no idea if being a dispatcher is lucrative.

2. When you say be a dispatcher for his company, is he self-employed or would you be a dispatcher for a larger company that he drives for? If it's your Brother-in-Law's company and he has no other dispatchers, ask yourself why he needs a dispatcher. I.e. why hasn't he found someone before now? You might also wanna look into how much $ his company is making and can they even afford to pay you. If it's a larger company and you'd be one of a number of dispatchers, I doubt you need to do all these calculations.

3. I just switched out from a 2018 to a 2021 Volvo 760. The 2018 averaged 6.5-7.8mpg, the 2021 has been averaging 6.8-8.4mpg. We have APU's in all of our trucks, so we don't run the big engine when parked.

4. Your mileage is going to be significantly lower on the 40,000lb loads, than on 20,000lb loads.

5. None of us can predict the future, but some of the larger companies are holding off on hiring drivers. The current Administration says their economic plans are working and "just getting started," so they're unlikely to change any of their practices. This is just my opinion, but I don't see the current economy as being in good shape. So, either me and many others are wrong or we're just around the corner from good times. I say this in hopes you'll consider; where do I want to be if things are about to take off and/or if we're about to traverse rough terrain?

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

Dispatcher:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APU's:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Yes Hard Charger he is self employed. He has been driving since 2008 and he own only 1 truck. I hate to say this but "He's not the sharpest tool in Grandma's kitchen" my sister asking me to help him. But from what my research shows that I don't just have to do it for him. I can dispatch for others as well. What's trigger my spidey sense, what's throwing up red flags for me is he has had his trucking company for 14 yrs and only has 1 truck. I do data analysis I don't think he knows how how to properly evaluate a load.

Hell I'm 0311, 0389, 8154 in the Marine Corp has been Infantry and Security Forces and with my spreadsheet it lets me know if he's going to lose or make money on a load. I have been Beta Testing it all week on several load boards directfreight.com, doft.com, and 123loadboard.com.

Also he pulls reefers and dry vans. He claims that he gets 4.5 mpg on his truck when he pulls a full load. When the load is 45,000-40,000 lbs. Does that sound correct I honestly don't Hard Chargers that why I'm asking. I'm more confident believing my fellow Marines.

I'm not a marine... My ex of 10 yrs was 11B Army at Benning for many years though. Big place. I actually deliver there quite a bit.

Yes... That low of mileage sounds about right. The older a truck gets the more the fuel is going to cost. Many of these guys with the "long nose" or "good trucks" that look cool and manly are spending a ton of $ on fuel and 5 to 6mpg. The weight of the vehicle costs more in fuel. The heavier it is.. the more in fuel. Even in south East you have plenty of mountain areas in SC and GA which will burn more fuel.

Why does he have one truck? Because to be an owner op in total control you need your own authority. There is so much risk you take on when you place another driver in your vehicle that millions of drivers out here only have one truck.

My friends who dispatch themselves are telling me they often spend more time searching for loads than they do in docks. With freight as bad as it is, both in volume and low rates, he is hoping you will find him better loads while he is working.

Does he own a reefer or renting? Is he doing "power only" which means he is bobtailing and switching trailers. This will make a difference. Dry van loads pay less, but the extra weight of the reefer unit will spend more in fuel.... Not to mention the fuel needed to keep the product cold. If he is renting the trailer, this will add to his costs.

Also take IFTA taxes into account. Sometimes it makes a lot more sense to take a different route because IFTA charges a per mile rate for every gallon of fuel you use in that state.... Even if you didn't buy fuel there! So drive through CA or PA and you pay 72cp gallon used.

Also realize that the routing doesn't mean he will go that way. What you are looking at on Google are not all truck routes or routes without low bridges or weight limits... Restricted roads etc. If you give 100 drivers a load from point A to point B, they take 100 different routes. Get a rand McNally atlas and check the routes.

My good friend was dispatching and she said the owner ops would come up with the craziest restrictions. Example... I want to leave on Tues and come back Thursday. I need to go south and I won't haul produce. This guy was in California. It can takes some customers 2 days to load you in California 😂 most shippers in California are produce. I don't recall hauling anything out of California not being produce. So then he would scream at her for not finding anything within his demands.

Yes Hard Charger he is self employed. He has been driving since 2008 and he own only 1 truck. I hate to say this but "He's not the sharpest tool in Grandma's kitchen" my sister asking me to help him. But from what my research shows that I don't just have to do it for him. I can dispatch for others as well. What's trigger my spidey sense, what's throwing up red flags for me is he has had his trucking company for 14 yrs and only has 1 truck. I do data analysis I don't think he knows how how to properly evaluate a load.

Hell I'm 0311, 0389, 8154 in the Marine Corp has been Infantry and Security Forces and with my spreadsheet it lets me know if he's going to lose or make money on a load. I have been Beta Testing it all week on several load boards directfreight.com, doft.com, and 123loadboard.com.

Sounds to me like you have all the information you need to make your decision.

So, someone with no experience in logistics, no CDL , who's NEVER TURNED A MILE is putting together speadsheets for truck job costing?

"The horror! The horror!"

Colonel Walter Kurtz

In the industry costs are usually measured as cost per mile to operate your truck. That includes fuel, DEF, oil changes, tires and all maintenance costs of the truck as well as depreciation (or lease payments). You should ALWAYS have a good idea about that number BEFORE you quote a rate or start projections. If you're doing it right it should be north of $1.50. The number you wind up with will almost never be the exact number of any given trip but the AVERAGE over a YEAR. If you know your cost is $1.62/mi but you're going over the Rockies or hauling a full 80,000 lbs your number for that trip will be higher. Likewise, you know you can go lower if you're only hauling 7,000 lbs over flat lands.

Even if you come up with the world's greatest spreadsheet you'll be at a disadvantage. Why? Because an experienced driver who knows his numbers will grab that load while you're still plugging it into your spreadsheet. There are a number of individuals and organizations already in this market space who usually bundle dispatching with other services like taxes and permits.

You know what uses a lot of the same skills, but has more profit potential for less work? Become a BROKER! As the middleman between shippers and drivers you get to decide how thick your slice is. There is always a steady stream of drivers looking for loads and shippers looking for drivers.

NOT a leatherneck

MBA

12C30