Anyone With Experience in Expedited Shipping?

[pseudo_mccoy]

A friend of mine suggested I work for Panther, an expedited shipping/logistics company. He said he knows a guy who works for them. Apparently, as a part-time vandweller, this guy transports anything from a single envelope up to 500 lbs of cargo in his campervan.

Sounds like a good gig to me. Anyone have experience with this line of work?

 

[PastTense]

To me it sounds like you would want a highly fuel efficient vehicle to do some like this profitably--something not common in campervans.

 

[pseudo_mccoy]

Yes, good point about the mpg. My friend said the guy had a Sprinter.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

I've never driven for a living, but I was the database administrator at Specialized Transportation, Inc. in Fort Wayne. Sprinters are the plan for expeditors, as they can hold 3 pallets, and get good fuel mileage. I noticed that team drivers did much better than solo drivers. The reasons are obvious. Insurance is a fixed cost, but with team drivers they can have more billable miles for the same insurance cost as a solo driver. Also, by delivering faster, a team can get more cents per mile than a slower solo driver. Ok, my 2 cents worth.

 

[pseudo_mccoy]

That's great input. I definitely don't have room for two right now, but maybe someday I can afford a Sprinter. I'll keep this in mind. Thanks man.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

You also have to keep the cargo space clear for the load. So you will have have a folding cot to sleep on. There are some sprinter van that are made for this and have sleeper bunk behind the seats it's very small. I think there needs to be 8 feet for cargo space.

 

[Zil]

Don't over look your extra expenses if you use your vehicle commercially.

 

[PastTense]

Check to make sure you aren't liable if you get in an accident and the cargo is destroyed--or if you need a commercial liability policy... to cover this problem.

 

[akrvbob]

You'll also almost certainly need a CDL.

Essentially you are going into the trucking business and will have all the expenses of a trucking company. And a lot of your income will go upfront to business costs. Is that what you want?
Bob

 

[Spirituallifetime]

All the companies that you will contract with will require business names on your van identifying you as a commercial business, therefore law enforcement can stop you at any time to inspect vehicle for safety defects and check permits and license.

 

[pseudo_mccoy]

I already sleep on a cot and have a bit of extra space. I also wouldn't mind getting a CDL. Paying for a commercial liability policy might be a problem.

Initially, I had imagined this work wouldn't be like trucking. After researching the company a bit further and taking note of Bob's comment, I've adjusted my view on it. My uncle's a tucker and the job nearly killed him. Not a line of work I'd choose.

Also, as Spirituallifetime pointed out, having LE up in my business does not appeal to me either.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

I looked into doing this also, you have to ready to invest a lot of money into the van and a lot of fuel. I you are doing good at it you will be running more than 100,000 miles per year and will need to invest into new van every few years. If you don't do well at it then the expense's of doing business and maintaining the van will eat you alive. There are some companies that don't want to pay you enough money to keep you going. I had a couple of delivery trucks in Las Vegas and went to a company that contracted out their delivery work they wanted to pay $80/day, I couldn't do that cause I would pay the driver $80/day and nothing left to make payments on the truck or maintenance and fuel! I was thinking more like $200/day, I had to keep in mind in a few years I will need new trucks! You don't go to the truck dealer with no money in your hand and expect him to sell you trucks! I'm thinking now it would be a lot easier if I'm living in a van to just work just to work as an employee for a company and not have all those headaches with business expenses. It would be even better to work in the tourist industry all summer and get laid off in the fall and collect unemployment all winter till spring and then get another job in the spring.

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My uncle's a tucker and the job nearly killed him. Not a line of work I'd choose.

I think its killing me to. Its not good for your body to drive a truck 70 hrs a week and eat nothing but truck stop food(all the restaurants in the truck stops have been replaced with fast food)!