Commercial hauler needs advice on backhauls

[Hemmen1]

We are commercial haulers that use Dodge 3500's to haul furniture out of Iowa all over the U. S. in our enclosed gooseneck trailers -- we always come home empty -- bummer -- we make a decent living doing it this way, if we could get paid for the return trip that would pay a few more bills. Does anyone have advice?



we have tried truck brokers -- our trailer is not dock high and we can haul only 15,000 lbs. cargo -- they always say they have nothing ????



Darren

 

[MidwestMotorman]

Being you haul furniture, you can check with furniture sales places, new or used, in other areas that you expect to haul to. Ads in papers a thousand miles away would not be out of the question. Lots of businesses and companies, like TV stations, offer free web ads.



You can also advertise with auction companies. They frequently haul lots of stuff from estate sales and things of that nature to their home auction houses. Perhaps you could even get into the personal moving market?



You are only limited by your imagaination, and the web is a huge bonus to any business. Advertise, advertise, advertise. Word of mouth is good too. Try getting lots of business cards, and leave them at fuel stations and at conveniece stores on their bulletin boards as your trucks travel across the country. I have toyed with the possibility of car hauling on the side, and these suggestions are some that I would use.



Good luck.

 

[TPyle]

Darren,

There are numerous brokerage web sites on the internet. They will post loads. These cater more to truck load and LTL carries but you should look into them. I believe www.roadking.com has links to these sites. Deadheading is a big money waster!