Pulling campers for FEMA?

[DHayden]

Horizon pays by PC miler and you pay the $25 hook fee even for fema trailers out of indiana ... . I don't know how people do it.

 

[DBabbitt]

Does anyone know how much and when Horizon's pay increase will be?

 

[DHayden]

I talked to the the tow away manager and he said they have loads that pay $1. 60-$2. 00 per mile but they orignate in the south so the miles arent that long and that people are waiting in line 2 or 3 days so it really isnt worth waiting for them. He said normal loads are 1. 06 to 1. 10 per mile and said that would only go up if gas prices went up again.

Judging by how much the pay has gone up with how much fuel has already gone up I doubt it will go up enough to make a big difference. JMO

 

[DBabbitt]

I called Bennet on Friday and was told they are not hiring specifically for FEMA loads right now. Was also told you need 6 months of "documented" pulling experience!

 

[dezeldog]

Does anyone have a website or phone # for Bennet??? TIA



Jim

 

[DBabbitt]

Jim, the number for Bennett is 1-800-866-5500 and the web site is: http://www.bennettig.com/btt/btt_pickups.html - although you won't find much there.



Dan.

 

[dezeldog]

DBabbit thanx alot I appreciate it.



JIm

 

[MMeier]

I work for Bennett and am watching this thread with interest. The agents will hire you and need drivers bad. They try very hard to get you to haul their trailers to dealers (the pay is lower) about $1. 03) because all the drivers are switching over to FEMA (which is not handled thru the local agents) and pays $ 1. 92/mile. Bristol is loaded in the yard with trailers to go to dealers and not enough drivers to handle them. As far as I can find out for now all fema loads pay one way only. The agents are very tight lipped about how to get the better paying loads since they are worried about the dealer deliveries not being made. I am hoping this will put pressure and get us some serious money on loads that should be paying much more. Bristol, Pendleton, and Rialto are not paying as much as hauling directly for fema even when the load is going to fema. Maybe others can fill in some of the gaps I don't know about. R C

RC, so whats the secret to the $1. 92 a mile? Me and a buddy talked to them and all they said was $1. 03 a mile.

 

[MMeier]

Horizon pays by PC miler and you pay the $25 hook fee even for fema trailers out of indiana ... . I don't know how people do it.

DH, That is why we are called "drivers"!!

 

[DHayden]

Lets cover this again... 1. 06 per mile one way = 53 cents per actual mile. $3 per gallon at 10 miles per gallon (and a little more the other way empty) we'll call it avg 25 cents per mile for fuel. Thats 28 cents, max driving 500 miles per day = $140 per day. Minus food, $25 hook fee (out of indiana) truck maintenance, tires, room and bored, taxes, truck payment if you have one and we won't talk about the BIG depreciation on your truck (Being honest with ourselves we are WELL under $100 per day). You could get a CDL and drive someone elses truck for . 28 cents a mile and not worry about maintenance or depreciation.

There are allot of people interested in this that probably havent figured out there actual cost/return. Not knocking people who are doing it I'm just breaking raw numbers down for those considering it without experience. It may not be exact number's but they don't lie and you can see the "most" your going to make.

There are a few threads talking about big money for FEMA and people are just going to jump into a situation that may hurt them. If they read this and decide to go ahead then that's fine, hope they make it, but others may see something they didnt think of and decide its not for them. You call it "driver" but for that little coin another term comes to my mind.

 

[MMeier]

Christ sakes DHayden !!! 500 miles a day??? what you do, drive 35 MPH?? "DRIVERS" drive dude, like I said 1200 miles a day, no I don't need a hotel every night, if I do this I'll get a room one day a week and that 'll be "my day off", Lots of truck stops give you a shower when you buy 50 or 100 gallons of fuel at a shot, ( yes, I hold 135 gallons (plus) ) I bought my truck to make me $$$$$, not sit in front of the house and look pretty, even though it usually does because I have a mobile wash and detail busisness set up in it also. And yes, it has its own DOT #'s for when I use it as my OTR tractor to haul car hauler trailers ( 4 and 5 atatime) ,2300 mile round trip, usually done in 42-50 hours, by myself, yes I "run" a logbook and have to pull into ports with it and buy trip permits and such. And I'm sure if you got into this , there are "agents" down south that will hook you up with stuff to haul back up north. If not find your own, plenty of sites here on the web looking for people to haul thier crap! My" going rate" for when i haul other peoples stuff is $1. 25-1. 75 a mile loaded, and, I know I've told you this before, if they don't like my rate, go buy your own $50k plus rig aned haul it yourself, If they can figure out how! :-laf Not "trying" to harp on you DHayden, but damn, they call it driving for a reason!!

 

[DHayden]

I don't mind you trying to educate me, and I'm not trying to harp on what you do either. Under normal conditions you have a 10 hour driving day max? How many miles are you going to put down in 10 hours even if you don't eat or pee? 700 miles if you have the tanks and don't ever have to slow down but who isnt going to stop at least once in 10 hours? It's still more money in your pocket driving someone elses truck instead of running your own good one into the ground. The numbers are there, I don't see where you run 1200 miles non FEMA without another driver in which case your splitting or not legal.

This is an information site and I put out my info, people can take it or leave it as ive said my piece. Happy trucking



Edit: my main point is, you guys have good trucks, drive hard and you deserve to be paid better than what you do

 

[KBalzuweit]

DOT says 11 hours driving then 10 off. You can continue on that schedule until you hit 70 hrs driving. DOT also uses 62. 5 mph as there limit. Now if you are running west were its 75mph you can get away with logging a bit higher mpg average.



The other thing is some comanies like JET Transport have a company speedlimit so if you turn in logs higher you are busted. So lets do some math in 70hrs of driving, if you logged all hours @ 65, (never going to do that legally) that is 4550 miles. So half are loaded thats 2225 paid @ 1. 13 a mile = $2513. 25 gross. Take out fuel (I avg 35% of gross), lot fees (can be up to $25 a trailer depending on company), food, and other expenses of living on the road. Can you make a living YES, can you get rich NO. Do you live out of a truck, eat fast food, and shower in truck stops YES. Do I enjoy it YES, no boss, work when and as much as I want!!



When your 70 runs out you take 34 off and that resets your 70. Also out of the 70 you will lose a couple hours for hooking up and delivering.



Also remember that we end up paying very little if any tax, we have alot of deductions and expenses. So you actual net is a bit higher than a regular 9-5 that takes taxes out.

 

[KBalzuweit]

Edit: my main point is, you guys have good trucks, drive hard and you deserve to be paid better than what you do

I AGREE!! The only problem and no offence to anyone is all the retired guys that are not out there to make a living and are just doing it to travel and occupy time. Most do not need the money are happy with getting enough money to cover the costs of travel. Until they change we are stuck.

 

[DaJudge]

I have been pulling FEMA trailers for the last 3 weeks. If anyone THINKS they are making any money, they got mush for brains. At first I was pulling from Goshen In to Selma Al. pay was $1050 one way, trip was 755 miles each way, fuel cost was $320 total there and back. It was a easy trip, one day down and one day back. I did 2 a week for 2 weeks. The next was Purvis Ms. That trip was 912 down, payed 866 miles at $1. 05 a mile. The trip took 3 days because they wasted half of the first day jacking around and didnt leave until 4:00 PM. I am driving for a Mi. dealer. You can make yourself think you are making $$$$ but you can also look at it a a tax benifit because it is a looser on every trip. When you do the math and take the proper deductions it comes out a looser. The Fed just increased the mileage deduction to $. 48 per mile, so using that # and 866 miles you have deductions of $831. 36 plus $320 fuel plus $35 per day food for 3 days you end up with a total $1256. 36 for a job that only pays $909. 30. I figure I am doing it for the people that got hit so hard by the huricane, cause it sure aint for the money.

 

[Cooker]

The Fed just increased the mileage deduction to $. 48 per mile, so using that # and 866 miles you have deductions of $831. 36 plus $320 fuel plus $35 per day food for 3 days you end up with a total $1256. 36 for a job that only pays $909. 30. I figure I am doing it for the people that got hit so hard by the huricane, cause it sure aint for the money.

Last I knew, you do not get to use the mileage deduction and also deduct the cost of fuel.

 

[DaJudge]

Last I knew, you do not get to use the mileage deduction and also deduct the cost of fuel.

Well that just shows you what I know about tax laws. :-laf I guess I will have to seek PROFESSIONAL help for that.

 

[GAmes]

When you use your truck to make money (the example the IRS gives is a taxi) you HAVE to use actual expenses, and can not use the mileage deduction. The ones who can deduct miles use their vehicle to maintain their business (like a plumber). Just something else to worry about, keeping EVERY recipt for fuel, maintanence, parts, etc, etc. You can take the standard deduction for meals, but the day you leave home and the day you return are only 3/4 deductions.

 

[DBabbitt]

Decided to try the "FEMA" thing. I've now pulled two 30' campers for Horizon at 1. 06/mile from Wakarusa, IN to Purvis, MS. Round trip can be done in 2 days, about 17 hrs each way. I have family very near Purvis so I have a rest point between trips and sleep in the back seat mid-trip. Horizon has pretty clean showers for drivers available 24 hrs. They are a pretty organized operation. You can stay loaded with no waiting to get a load if you call ahead. Don't know how long I will keep doing it though because of the empty runs back. I would like to find some backhauls if anyone has any ideas.

 

[GAmes]

Now that you are leased to Horizon, if your contract reads like mine does for RV Transport, the only back hauls you can pull have to be under their contract. In other words, they either provide you a back haul, or you find one on your own, then contact them so that they can contract it, thus getting a their cut.