Tag: hotshot

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Trucker News

Vehicle Maintenance – A Necessity for Truck Drivers

As per the new safety program introduced under CSA 2010 by FMCSA, the vehicle maintenance is a must and the most important risk factor associated with the fleets. In this line Rair, a carrier risk safety management company has issued a report to compare the safety measures introduced by CSA and the older SafeStat reports. As per the information released by CSA the larger fleets that are under the maintenance violation risk are 10-15%. The smaller fleet sizes are comparatively very high in ratio for the violation of maintenance regulations. Now with the open CSA reports, the fleet owners can simply see the scores to find out where they are lacking. Despite of all the sources and information available there is BASIC’s violation.

What steps should be taken to get the bare minimum maintenance level for the fleets:
Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR): According to the Rair president, DVIR should performed everyday and recorded on the form by the truck drivers, may it be a hotshot, reefer or flatbed drivers. To carry out the task effectively and to tackle the issue in case any problem is identified the driver should be trained to do so. In present day scenario DVIR reporting is thought of as another paper work on which the driver and trucking company manages simply put their signature. In such cases, when the vehicle is inspected on the road many maintenance problems come into picture which then become the maintenance violation and are penalized .
The maintenance does not only mean the repair of any non-performing part but it should be done before and after every shipment is done by the fleet. The details of the regulations are specified in CFR title no 49 under the parts 393 and 396. The DWS Fleet Services president Darry Stuart lays emphasis on the importance of CSA 2010 maintenance BASIC.
Check our load board blog posts for more articles on CSA2010 regulations.
Before the driver starts for the shipment of loads available the driver vehicle inspection report (DVIR) and the vehicle condition report (VCR) should be carefully made. The report should cover the crucial aspects of the fleet maintenance such as the checking of steering, parking brake, lights and reflectors, service brakes, trailer brakes, horn, mirrors, windshield wipers, tires, rims, wheels and emergency tool kit.
If the truck driver job regarding the correct reporting of DVIR is performed well then their CSA rating will improve and the regular maintenance will not pose them any big maintenance issue. However if they do not follow the regulations then their business is likely to get affected both due to the bad rating as well as the delay in delivery as the under maintained truck will be first sent back to cover up all the maintenance required. The best solution to this situation is to perform a detailed post trip evaluation and make the truck ready for next dispatch then to do a pre-trip evaluation and postpone the dispatch in case of any fault.

Categories
Business

Find a Loadboard for Trucking Jobs

When an owner operator is running his truck to carry the load from one location to another he is more often worried about the returning of an empty truck. The area covered by the truck without any load is termed as dead head miles. Since the trucker or the owner operator might not know the area he is heading to dispatch the load, it is hard for him to personally find any loads that he would carry in his return journey on the empty truck. To combat this situation load boards are becoming very popular these days.
Now with the use of the online load boards the drivers can search for the loads available for their return journey too. All they need is to place the availability of their truck on the particular date with the start and end destination. Load boards are also highly effective for independent truck drivers for example hotshot drivers looking for loads when there truck is not on the road.
Similarly the load board is acting fruitful for the freight brokers and shippers who are looking for the truck drivers to carry their available loads. The shippers can specify the need of the type of trailers and the journey details. Load boards act as a meeting place for the truck drivers and shippers.
Now the question is How to find an efficient load board which works as best load board for you?
Do online research about any load boards and read the testimonials to know about its services. Review the terms and conditions of the load board so that you are in a profitable situation at the end of it all. An efficient load board should be easy to use so that the searches are made quickly and you can go back to the roads in no time. The requirements placed on the load

Categories
Freight Loads Newbies Trucker News

Load Board 2011 New Features

New Features in admin load board

How to video on how to search for available truck loads.

Categories
Freight Brokers

How to Become a Freight Broker?

A successful freight broker is a highly paid job; however a little cost incurs from your pocket to establish yourself as a freight broker. As a freight broker the job responsibilities will to match the shipper’s requirement with the carrier company. The person looking for owner operator jobs can get the assignments from the freight brokers to start of their business.
To become a freight broker you need to undergo following steps:
1. Legal Procedures to become a registered Freight Broker:
• Broker’s Authority: In United States Broker Authority is given by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). FMCSA is the division of Department of Transportation here and is an authorized body to issue broker license. In order to get the license one has to fill the form OP-1 which is an essential step to own a broker license. This step costs $300 to an individual.
• Surety Bonds: Any prospective Freight broker will have to purchase these financial instruments worth $10,000. This trust fund or bonds acts a security deposit which can be put to use in case you brokerage services incur any losses to the parties involved.
• Processing agent: This procedure requires you to select one processing agent in the country of your business operation. This role of the processing agent arises in case of any legal disputes. To appoint one such agent you need to fill in the form BOC-3. The form fee is $50.
2. Freight Broker Training:
• To become a successful freight broker you should know the trucking industry and its requirements well. You should be well versed how the trucking companies work. What are the different trucks types and when should one use the specific trucks meant for the purpose? The broker should work in the close liaison with different truck drivers such as flatbed drivers, reefer drivers and hotshot drivers so that the loads available are efficiently trucked.
• If a person is new to the industry and want to start his business as a freight broker then he can enroll himself with many freight broker programs run throughout. The programs will help you build the necessary skills and knowledge required to start off as a freight broker
3. Business Setup:
Now that you have undergone the legal procedures and have got enough information on the industry, you will require a business setup to start off. For this the minimum requirement will be one computer with internet connection as most of the deals these days are finalized online by using the latest innovation in the field freight load boards. Then, you need a telephone and fax lines to fasten up the deals and fast communication with the clients and the truck drivers. To accomplish smooth and controlled processing you need to buy efficient broker software.
Here you are completely ready to start off with your profitable freight brokering business. For people who do not have sufficient funds at hand to make initial investments, they can start their work under any registered freight broker as an agent. In this case no start up cost will be incurred and you will get the exposure in the industry before you have enough funds to start on your own.

Categories
Freight Loads

Hotshot / Straight Truck Trailer Loads

There has been an increasing demand for hotshot drivers or 24-26ft straight truck trailers. New rules and regulations for long haul drivers have forced many owner operators to sell their larger 43-53ft Van and Reefer trailers and get a smaller trailer to cut costs.

FindFreightLoads.com Hotshot loadbard has all acquired new shippers posting hotshot deliveries in California, Nevada, Texas, Florida and soon to most of the US.

Categories
Newbies

Just Getting Into the Trucking Business?

So your thinking of becoming a truck driver but dont know where to start? There are many types of trailers and loads you can haul from 48ft flatbed trailers to Reefer trailers to smaller 24-26ft straight truck (bobtail trailers).  You can driver interstate or intrastate…which loads are good for you, and which loads make the most money?

For most loads brokers or shippers will want a driver to have some expierience and probably want them driving approx 4-6months of over the road experience. Other manufactures need their loads deliveried ASAP and will let a driver haul a load with little experience.

A good place to start is with the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) new drivers checklist. Once you have got your experience under your belt you will probably have lots of questions about your next steps like What is a reasonable/acceptable starting pay per mileage? or what other expenses you may have as a owner operator.

To find new loads you can get wireless access at truck stops an get on a trucking loadboards to find available loads. FindFreightLoads.com is a great loadboard that will dispatch loads over the phone so you dont need a computer or internet access when your over the road.

Another great place to start when your a new owner operator is trucking forums, they are a great place for newbies and experienced drivers give great feedback.