jim palmer trucking

[germanbmwfreak]

what kind of info do you know on them? researching them and i am wanting to know if they are a good company or not.

[Big_Dave]

I really haven't heard anything good or bad about them. :wow:

[tommy]

www.jimpalmertrucking.com

[germanbmwfreak]

thanks for the website but i have already been there i am looking for the real information from drivers.

[tommy]

I really haven't heard anything good or bad about them. :wow:

I ditto this, which is a GOOD thing..

[HSLD]

Thought you wanted to pull flats? I've never seen a Palmer truck with anything but a reefer on it.

I think one item Palmer hauls is Coors products. I've seen their trucks at the local Coors distributer in Mineral Wells, TX (and a few others). There was a Palmer truck loading at a dessert plant in Sugerland yesterday when I was there.

v/r

HSLD

[germanbmwfreak]

i am wanting to go where the best place possible is for a team. if i find a good flatbed gig then i will take it or if i find a good reefer gig i will take it. whichever works out the best. i have 6months reefer and 6 months flatbed

[Rev.Vassago]

i have 6months reefer and 6 months flatbed

has it ever occured to you that 6 months aint a long time?

[Company5]

I used to see Jim Palmer trucks all over Tampa, FL. I think they have a terminal down there. I don't see them that much in Atlanta though. If you want to do the team thing, refer would probably be the best bet. Solo, flatbeds would probably less waiting.

[germanbmwfreak]

i have 6months reefer and 6 months flatbed

has it ever occured to you that 6 months aint a long time?

has it ever occured to you that you are being so negative and for one minute if you always say need more money per mile, need more money periord then point me in the right direction instead of saying just be a company driver. how is being a company driver going to benefit me more towards being a o/o? i have experince being a o/o granted it was a failure but it was thru england. i am trying to be as nice as i can towards you rev but you dont give up on telling me that i need more experience. i aint going to drive company again and i will be a o/o again. so lets focus on what i need to become one and some anwers to my questions.

[Rev.Vassago]

has it ever occured to you that you are being so negative and for one minute if you always say need more money per mile, need more money periord then point me in the right direction instead of saying just be a company driver.

I'm sorry if you think i'm being negative, but I'm not. I'm being honest. To be a success as an owner operator, you need to know how much it will cost, and how much you need to make. Nobody here (or anywhere) can tell you where to go, because each driver is different. You have told us what you are looking for, and we have told you that it doesn't exist - several times, in fact. Your response to this has been "Well, where should I go then?"

Well, I've told you - you should go to being a company driver, and get a few years under your belt - learn what you like to do, and how to do it well. 6 months of flatbed is NO EXPERIENCE. I am sure there are people here who will tell you that they didn't feel experienced with several YEARS of flatbed experience. It ain't being negative, it's being honest.

Just to give you an example - I have been driving for over 9 years now. In that time, I have driven Dry Van(about 8 months), Hopper Bottom(almost 7 years), Moving Van (1 1/2 years), Flatbed(4 months), Tanker
(about a month) and Dump Trailer (5 months). You know which ones I feel experienced on? Here is the list:

1. Hopper Bottom


That's it. The rest I don't know nearly enough to say I am experienced. Why did I go into moving, then? Because I like it. That doesn't mean I know everything there is to know - far from it. But I have an open mind, and listen to those who know more, and have more experience than me.

how is being a company driver going to benefit me more towards being a o/o?

If becoming an owner operator was nothing more than going from point a to point b, I would say that no, you don't need to be a company driver. But being an owner operator is a BUSINESS, and nobody can hold your hand and lead you along. Especially when we give you sound, experienced advice, and you continue to ignore it. We all know that you have a buddy who does flatbed and gets all these fantastic miles. We say it isn't realistic to expect that. If you doubt us, great - go pull for that company. Best of luck.

We tell you that purchasing an $80,000 truck that gets lousy fuel mileage, is heavy, and isn't really set up for a team operation is a bad choice, and you tell us you don't care - that is what you are getting. Well then fine. Best of luck.

We tell you that you are going to have difficult times obtaining insurance, and you tell us that you did a "simulated" insurance quote on a website. How many insurance companies have you talked to? That's what I thought. But hey - maybe that website will sell you the insurance. Best of luck.

i have experince being a o/o granted it was a failure but it was thru england.

By this, I am assuming that the first 6 months of your driving career was as a sucker for the C.R. England lease-purchase scam. Whatever you learned about being an owner operator through them - forget it. The only thing you need to know is this - LEASE PURCHASE IS A SCAM!

i am trying to be as nice as i can towards you rev but you dont give up on telling me that i need more experience.

That is because this is what you need to become an independent businessman. The second you purchase that truck, it is no longer a job - it is your life. Everything rests on your shoulders, noone elses.

i aint going to drive company again and i will be a o/o again. so lets focus on what i need to become one and some anwers to my questions.

1. Experience
2. Time
3. A sound business plan
4. Realistic expectations
5. The removal of the "Rose colored glasses" when it comes to purchasing a truck
6. did I mention experience.

I ain't busting your chops here, I'm trying to keep you from making (another) mistake. Maybe someday you will be an O/O. I hope you do. But now is not that time.

Frankly it seems to me that you want someone to tell you what truck to buy, and where to lease it on. It ain't gonna happen. Those are decisions you have to make as a business owner.

http://www.antique-mall.org/gifs/banghead.gif

[The_Governor]

Heres my two cents...............I have been pulling a flatbed for just over two years now.

What do I know about flatbedding?...................Nothing!

Why?...................because all I haul is lumber.

Only hauling one type of material is not much of a qualification.

When I first got my CDL I had aspirations of becoming an O/O and in fact I have the resources to purchase a new truck and pay for it out right if I liquidated my 401.

After a considerable amount of research...........operating cost,insurance,maintenence(sp)rising cost of fuel,etc,etc I have come to the conclusion that it would be a huge mistake.

I am not willing to take the risk of becoming married to a truck just to earn a living.

[germanbmwfreak]

i am not looking for someone to hold my hand. and you said very good points but still how is driving for a company gonna teach me to be a o/o. i will never learn about the "business side" driving a company truck. i did learn about discpline thru cr england and i learned that they are a scam. but still same princible have to pay bills and manage money and etc. yes experince with hauling loads is better and better the more loads you pull. i guarntee there are guys who pull flatbed for over 20 years who still scratch their head every once of while or do stupid stuff. we have all seen some of those loads on the skateboards. i am looking for input on which company out there is a good company and a bad one. some of you guys have said find more money per mile less miles. i am looking for some examples. or some have said find a good broker and i couldnt tell you which is good and which isnt.

and to the truck issue

i am looking for a truck that has good resale value and is nice inside. personally i hate freightliners because i think they are cheaply built, (some of you all might have nice freightliners so no offense just personal experience. i like pete's and kw's. just trying to debate which one is the better one. i have seen teams run in a cabover cross country why not in a 70" sleeper? i would love to have a "house truck" to run team in but thats down the road lol..

[The_Governor]

All trucks start out basically the same;ie,a steel frame,two drive axels and a steer axel.

The cabs are the difference and drivers needs and preferences play a part as well.

I have driven Freightliners(Classic XL and Columbia series) I have also driven Pete 379 and KW T-800's and I currently drive a Mack.

The Freightliners had Detroit powerplants,the Paccar trucks had Cat powerplants and the Mack......well its a Mack.

If I were an O/O running solo I would probably choose a KW T-800

Running team I would go Freightliner Columbia or Classic.

I drive locally but if I were going to go back OTR I would probably hire on with Maverick.

I talk to their drivers on a regular basis in our yard and they are all pretty content.

[Uturn2001]

Why limit your search to the bigger carriers paying 80 or 90 cpm. (Yeah I know you said Palmer pays 95 cpm). Why not look for carriers that pay percentage and can prove that they haul good paying loads. Then you might be able yo make some decent money.

[Rev.Vassago]

i am not looking for someone to hold my hand. and you said very good points but still how is driving for a company gonna teach me to be a o/o. i will never learn about the "business side" driving a company truck.

If you believe this, you are either:

A. Blind
or
B. Not paying attention

yes experince with hauling loads is better and better the more loads you pull. i guarntee there are guys who pull flatbed for over 20 years who still scratch their head every once of while or do stupid stuff.

So why, pray tell, do you want to go into it with as little experience as possible? Why not get the experience you need to not make all the mistakes? You will become a better businessman for it.

i am looking for input on which company out there is a good company and a bad one.

It is the eye of the beholder - I am sure if I did some digging, I could find a couple guys who say that the C.R.England lease purchase is the best thing in the world! What some anonymous driver says on a message board about a company is useless. Go to MATS and ask the companies yourself - there will be recruiters there from every aspect of trucking.

i have seen teams run in a cabover cross country why not in a 70" sleeper?

Ask those teams if they enjoyed it.

With the kind of miles you are planning to drive, you will eat up a used truck warranty in less than a year. If you drive 5500 miles per week, and drive 45 weeks of the year, that is 247,500 miles per year. Your used truck warranty is 1 year, 100,000 miles. You'll have your warranty eaten up in 18 weeks, or just over 4 months. Add an extended warranty, and you might get a year out of it. For $80,000, you could almost buy a brand new Freightliner. Your truck isn't going to have a resale value with the miles you are planning to run. If I remember correctly, you wanted to purchase an 03 Pete? You'll be paying it off til 2010, so you're gonna have a 7+ year old truck with a million and a half miles on it (sure you're gonna do the inframe, I know - but the truck is still gonna be beat to heck running that hard) Why not spend the 80 grand on a truck with 100,000 miles or less, and have a truck that still has some resale value after the fact?

I'm tired of banging my head against a wall - do what you want (I know you will anyway)

http://www.antique-mall.org/gifs/banghead.gif

[tommy]

This is why CR and Prime are making money, a new guy wants to be on the top up front..

Go try it and come back and tell us how it is, Prove Us WRONG!!