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My wife Diane and I left our white collar professions to become expediters three years ago; starting in fleet-owner trucks and now driving a truck of our own. We find expediting to be the easiest, least-stressful, most lucrative and most fun work we have ever done. I write stories about our...

Comments received privately from several people and some made here in the Open Forum indicate that incorrect assumptions have been made by some and a couple people in particular are spreading false rumors and innuendos about our truck payment and financial circumstances. When the false...

I'd think RichM is the D-unit record holder, right Rich?

Kidron described it as "hardwood laminate." I think it is mostly oak. Yes, we have hauled food products on occasion but our truck is not billed as food grade. It has been frozen items like apple strudle, pizza dough, and non frozen items like chile powder. We don't haul meat or dairy products...

We are in Denver now. If you head this way, Diane and I would love to meet you. Slow here this Sunday. We expect to be dispatched out sometime Monday but as you well know, nothing is for sure.

As others have been told who come in like you are, you have found a great resource in the EO web site and forums. Read the posts going back a year or two. Read the drivers lifestyle and carrier profile articles. Links to those are on the home page. "Introduction to Expedting" is also good to...

are12, you are exceedingly wise! It's nice to see someone resist the temptations of fleet ownership in favor of preserving one's nest egg. I've seen drivers get excited about fleet ownership for the wrong reasons and then get into trouble as a result. Greed is one of the wrong reasons. While it...

The truck you describe is probably a lower-cost unit than one you might find from other dealers. That is an advantage on the front end but it may come back to haunt you later, in ways that would more than wipe out the cost savings you may have realized on the front end. The truck you describe is...

It has happened to us twice in three years. Both times, the shipper had more weight to ship than our D-units could carry. The weight was known because it was listed on the freight itself. The solution was the same both times. On dispatch's instructions, we left some of the freight behind and...

RE: Diesel price versus cost, or whose $20 is that Nice piece, Leo. Well researched and well written. Good job. I hope readers appreciate the effort and attention to detail that is required to produce a piece like this. Thank you for your contribution.

We recently treated our new reefer body floor with a product that provides excellent results. For new truck owners and especially for owners of older trucks whose floors might need some help, I'm sharing product info here. The Key Polymer product line includes Crack Filler, Original Floor...

Yes, we had the G-force sensor installed. The system includes a button mounted on the dash. If we push it, the digital video recorder protects that part of the recording so it will not be recorded over when the recorder loops around. If the G-force sensor detects a severe jolt to the truck, it...

Diane and I always use the sleeper restraints. The restraints provide peace of mind not only for the sleeping co-driver but for the driver too. If stomping on the brakes or an emergency maneuver was required to avoid a hazard, the driver can do so with reduced concern about injuring the codriver...

Redytrk asked, "Does anyone have first hand knowledge that results are being acheived?" I do, and yes they are. As I said, an EO news story is in the works about this program. In my role as EO Senior Field Editor I have talked with one FedEx executive who was directly involved in putting the...

EO keeps growing and growing. Good job, Lawrence!

Diane and I do not have Nextel but consider our walkie-talkies to be indespensable tools. We use "real" walkie talkies so if we find ourselves without a cell-phone signal we can still communicate (within range, of course). As these low-cost walkie talkies grow in popularity, the bands are...

vango, When it comes to drivers sharing information with each other about loads, our experience is opposite yours. For example: Expediting friends of ours live in Reno. Our carrier has a regular customer there. Our friends know more about getting out of Reno than most others. If there is a...

This is to put in a good word for TS2 (Transportation Safety & Surveillance, Inc.) of Topeka, Kansas. The guys here completed the installation of a mobile digital video recorder and cameras in our truck in fine style. Their craftsmanship and attention to detail were especially appreciated. Their...

Some drivers put backup and/or other cameras on their trucks. A two-camera system with one camera pointing back from the truck and the other pointing inside the body to view freight would not cost much more than a single-camera system that is for backup only. If you haul HAZMAT and are also...

Diane and I drove this fleet owner's 2003 Western Star DR unit for several months. http://www.expeditersonline.com/dcforum/User_files/4388634e610e97e9.jpg Before that we drove Freightliner Century Class D and DR units. Compared to Freightliner... Reilability: Superior. Visibility: Inferior...