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Be careful about over-valuing your diesel mechanic skills. Granted, there is not a non-mechanic trucker out there who does not wish he/she had more mechanical skills. And granted, maintaining your truck well and being able to do some of your own work will reduce your operating costs and down...

Your story has lots to it; more than I dare try to understand based on a brief post. You seem to buy the trucks first and ask questions later. That's not a mentality I can grasp since I'm a research and planning kind of guy. I look before I leap. You seem to leap and then look. You also seem to...

Silver Sneakers is a program we accept at our gym but not all Anytime Fitness clubs (over 3,300 locations) do. Also note that you don't get your Silver Sneakers card and then walk into a Silver Sneakers gym and expect to use it right away. Each gym you join requires you to sign up in advance and...

I don't ask this to make you wrong, but to learn more about you so advice about the future can be better provided. How did you get yourself into a three-truck/two-driver business? What was your original reason for buying any trucks at all? You talked about the money you "should" be making. What...

I don't think it is necessary for you to wait for him to learn the ropes. He already has OTR experience. When Diane and I began, neither one of us had any truck experience whatsoever. The motor carrier we started with (FedEx Custom Critical) required us to take a special road test with one of...

When Diane and I were in the business, I wrote some pieces for ExpediteNow magazine, including a series entitled Business Planning for Expediters. Some of the material may be dated by now but you can still see it online by clicking the link. I did not finish the series (stopped writing, left the...

Thank you for your thorough reply, Turtle. One thought: It may be wise to retain your bills of lading after payment. While the motor carrier will have copies, it may be the motor carrier itself that charges you for a claim. While the claim may be made by a shipper and the motor carrier pays it...

Lack of freight or decent-paying freight. Expediters can find themselves waiting longer than they wish to get a good paying load. They can generally be as busy as they want to be if they run cheap, but why would you want to do that? That's like working 14 hours a day to earn eight hours pay.

Can you say more about your reasons for considering a career change into expediting? I'm not sure I understand your meaning. Looking at the future is always more fun than looking at the present. In the present you feel real pain. While you may admit that the future will have pain too, that's...

Which direction have you decided to go? Readers will be able to offer better travel tips (so to speak) if they know where you are headed. A general thought: It is often said that expediters should treat their business as a business, and most expediters would agree with that statement and may...

This article answers your question. You do not need to register with the state to be an independent-contractor truck driver. If you choose to do business under a name that is not your own (an assumed business name or a doing-business-as -- d/b/a -- name), and if your state requires you to do...

I used to know the answer to this when we were working the business but I have forgotten. After a load is delivered, how long does a motor carrier have to make a freight damage claim against you? I ask because Diane and I kept every piece of paper related to every load we ever hauled. We had...

Find a container of some sort, like a sturdy envelope or small box. Place your receipts in it. Place the envelope or box in a place where it can be easily found when a receipt is needed. When a receipt is needed, go into the envelope or box and remove the desired receipt.

On one hand, it is wise to master the numbers and the deeper you look into them, the better off you will be. On the other hand, practical considerations apply. As you gain experience on the road, you will come to understand that always/never rules may not always be best to follow. For example...

Once upon a time, Diane and I were white-collar professionals, living in the suburbs, happy with our lives and careers. When a friend gave us our first-ever ride in a big truck, the bug bit and we began researching trucking. When we discovered expediting the deal was sealed. A few months later...

I do not recall the specifics but sometime while Diane and I were on the road, the first FCC BR-units were introduced. Their not being dock high was not an issue when the motor carrier was promoting them and recruiting drivers to build and run them. It was not uncommon to see them, especially...

The original question remains to be answered. Is FedEx Custom Critical running BR-units any more?

Feds move to limit speeds of trucks, buses The final point in this article is interesting. Maybe truckers should all come out in favor of speed limiters if they are mandated for cars too.

Sorry to hear of your reversal but glad to hear you are back on track. Your experience is not unusual. Some people make great strides and stay there. Others make great strides and revert. It demonstrates the importance of mindset. The people who progress and remain at their new levels do not...

I should add that when Diane and I researched fleet owners in 2003, few if any large ones (10 trucks or more) existed. Back then, FedEx Custom Critical had a rule that no fleet owner could have more than five trucks on with that carrier. I believe it was a rule designed to protect all drivers...