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Davekc's analysis (above) is sound. I especially like his ten-year perspective. After our Class 8 truck purchase is complete and we have some real-world operating cost numbers to compare, it would be fun to do, side-by-side, a ten-year life cycle analysis that compares class 8 and class 7...

Yep! We're limiting ourselves in the amount of weight we can carry because we don't want to drive an E-unit (tractor trailer). We prefer the mobility straight trucks provide. That mobility comes in handy when we're not under load and we want to explore the area we're in for flea markets, tourist...

It is common to meet expediters in your age range. You are wise to be concerned about fatigue. Young or old, a tired driver is a dangerous driver. Sleep management is important in expediting since you never know what time of day or night your next load will run. Make sleep a top priority and...

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the feelings associated with purchasing a reposessed truck. As you stated, the truck has already been reposessed. The truck may have been reposessed due to a driver's misfortune. More likely, it was reposessed due to a driver's mis-management. Either way, you...

I've read about air tabs too. Sounds good in theory. I'd like to know more about them in practice. I'd be willing to gamble the price and try them myself if I knew they could be easily removed without leaving marks on the box. But I don't know that so I'm holding off. Like they say, don't be the...

Great to hear from you. It's a visionary and pioneering thing you are doing. My wife and I have learning to read and speak Spanish as one of our mid-term goals. We meet enough Spanish speaking people in our travels to make it worthwhile now. We view it as a good learning experience, personal...

This is not meant as negative input but as a positive suggestion. If you are new to expediting, drive a fleet owner's truck for a while before buying a truck of your own. My wife and I could have purchased a truck when we first started. We're glad we didn't. By running someone elses truck(s)...

I hope you share what you learn here. It seems that every carrier hauls freight for other carriers at one time or another. I'd love to know more about the brokering that goes on behind the scenes. My wife and I once picked up a load inside a huge terminal for a moving van company. When we went...

If you do not now have the equipment referenced in this thread, and if your only reason for buying it would be to send and receive faxes, you might be better off paying the dollar a page. You can transmit a lot of pages for the cost of the equipment and monthly service fees.

My wife and I will order a new class 8 straight truck soon. It will have not a tag axle but two drive axles; that's twin screws, 10 tires, just like tractors. We had the same question you have. We researched it carefully and concluded that in our case, with our specific truck, two axles will...

Exactly.

My wife and I have driven two Class 8 Freightliners in our brief (9 month) career as expediters. These are fleet owner provided trucks. Based on our experience with them, we're going with a different brand when we buy our own truck. The hard-to-get parts issue you describe is well known...

The best web site for expediting info is right here...www.expeditersonline.com The FedEx CC orientation you refer to (I think) is for new contractors coming on board. It's not a public event. When my wife and I were researching our career change into expediting we found the Lousiville truck...

Running team with FedEx CC, my wife and I find ourselves going through your area a lot. As I think about it, I think it's fair to say we run through Tennessee at least as often as we run through any other state, except New York and New Jersey. We don't have the same home time desires you do...

We're (wife and me) at about the same point you are regarding financing a new truck. I was shocked to learn the terms offered by the truck dealer. Looking into it further, I learned that first time truck buyers are lumped together as a group. Your personal assets and credit rating carry little...

Bigschu2, I thought of you this morning at breakfast when I came upon a Cat engine ad in a trucking magazine. It says, "Engines With Pure Attitude." It's about the new Cat C15 625 HP engine. "Whether it's for heavy haulin', comfortable crusin', or bein' 'King of the Hill,' the C15 gives you the...

>The owner should give a percentage of every load to cover >fuel, food ect. A new driver would need that in the >beginning. The three week deal sounds like a owner is >waiting for his/her settlement check before they pay their >driver. It would appear that it is a very cash strapped >owner...

It's hard to argue with the idea that a D-unit is a good way to go for team drivers. D units can and often do haul D, C, and B loads. C and B units can't haul D loads. That gives you a leg up. A D reefer unit opens you to even more loads. Being a team also opens you to more loads. You can do...

My wife and I drive a class 8 D-unit: 2001 Freightliner, CAT-10 engine, 10-speed auto-shift transmission. 22 foot box, lift axle, and eqipped with a reefer and generator (both of which consume fuel). Truck weights about 15 tons, (30,000 lbs) empty. As RichM said, many factors affect fuel...

Is deadhead a good thing or bad? My wife and I consider deadhead a good thing. Without it, we’d almost never get a load. Wherever you are, you will almost always have to go someplace else to pick up your next load. Deadhead is what you do to get to the freight. When we get a load offer, we...