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My wife and I drive a straight truck. We have yet to meet a tractor/trailer expediter (E-unit) that has a lower gross income than we do. But we stick with straight trucks because it's not only about the money. We got into expediting for the lifestyle too. A straight truck gives us the ability to...

There are carriers out there that do not accept illegal loads themselves and do not expect their drivers to carry them. It sounds to me that you are taking risks you do not need to take. Legitimate money is easily found in this industry.

This goes a different direction than discounts but please bear with me. I once heard of an expediter that uses his American Express card to buy everything...food, fuel, supplies, repairs, everything. He then uses his credit card loyalty points to pay for overseas vacations. With American...

Good points about Canada. Remember that many of the miles you drive on runs to Canada are in the U.S. Border crossing can be a bureauctatic mess sometimes, but the runs are still profitable, at least the ones we've done. Doggie Daddy's points about the importance of accepting Canada loads are...

The words "my friend" are important. In this business, married couple teams are a lot more stable than teams of any other kind. You might want to visit some other trucking sites (non expediting) and do a searh on the word team. I've read some stories about team relationships there that have me...

>sounds like different strokes. Since we are running >consistantly now, I think our revenue would drop. The >assessory charges wouldn't be great enough to offset the >milage revenue. During a period that was really slow I might >have a different opinion. Key words are, "Since we are...

The business is not without risks. The income you desire is possible. There are people out there making it right now. However, there are also a lot of good folks driving the same kind of trucks for the same kind of carriers that don't make the kind of money you speak of. It's easy to be a...

When I worked as a securities broker and financial planner, I spent a great deal of time teaching my clients the difference between gambling and investing. In gambling, you position your money where you'll have an increased chance of loss. In investing, you position your money where you'll...

I concur. We drive a D-unit and haul mostly C loads.

I think it depends on the carrier you run with. If your carrier has a lot of automotive freight, you'll go to a lot of automative locations, typically large plants in the suburbs or rural areas. If your carrier does museum or trade show loads, you'll go to where the museums and trade shows are...

We (wife and I) agree 100%! Debt is evil. Debt-free is the way to be! The world is full of people that will happily finance your cars, house, home improvements, trucks, wedding rings, vacations, lake home, education, etc., etc., etc. The trouble is, if you finance your posessions, you don't own...

My >point was merely to express my opinion that if the total run >pay, considering current fuel costs, is acceptable to you, >it doesn't matter if a surchrge is included That's a good point. While some carriers pay a flat per-mile rate for all loads, others pay varying rates on varying types...

We've (wife and I) found that if we stick to the routes our carrier (FedEx CC) recommends, the miles work out pretty close. Davekc mentions the "all miles" figure. That's the number that really matters. That would include deadhead to the load, out of route miles (due to construction or perhaps...

We have Sirrius in our truck. With 100+ channels offered by both Sirrius and XM (the two sattelite radio competitors), it's hard to imagine anyone being disastisfied with the choice of either one. We are happy with Sirrius and especially enjoy the stronger public radio programing it has over XM...

I sent the following to the FCC. Having been involved in such initiatiaves in the past, I can say that such comments really do make a difference. They are all read, categorized and counted by FEC workers. That data is then passed on to the decision makers. Thank you, Rich for alerting us to...

My wife and I are buying a new truck that we need to equip with ratchet straps, load bars, furniture pads, dollies, etc. The equipment we use now belongs to the fleet owner we drive for and will go with the truck when we turn it in. Where do you go to buy your equipment? Any tips would be...

carstea, redytrk, says, "You will probably save your self from a lot of mistakes by staying away from dealers who dont have a clue how to set up your rig." Amen to that! Like you, I once spent time calling truck dealers to learn more. After wasting a lot of time talking to dealers that knew...

When we meet and visit with other teams on the road, most conversations include: "Where are you from?" "How long have you been doing this?" And, "Ain't it aweful about dispatch?" While most drivers have dispatch horror stories to tell, I have yet to meet one that hopes to be a dispatcher some...

Thank you for introducing yourselves and sharing your positive view of expediting. I believe the industry will see many more teams like you (white collar workers becoming expediters) in the near and long term future. My wife and I entered the field from white collar professions with no previous...

The thread title is perfect, "Learning from the mistakes of others." This site and other trucking forums stand as great resrouces for newbies. Newbies like ourselves don't have to learn from our own mistakes. We can learn from the mistakes experienced drivers have made and talked about...