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I'll be one of the ones watching. As I've said, until I complete my personal analysis using real numbers with our own truck, the jury remains out. I do however have sufficient confidence in FedEx and now David Mayfield's info obtained from Rick Franks to sign the contract ammendment with little...

>If you have ony one frequent fueler card, go to the nearest >Flying J, find a kiosk that is not out of order Too funny, and all too true.

The fleet owners we drove for required nothing; except those with generators on the trucks required us to do generator oil changes. With the fleet owner's permission I sometimes did more, but I had previous experience as an auto mechanic and was able to do so. There are three issues. One is...

> Not to get too awfully nosy, but would you mind giving us a >"ball park" figure of how much a system like yours would >cost? It sounds terrific. One accident and it could easily >pay for itself in providing indisputable proof of what >happened. Not to mention the CYA you get from recording...

Diane and I had passports before we became truckers. We carry them in the truck now. They are helpful when doing Canada/U.S. border crossings. Customs officials seem to respect them more than CDLs and us a bit more when we present them. When we signed on with FedEx, they were accepted in lieu...

The prepass info is on the PrePass web siter at: http://prepass.com/ Like others in this thread, Diane and I find PrePass to be a beneficial tool. It saves time. It saves fuel. And every time you can bypass a scale instead of stopping in, is one less time you may run into a scale cop who may...

That I-55 truck stop is quite the garden spot. Our one visit there counted as two; the first and the last.

While the article is written from a team-driving perspective, "Five Challenges of Expedting" may be helpful to you as well. http://www.expeditersonline.com/artman/publish/article_001719.html See also, "Introduction to Expediting" http://www.expeditersonline.com/downloads/introduction.pdf

>Why change? > >Why would a carrier reduce the FSC, knowing contractors >would complain, and then increase the rate? > >Personally, I believe it really comes down to marketing >personnel who waffle when selling service to shippers. > >Properly presented you can sell value; regardless of the...

Thank you, Mr. Mayfield for your rate information. That rate piece was missing from the deadhead, fuel and tolls information FedEx posted on its Extranet (contractor web site). I had a feeling things might go that way and until I have the chance to crunch actual numbers relative to our truck...

Dreamer, In life there are diplomats and generals. Both have their place. In forum administration, diplomacy is probably better than command, but when diplomacy ceases to work, generals are called upon to exercise their skills. To your credit, you are showing the patience of a diplomat. But...

I'm doing our evaluation now (number crunching) and will have more to share later. For now, just a couple points: 1. I am delighted by and proud of FedEx Custom Critical's toll reimbursement package. It passes tolls paid by a particular truck on a particular run on to the shipper. Hardly a...

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...