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Interior lighting is something to pay attention to for anyone spec'ing a new truck. Diane and I did not have this on the list when we built ours. Fortunately, the sleeper manufacturer (ARI) did. It was a pleasant discovery when we realized that there are no dark corners in the sleeper, not even...

That not-digging part was the most dramatic part of the experience for us of moving from a factory sleeper to a large, custom-built sleeper. It was wonderful to open a door and get a clean shirt instead of moving something first and putting it back after the shirt was retrieved. Whether it is...

Why would anyone want an TV when there is EO?

It refers to a one-truck owner-operator like myself. It would also apply to a driver driving for a multi-truck fleet owner (like Diane and I did for a time), as long as the fleet owner and driver structure their relationship in a way that passes the independent contractor test. Some fleet...

Actually, Moose, it works the other way around. If you cannot show me in the regulations that the adverse conditions exception specifically applies to the 30 minute break, it does not apply. What my carrier told me was not carrier policy. It was an interpretation of the HOS rules that agrees...

Bruno, you are a fleet owner. I am a driver. Why don't we both save each other a lot of trouble and cut to the chase. I'll give you my address and you can start sending me money there. Let's make the process more efficient by forgetting about things like trucks and freight. Just send money.

One change they did make that was told to me by someone who works at FedEx CC HQ, was opening the door wider to large fleet owners. There was a time when fleet owers were prohibited from having more than five trucks in the fleet. That limit is long gone, partly because, it was explained, it...

Deadhead pay is no problem for Diane and me. It was not so with our former carrier and is not so with our present one. When a load is offered, we total up the pay and all miles that would be driven for the load. If there is enough pay to make the miles worth driving, we do the load. If not, we...

I'm not sure, Moose, if you and I are addressing the same point. So to be clear, let me say that I am talking about the newly-required 30 minute break. The CFR 352 rules you cite are talking about driving time. These are two different topics. Again, I have researched the rules and checked with...

When I posted the list of expenses, it was with the idea of profit and loss in mind. In any business, if an item qualifies as a business expense, it is counted as such. Expenses are totaled. Revenues are totaled. And the two are compared to determine if there was a profit or loss in a given time...

I researched the regs myself and checked with our carrier's logs compliance department. The adverse conditions exception cannot be used regarding the 30 minute break. If you do not take the break within the eight-hour period, you are in violation, period. If you are prevented by adverse...

Whether I am in the trucking industry or not, I spent over ten years in it and will always care about it. As a trucker, I am directly affected by the trucking rules. As a business person who will rely on trucks and truckers in the future, I will be indirectly affected. Good public policy...

The definition of an independent contractor is not a clear as you are making it out to be, and it is not determined by one item alone on whatever list of independent contractor characteristics you are using. The IRS uses one list. Each state has a list of its own. Courts have made different...

You missed nothing. In the spirit of your post, allow me to add this: Knee Lifts, a Great In-Truck Exercise

If an IRS crackdown comes down hard on expediter fleet owners and their drivers, that would not be the end of the story. Businesses quickly adapt to the tax laws of the day. The ownership of tools is part of the definition of an independent contractor but not all of it. There are many...

And the message is, park at the pumps, earn $0.25.

That's a disappointment, OVM. I thought you held us in higher regard than that.

Yes. That is absolutely true. But it is also true that some motor carriers hire dullards to work in their safety departments, and at least one carrier I know of actually fired a newly hired safety director when he tried to bring the company into compliance. In many cases, I believe, the problem...

Keep your extra Air Tabs. You'll want them if a tree branch or the top of a loading dock surface damages one or more of the ones you have on your truck.

Well said, rollincoal. Well done, gunnerwife!