Hello. My wife and i are interested in becoming expediters. We are pretty successful in our current careers, but both miserable from corporate stress. Several years back, we entertained the thought of becoming OTR truckers, but didn't pull the trigger. We have recently sold our home, and the only debt we have is one car payment (and thats the first debt we've had in over 10 years). We truly live by the idea that what you own, owns you. We have no children, only a 50 pd dog. The idea of expediting sounds appealing, especially since we've downsized to very little. From what i have read, it appears that a husband/wife straight truck team is a trucking companies dream to work with. Were based out of DFW Tx, and was curious if anyone would be up for some back and forth questions, either on here, email or phone. Were very curious about the income potential for a couple, who enjoy each others time together (and not really anyone else's). We have some friends, but prefer to see them only once or twice a year… same goes for family ties. Also, does any freight ever get to Tx? We would be up for buying a husband/wife team dinner or lunch to have a good q and a session with them..
husband/wife team (no experience)
- Thread starter jf393
- Start date
paullud
Veteran Expediter
A same household team isn't a dream for trucking companies but it is preferred. The bigger issue you will have weighs 50lbs and presumably has 4 legs. There are some fleet owners that will allow dogs but you may have to pay a fee or non-refundable deposit. Freight going into TX isn't a big deal, getting out of TX can be time consuming.
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thanks paullud. Yea, we are aware of the dog situation, and are willing to pay to keep him next to us if need be. We weren't as concerned about Tx freight to stay close to home, just wondering how that will affect us when we decided to go back 'on the clock'. (at least if we waited, we'd be waiting at home). Btw, that would be a family members home if we decide to go forward on this venture.
paullud
Veteran Expediter
It would be slow getting out usually but you can always go back in service before you want to leave to get on the "list"so you move up. You could always turn the load down if you aren't ready but that is not something that you will want to do often.
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If you both can attend the Expedite Expo on July 25-26th, that would be worth it. At the expo you'll meet with lot of folks in the trucking industry and have all your questions answered.
Good luck.
MissKat
Expert Expediter
Here's my suggestion. You two should rent a low budget motor home for at least two weeks and go somewhere. Stay in the motor home and stock it with food so that you limit yourself to outside frills such as great restaurants, etc. The motor home will be approximately the size of a straight truck. Plan the trip to drive 11 hours daily, you and your wife do a pre-trip on the motor home daily together. Don't scrimp on the details. Keep a record of how many miles a day you do, how much fuel and maintenance, tolls and other costs are daily. Shop at Walmart for supplies. Take enough clothes that you have to do laundry in a truckstop at least once. Buy your fuel only at truck stops to get an idea of the culture. Try showering only in truckstops. Try sleeping in a truckstop parking lot to see what goes on (eye-opening). Have a GPS. Plan your trip to be about 3,000 miles one way. Plan how long it will take you to drive there and back and what routes you should take to get there safely and expediently. Take a day off or two at the destination. Make sure its not really that fun on those two days off. See how long it takes to get the itch to move somewhere else. From Dallas one could expect a load anywhere. Try going to the Northwest Portland or Seattle. Then imagine sitting there for two days to a week waiting for the phone to ring. Remember that if you MOVE the vehicle in that timeframe it costs money. Take the dog of course. See how it feels to use the public rest areas anytime day or night. Practice backing the motor home into small areas. One needs to be the ground guide and you two create your own handsignals. Pack the RV with everything you need for two weeks. Except for fresh food items. Take a couple of small appliances like a coffeemaker, rice cooker, crockpot as that is what we use over the road as truckers. Have two cellphones and practice using them for everything. GPA, messaging, camscanning documents, etc. The EXPO is a wonderful place to ask questions and some drivers will allow you to look inside their rigs. Remember the showtrucks are usually liveaboards freshcleaned for your viewing. Febreze will be your best friend in the RV. The drive from Dallas to the EXPO would be good practice, and you can sleep in the RV at the EXPO parking field. There will be others sleeping there as well. Don't be tempted by the hotel. With the wages you will make in expediting (from $42,000-60,000 as a team driving as independent contractors for an owner in a very good year - then subtract your health care costs as there will not be any provided for you, and most of your earnings will be tax writeoffs because the cost of being on the road is plenty) you can forget about staying in many hotels. Hope this makes sense to you, and I wish you well. We were tractor trailer drivers first for 5 years, then expediters, then back to tractor trailer drivers to put som emoney in the bank, and then back to expediting in a tractor trailer. Now retired and UShippers when we want to go somewhere. Kat
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Daffyduck528
Expert Expediter
I like it. Only in the rv, only use the bed, refrigerator, and 18" of counter space, forget about the big closset, use only 8" of pantry, do not use any of the living room, the bathroom, only shower and potty at truck stops or rest areas or stores (unless you have a porta potty), also, be prepared to have your rv fail a pretrip and figure out what you would need to do to get it passable and what that would costs. Most rv's, uhauls and other large cheap rentals I have seen will not pass a good pretrip.
ebsprintin
Veteran Expediter
Ditto on what MissKat suggested. I was thinking you could replicate a smaller interior by renting a Sprinter style rv, but then you would miss out on the restrictions of where you could take the larger rv. Forcing yourself to get to the expo on short notice can simulate getting unstranded.
Be careful about your assumptions about parking with family. A quick stop like a delivery is one thing; laying over is another. Technically, I can't even park my sprinter at my legal residence, because of zoning laws. Your welcome is worn out quicker with the neighbors than your family. Having said this, DFW is the kind of place that is nice to have your own personal parking space as opposed to the few public places that are available.
eb
Be careful about your assumptions about parking with family. A quick stop like a delivery is one thing; laying over is another. Technically, I can't even park my sprinter at my legal residence, because of zoning laws. Your welcome is worn out quicker with the neighbors than your family. Having said this, DFW is the kind of place that is nice to have your own personal parking space as opposed to the few public places that are available.
eb
Except for the dog, your story sounds very familiar. Diane and I left white-collar professions to become expediters; not because we needed another job, but because we were up for a new adventure. Expediting became for us a ten-year career that enabled us to spend more time together, simplify our lives, share in a business project, increase our net worth and see the country.
The advice you are receiving about attending EO workshops and the Expo is spot-on. There is no better way to learn about the opportunity than to attend these events. It is worth the vacation time and drive to attend these events.
Inexperience is not an issue. If you do your research and benefit from the coaching of a good fleet owner, you can produce in your first month on the road as much revenue as 20-year veterans do.
Now for the bad news. We became expediters in 2003 and the money was better then. The industry has changed a lot in the last 10-15 years. If we were researching the opportunity today, we might not conclude that it is worth the switch. While I am certain that you could operate a break-even business in today's expedite marketplace, the potential profitability is wise to question.
In ten years of expediting, we never once met an expediter who said he or she kept a current and accurate statement of net worth (also known as a balance sheet or statement of financial condition). That is the document that, if honestly prepared, tells you how much your net worth changes year to year.
If we ran today's typical expediter revenue and expense numbers through our past year's, spreadsheets and financial statements, the numbers would look nowhere near as good. This is why we left the industry and it is why we would not likely enter it today if we were looking at it fresh as newbies.
That said, kindly note that when we entered the business, increasing net worth was absolutely vital to us. It is a personal priority because we want to retire with enough money in the bank to not worry about money in our golden years. We're not talking mansions by the sea, just a nice place to live, a nice car to drive, the ability to eat steak once in a while, pay for any medicine that may be needed and have the freedom to travel. But this is is our priority. You, of course, will decide your own.
In your research, you will meet all kinds of expediters who will tell you are successful. Some will even claim to have spreadsheets that prove they are making money. But if you ask to see the spreadsheets, few are willing to share them. And in many cases, that is because they do not want to know the truth that their so-called spreadsheets paint a rosier picture than is true.
Sadly, a whole lot of expediters do not run their business like a business. They fail to fully track their expenses. They fail to account for important items like truck depreciation. They mistake meaningful activity (miles) for meaningful results (profits). What cash they generate in the business is managed poorly and often frittered away. And, in many cases, these are the very people who drive the fanciest trucks (debt, debt, debt) and speak most loudly about how successful they are as expediters.
Success means different things to different people. If building your net worth is important to you, and if that is how you would measure your success as an expediter, you will be wise to develop a spreadsheet of your own before entering the business and run the numbers yourself.
This is a nearly impossible task for someone new to the industry because terms like bobtail insurance, deadhead and Centramatics vs. wheel balance are unfamiliar. Getting current pricing for things like insurance and tires is also difficult because when vendors find out that you do not yet have a truck, they don't want to spend time with you.
Also, costs vary significantly depending on the motor carrier you associate with, and until you make a choice, it is hard to see and understand the differences. One carrier may offer a killer tire discount where another does not. So too with fuel and insurance.
When listening to the success stories of expediters, pay close attention and try to determine if they have other sources of income that they are not disclosing to you. Military retirees, for example, can have the time of their lives out on the road without concern for expedite profitability because their pension is always there. People who own property may have rental income that contributes to their net worth as may the increase in the value of the property itself.
Expediting still offers a fantastic way to spend time together, simplify your life and see the country. Whether you can do all this and increase your net worth too is the question of the day.
Also of concern are the creature comforts you feel are needed on the road. Diane and I drove fleet owner trucks for three years before getting into a spacious and full-featured truck of our own. Had we not gotten into our beloved rig, we may not have lasted ten years in the industry. We loved it out there but may not have loved it as long had we not had a kitchen, shower and toilet and real bed in a truck and spacious sleeper where the AC could keep up with desert heat and the heater could keep up with sub-zero temps.
We spent a lot of money to build that truck and paid it off in 22 months. When we left the industry, we were an experienced team with an excellent motor carrier. Sadly, there is no way we could afford a truck like that in today's expedite marketplace; not if we wanted to increase our net worth too. As I said, the money is not as good today as it was before.
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Casper0418
Rookie Expediter
You are in the same position as my wife and I are. You also happen to be in the same city and state. We are going to the Expo next week. I hope you can attend too. Let us know if you are going and we will see if we can meet. We are looking forward to meeting some of the EO members there, and I know we are going to be asking a lot of the same questions. We are really looking forward to the seminars!
Either way, Good Luck on your future endeavors.