Hightech_Hobo
Expert Expediter
I started my expediting career with the help of this website and got very valuable info.(some of which i ignored...and paid dearly) but seemed to forget to come back and keep up with the site as expediting day to day duties took over.I started on this site as "on my way" changed to "dayrunner" and now id myself as Higtech_Hobo all due to figuring out how to register on site...(and remember the name i registered...)but i think i've got it down now...
I was advised not to work for family and ignored this advice..I drove a sprinter van for my brother for about 2 months. He had his own authority and I ended up mostly running from charlotte, NC to chicoppee, MA and making some good money..but always dead headed back home to my RV i kept at my brothers place in charlotte. Originally my brother was supposed to sighn the van on with one of the major carriers and i would drive for a 65/35 split(not a bad deal)...but he never did sign on and wanted the sprinter kept stock so all cargo space was availble for freight. I lived on a cot that was a pain to set up every time it was needed and things were just not as we had discussed or i expected them to be...we ultimatly decided to part ways and i was hunting for a new owner to drive for...
As a side note, My brother hired another driver and stayed under his own authority...he is now about to volantarily let the van be repo'd...a shame to see a good sprinter go to waste in my mind..but he is upside down as hell and we can come to no aggreement on the purchase of the van)..
Not letting a bad experience thwart me...I found a new owner to work for who provided me with a basic ford E-250 with e-trac...Nothing else but straps.. She is a lil old lady with no prior expediting experience and has purchase the van as advised by a son in the LTL trucking arena...she signed on with a major expediting co. and went thru a few driver between march 04 and sept 04 when i sighned on with her(she has several horror stories from these drivers..)..She and I aggreed on a 60/40 split she pays fuel and tolls i get 40% of the gross. I have been allowed to do anything i want to to the truck and have set myself up quite nicely with a cargo box, an areobed on a foldup plat form that doubles as a bulk head on a 2 pallet load, a 2000 watt inverter, a microwave, coffemaker, toaster and refriderator and laptop computer with an all-in one printer++++(I'm a geek ...remember...LOL). I have also insulated the van and have carpet on the floor so my feet dont get cold when i use the portapotty in the middle of the night..Life is good...rite???.....
December rolls around and i am finally crunching #s to see how i have done and find my pay seems to be short...I call the boss and find she has been paying me on the wrong column of the settlement sheet an all accessorial charges have been ignorted since i started...but she'll "talk to her son" to see if i am right and i get the run around for the next week. I still can decide if she ignorant, inexperienced or "dumb as a fox"....couldnt load the spread sheet i sent her proving my case...computer went down for the next several weeks...etc, etc until i finally got her to admit i was right..she was wrong....but she dos'nt have the money to pay me...now on my side i must admit i get 30% of every load advanced for fuel via a comcard.I learned pretty fast that comcards and reg gas engines don't get along with each other easily and having to Idle my way thru the winter was costing both frustration and and more than 30%...so i used my own $$ and submitted expense reports..she was not ready for this added expense as the 30% always covered her needs..(her first winter in the business)
long post...so....to be continued.....
I was advised not to work for family and ignored this advice..I drove a sprinter van for my brother for about 2 months. He had his own authority and I ended up mostly running from charlotte, NC to chicoppee, MA and making some good money..but always dead headed back home to my RV i kept at my brothers place in charlotte. Originally my brother was supposed to sighn the van on with one of the major carriers and i would drive for a 65/35 split(not a bad deal)...but he never did sign on and wanted the sprinter kept stock so all cargo space was availble for freight. I lived on a cot that was a pain to set up every time it was needed and things were just not as we had discussed or i expected them to be...we ultimatly decided to part ways and i was hunting for a new owner to drive for...
As a side note, My brother hired another driver and stayed under his own authority...he is now about to volantarily let the van be repo'd...a shame to see a good sprinter go to waste in my mind..but he is upside down as hell and we can come to no aggreement on the purchase of the van)..
Not letting a bad experience thwart me...I found a new owner to work for who provided me with a basic ford E-250 with e-trac...Nothing else but straps.. She is a lil old lady with no prior expediting experience and has purchase the van as advised by a son in the LTL trucking arena...she signed on with a major expediting co. and went thru a few driver between march 04 and sept 04 when i sighned on with her(she has several horror stories from these drivers..)..She and I aggreed on a 60/40 split she pays fuel and tolls i get 40% of the gross. I have been allowed to do anything i want to to the truck and have set myself up quite nicely with a cargo box, an areobed on a foldup plat form that doubles as a bulk head on a 2 pallet load, a 2000 watt inverter, a microwave, coffemaker, toaster and refriderator and laptop computer with an all-in one printer++++(I'm a geek ...remember...LOL). I have also insulated the van and have carpet on the floor so my feet dont get cold when i use the portapotty in the middle of the night..Life is good...rite???.....
December rolls around and i am finally crunching #s to see how i have done and find my pay seems to be short...I call the boss and find she has been paying me on the wrong column of the settlement sheet an all accessorial charges have been ignorted since i started...but she'll "talk to her son" to see if i am right and i get the run around for the next week. I still can decide if she ignorant, inexperienced or "dumb as a fox"....couldnt load the spread sheet i sent her proving my case...computer went down for the next several weeks...etc, etc until i finally got her to admit i was right..she was wrong....but she dos'nt have the money to pay me...now on my side i must admit i get 30% of every load advanced for fuel via a comcard.I learned pretty fast that comcards and reg gas engines don't get along with each other easily and having to Idle my way thru the winter was costing both frustration and and more than 30%...so i used my own $$ and submitted expense reports..she was not ready for this added expense as the 30% always covered her needs..(her first winter in the business)
long post...so....to be continued.....