Learning from the mistakes of others

[RobA]

I have been reading the thread about the advantages of three axle over two axle expedite trucks. Poster "A-Team" has expounded at some length their lessons from the expedite business.
This triggered a memory from some years ago about another team who had simliar experiences.
Does anyone remember "WENDYCAL"?
If I remember, they drove for an owner, made some decent dollars and decided to strike out on their own. They bought a nicely equipped truck, but then things turned sour.
Expediting fell off after Y2K, but their large payments didn't.
I think it turned out unhappy for them.
A trip through the archives, if the messages go that far back, might be instructive.

Good luck A TEAM,
I hope things work out well for you.

 

[RichM]

Last thing I heard about Wendy and her husband Kevin is that they were in Galveston TX driving municipal buses.That was some time ago.

They were good decent folks and it was shame what happened,but like many others they had overspeced the truck, had no reserve built up and when things went south,they lost it all.

 

[ATeam]

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.

Regarding our truck purchase, my wife and I are not stupid. We've succeeded in other fields of endeavor and are succeeding as truckers too. We know what we can afford. We know that unless the nation grinds to a near halt, we'll be more than able to pay for the truck with our expediting earnings. Reserve funds are not an issue. We have them. Our business plan includes truck life cycle cost analysis, disaster recovery, long term truck replacement, insurance, business continuation, economic cycle sections and more.

Truck spec'ing is a highly individualized process driven both by economic reality and driver desires. It just so happens we deaire a truck we can feel good about in every respect. For us, that means top-grade equipment and all the comforts of home.

We've gone to school on the experience of other drivers. We've paid special attention to the drivers that are highly successful in this industry and happy in their work. They are our role models.

 

[davekc]

continued in truck forum

 

[davekc]

They had driven for Landstar and then went to C&M. You are right as they live in TX driving metro buses. Or the last I heard anyway. They did run into financial disaster and that ended their expedite careers. They had contacted me several years ago to drive, and then I didn't hear from them for 3 or 4 months. That is when they filled me on their situation. I didn't have a spare truck to put them in, so I couldn't hire them at that time.