Starting expediting ?'s

[cheri1122]

Roadawg: Assuming that you will need to drive for an owner, have you considered the issue from his point of view, as well as your own?
You want to make more money, the owner does too - it's why we do this. Most owners want teams, but they've learned [the hard way] that boyfriend/girlfriend couples often lack the commitment [to each other and to their work] necessary to 'ride out' the tough times - literally and figuratively.
You weren't impressed by the vans you saw, but how much do you think an owner should risk on an inexperienced driver? [Do you have a CDL? Does your girlfriend? Any endorsements, like HazMat? Have you ever logged before?] Straight trucks cost a lot of money, and they need to return a profit to the owner.
Maybe, if you spend a bit of time considering what you're offering an owner, as well as what they're offering you, it might change your perspective.
Just sayin....

 

[Roaddawg]

Yes we have considered all of the above. We have been together for a while we are not going any were. We have owned a business for a long time. We are getting out of it and going another avenue. We have been wanting to do this for a long time but have never been able to get to the point to where we can walk away and stay out for 4-6 weeks at a time. My children are grown except one and he is with his mother. She does not want children and I am done with them. We have a savings put a side but can not drop it on a truck. We have been able to give a few people new starts in their own business. So we do know what it means to invest in people and we know what it is like to get stuck by them. As a business owner we would never furnish any of our employees an unsafe piece of equipment to use to make use and them $. That was my point. This is our plan! To drive for an owner for a min. of 6-12 months. Invest in our own truck. Then hope the economy will come back and stay stable then buy a few more to help other drivers to get started. We are not all about the dollar but we can not go broke either. Yes ST's are expensive and if you look at the price of a nice sprinter or van with the sleep that you would need for 2 people, you would spend just as much on one of them new as you would on a good used ST. New ST's are well over $100,000 these are the nice ones but a nice used one with 200,000-400,000 is half the price. Sprinter or vans 1 ton with the sleep convers. will run you a good $30,000-$60,000 so in my book I would rather own ST's rather than vans. I hope this lightens up the dark area for you.

 

[tenntrucker]

Sounds like you've done your homework and have a good plan to me.

Sent from my DROID X2

 

[greg334]

The thing that many don't seem to get is that they don't have to buy new. A capital investment of $140k into a new truck may not pay itself off unless the economy returns to 2006 levels, which is unlikely.

As a fleet owner, leveraging used equipment to make money soon than later pays off in the long run all with the idea that shouldn't be helping others but turning revenue as much as possible within the limits of the law and ethics.

 

[highway star]

I hate logging and I often am stuck scrambling to catch up on 3 days worth while I'm getting loaded but it's worth the hassle imo.

You can be asked to show your log anytime, anyplace. You could be squarely in the middle of East BF at 0500 on a Sunday morning and think that you don't have to be concerned about it, and get very surprised. It doesn't take that long to stay current.

Also, you may have had someone tell you that if you're asked, they have to give you 15 minutes to catch up. That's a load of crap. The rule is "current to the last change of duty status". LOL... You could change history in a major way in 15 minutes. I've looked in the book and I couldn't find anything to support the 15 minute deal.

 

[cheri1122]

Yes we have considered all of the above. We have been together for a while we are not going any were. We have owned a business for a long time. We are getting out of it and going another avenue. We have been wanting to do this for a long time but have never been able to get to the point to where we can walk away and stay out for 4-6 weeks at a time. My children are grown except one and he is with his mother. She does not want children and I am done with them. We have a savings put a side but can not drop it on a truck. We have been able to give a few people new starts in their own business. So we do know what it means to invest in people and we know what it is like to get stuck by them. As a business owner we would never furnish any of our employees an unsafe piece of equipment to use to make use and them $. That was my point. This is our plan! To drive for an owner for a min. of 6-12 months. Invest in our own truck. Then hope the economy will come back and stay stable then buy a few more to help other drivers to get started. We are not all about the dollar but we can not go broke either. Yes ST's are expensive and if you look at the price of a nice sprinter or van with the sleep that you would need for 2 people, you would spend just as much on one of them new as you would on a good used ST. New ST's are well over $100,000 these are the nice ones but a nice used one with 200,000-400,000 is half the price. Sprinter or vans 1 ton with the sleep convers. will run you a good $30,000-$60,000 so in my book I would rather own ST's rather than vans. I hope this lightens up the dark area for you.

It does, thanks. If you reread the prior posts, all you offered were complaints about the fleet owners and equipment they offered, and the info that you plan to team with a girlfriend and have little [if any] experience, and prefer a S/T to make more money. You can understand, I think, that those are red flags to people who have a lot of experience, much of it with unprepared beginners who talk mainly about what they expect, and very little about what they offer in return.
That's why I asked - because we don't know what you can offer, and it matters.
Good luck in your pursuit of a new way of life - if you can drive for an owner [and there are good ones] while saving enough to buy your own truck [if you don't change your mind], you have the best chance to make it over the long haul. If you want to succeed, EO works for you, too.

 

[cheri1122]

You can be asked to show your log anytime, anyplace. You could be squarely in the middle of East BF at 0500 on a Sunday morning and think that you don't have to be concerned about it, and get very surprised. It doesn't take that long to stay current.

Also, you may have had someone tell you that if you're asked, they have to give you 15 minutes to catch up. That's a load of crap. The rule is "current to the last change of duty status". LOL... You could change history in a major way in 15 minutes. I've looked in the book and I couldn't find anything to support the 15 minute deal.

Roger that, Mac. You can be in the middle of heavy traffic in downtown Chicago when some aggressive idiot runs into your truck, and by the time you call the authorities and notify dispatch, and deal with the immediate reality of an accident, the state trooper is asking for your paperwork. The Level 2 inspection is NOW - you won't have time to 'catch up' your log, and will seriously regret looking unprofessional and unprepared at that moment, because the consequences last for years.
I'm a lot more conscientious about logging since it happened to me, lol. My log was current - but I was more lucky than careful - I'm not counting on it again.

 

[jansiemoo]

From my Q's and A's. Example: Panther Straight Truck $1.39 per mile plus $.39 FSC. Plus $.45 DH Mile and $75 LO. The driver I spoke with 587 Mile run.$1.39 x 587=$815.93 x 60%=$489.56
FSC $.39x587=$228.93 + $489.56 = $718.49 + DH 65x$.45=$29.25 + LO Pay $75

$489.56 + $228.93 +$29.25 + $75 = $822.74
Fuel Cost = 587/10.5= 55.90 Gal.
55.90x$3.80=$212.42

$822.74-$212.42=$610.32
$610.32/587=$.96 per mile was the average net per mile. They got 60% of truck Rev. and they paid fuel. That's not to bad if you ask me. This was their last load for the weekend and they had clock 2600 miles for the week at the average of $.92 per mile net pay after fuel. Plus their LO pay and dead head. So this is the main reason I would rather go to a straight truck and not a van. This team was telling me this was one of their slow weeks in the last 6 months that they had been in the straight truck. Of course they was setting in Walmart Parking Lot eating Sonic LOL. in The Villages Fl.

Please forgive me if this has been explained somewhere else with more detail, as I am unaware of Panther's pay setup. I'm confused by the dh pay: do you recieve the .45cpm or 60% of it? Also, you added the dh pay into the pay total, but not the miles. That would give you a total miles driven to complete the load as 587+65=652, making the overall pay per mile lower. (You have to buy fuel to cover those 65 mi btw, lol) You can add the dh to the next load or this load, but you have to add it in somewhere. You don't ADD dh pay, you add the pay, subtact the fuel cost-it lowers overall rate per mile. We frequently have dh to places to have amenities for our lo and dh can be a bit higher- sometimes 20-30%- although that varies by carrier and region, etc.
Also, who pays tolls in this situation?depending on where you run- you can spend $40-$100 on tolls on just one run...
Otherwise, you seem to be asking the right questions.
One more thing- I'd recommend Expediter Services. Give Jason a call. He never screwed us or anyone we know who drove for him and our truck was always legal and comfortable; unfortunately, that's more than you can get from some fleets.

 

[mcavoy33]

You're scrambling to catch up on three days' worth of logs? Do you have a CDL?

I'm an expeditor, I sit for days at a time and don't do my logs until I get a load.

 

[Roaddawg]

LOL! Very good catch a lot of numbers running through my head. Thank you I will and yes that is very valid ? To ask who pays tolls and yes about the dead head miles.

 

[greg334]

I'm an expeditor, I sit for days at a time and don't do my logs until I get a load.

Sorry there dude, but an expediter is one who is prepared to move when the load is ready.

 

[BigCat]

It only takes a second to update your log when your status changes.

What are you going to do when dot pulls in to truck stop,rest area etc and your the lucky one to get the inspection?

This happened to me a few years ago and I was out of service for 34 hours.

 

[mcavoy33]

What are you going to do when dot pulls in to truck stop,rest area etc and your the lucky one to get the inspection?

As mentioned, I update them before I start moving but as its now, I've been in a hotel for 2 days and I probably won't update it until Monday because I'm lazy. It takes me all of 2 minutes to fill it out when its time.

 

[BigCat]

That's fine but I'm just stating dot can check them anytime they like. You don't have to be moving for them to get you.

 

[jansiemoo]

That's fine but I'm just stating dot can check them anytime they like. You don't have to be moving for them to get you.

My app's too wonky (crashes every five minutes or so) but I think this came up recently- and at length. Where's Turtle/Greg/Cheri/other mod? They'll post a link...I can't remember but it was about the DOT's right to bug you when you're sitting still and on private property. (I think most ppl agreed to not sit in the driver's seat and don't answer any knock on the door?)

 

[BigCat]

My app's too wonky (crashes every five minutes or so) but I think this came up recently- and at length. Where's Turtle/Greg/Cheri/other mod? They'll post a link...I can't remember but it was about the DOT's right to bug you when you're sitting still and on private property. (I think most ppl agreed to not sit in the driver's seat and don't answer any knock on the door?)

We watched 2 dot officers sit at a service plaza waiting on a flatbed driver to get up and once out of the sleeper they knocked on the door and asked for his logs then the inspection started.

This was on the Ohio turnpike about 2 months ago and also happened in Michigan at a truck stop.

Besides a 2 day layover who stays in the sleeper the whole time or even a 34 restart in a rest area.

You saying you don't come out of the sleeper and sit up front for a bit?

 

[mcavoy33]

We watched 2 dot officers sit at a service plaza waiting on a flatbed driver to get up and once out of the sleeper they knocked on the door and asked for his logs then the inspection started.

This was on the Ohio turnpike about 2 months ago and also happened in Michigan at a truck stop.

Besides a 2 day layover who stays in the sleeper the whole time or even a 34 restart in a rest area.

You saying you don't come out of the sleeper and sit up front for a bit?

I'm pretty sure I said above that I stay in hotels. My company pays for them every night. I haven't been inside my truck in days. I'm staying at an extended stay hotel with a big fridge & stove, so I buy enough groceries before I settle in.

 

[greg334]

Where's Turtle/Greg/Cheri/other mod?

Ah, I'm right here and don't remember which link it is. Maybe the shelled one or Cheri knows.

 

[greg334]

As mentioned, I update them before I start moving but as its now, I've been in a hotel for 2 days and I probably won't update it until Monday because I'm lazy. It takes me all of 2 minutes to fill it out when its time.

Really?

I'm not trying to bash you but ...

Work smarter not harder really is true. I hate logging and I often am stuck scrambling to catch up on 3 days worth while I'm getting loaded but it's worth the hassle imo.

I can't figure out what it is with these two quotes, maybe I'm missing something.

 

[cheri1122]

We watched 2 dot officers sit at a service plaza waiting on a flatbed driver to get up and once out of the sleeper they knocked on the door and asked for his logs then the inspection started.

This was on the Ohio turnpike about 2 months ago and also happened in Michigan at a truck stop.

Besides a 2 day layover who stays in the sleeper the whole time or even a 34 restart in a rest area.

[Raises hand] I do. Not every time, but I have done it many times. Everything I need [including the kitchen sink, lol] is in the sleeper, and if it's raining for 2 days, I'm not going out if I don't have to. Sure, I can change into dry clothes when I get back inside, but finding a place to hang the wet stuff till it's dry enough for the laundry [wet laundry mildews] is a problem.

You saying you don't come out of the sleeper and sit up front for a bit?

Why would I want to do that? I get enough time sitting up front when driving, and never understood drivers who sit there when they're not. Maybe they have a more comfortable seat, but I've got the expensive Oregon Aero cushion, so I don't think that's it. It's a mystery to me....