Profile For Texas Tim

So since everyone here is so critical of the deep end of the pool I've jumped into, what are you suggesting I do? Go back to being a company driver and making less than I can afford to make? I've been very clear that $900-$1000/week is barely enough to pay my bills. If that's the case trucking is not worth the sacrifice. Because I only see 3 options here... company (not enough money), lease (too much risk), or owner op (don't have the credit). So instead of telling me I made a mistake how about telling me either how to succeed or to get out while I can!

I know none of you know me but I'm not stupid. I'm not some naive 25 year old that thinks $4100 a week is sustainable or that it didn't start during the previous week. It was a perfect storm. The week before I was just starting out and made a couple mistakes and only had one load on payroll. The next load started before payroll ended and spilled into the next week and really helped the next week out. Do I care? Nope! More money! As long as I start the week paying my expenses then the other loads are towards my profits. I'm running this like an owner op so I need suggestions on how to be the best one I can.

What is your maintenance cost per mile?

What is your fixed cost to operate the truck?

What is your percentage of loaded miles and deadhead miles?

How much are you setting aside for maintenance?

How much are you setting aside for quarterly taxes?

What is the fuel surcharge average since you started?

How much are you paying yourself per mile?

Are you performing any scheduled and unscheduled maintenance?

Do you have an accountant that is proficient with truckers needs?

These are all really good questions! Can you help me answer them??

And this is usually the response we get back from anyone that goes into the lease plan. I'd love to read all your numbers for all the costs and expenses compared to settlements. Some day a lease operator will post these, but after my six years on TT, it hasn't happened.

Good luck.

I think these are in the right order... this is my statement from last week.

I’ve always been curious as to what Prime gives lease ops in regards to fuel surcharge because I can almost guarantee they’re skimming.

I don't know if they are or not but they definitely have some connections with discounts and all that. Last week I ran 4315 miles and after discounts only paid $1100 for fuel. I think the only reason I even paid that much is because of where I bought fuel a couple of times. I wasn't always where I could fuel at the places Prime suggested.

We all go through a steep learning curve in trucking. You just decided you wanted yours to be even more challenging. I hope you can pull it off. If you've got a good dispatcher, who is only dispatching lease operators, they should be able to help you some. They will understand the things you need.

I understand what everybody is saying and I get that I have to pay dues and that I won't make a ton of money since I'm just starting out. I'm not arguing that. I knew I would be at the bottom of the ladder. I knew that coming in to this industry. I'm not naive or young enough to think I would make a LOT of money off the bat but I do have a minimum amount I need in order to survive and pay my bills. My calculations were a little higher than 1000 a week or so which would be close to what I was making before I lost my last job. If I can't make that it will be a lot harder to survive and not worth the sacrifice I'm making to call this a career. So far as a lease op I think I'll be able to do that. All, and I mean ALL the other drivers I know at my company are lease ops. All the trainers, all the more senior drivers I know, all of them. They didn't push me to lease but talked it up enough to convince me it would be a lot better. Did I want to take that risk so early? Of course not! But if the money is drastically different I believe it will be worth it. So far it has been better. I won't always have a week like this past one but it is encouraging.

I came here on advice on how to be successful at something that I've already committed to, not to be scared and criticized for making the decision.

Hi Tim,

My only advice to you is to be honest with yourself. Don't be saying you made 5k when you know you have fuel, truck payments, maintenance, ins etc. to pay for. Don't forget to make your estimated quarterly taxes also or you will know the real difference between leasing and company.

I guess you were right. I didn't make $5000. I made $4100 and yes, that is take home.

You can certainly do that. You can even do it as a lease operator, but if you think that just changing your category from an employee to a contractor works like a magic wand to turn on the great income, you are really missing something.

The difference between company and lease is I went from 46cpm to 70% of every load. I'm already making more money. The weird thing about that is that they're giving me more miles as a lease op than they were a company driver... they gave me a bunch of rinky dink loads that had me sitting at a customer for 6-8 hours every time and I wasn't making enough to live off of.

Can we SEE a pic of your lease truck, Tim? (Thanks for coming back up in here, too!)

I think I already did... if there's a picture of the other one it's exactly the same lol

Tim, did you really think you were going to be making big money as a rookie driver?

I totally get that I gotta pay my dues as a rookie and won't make a ton of money is one thing but I'm talking about working harder than I have at any other job and not making enough to pay my bills and support my family is another thing entirely! I'm not some lazy kid bro I'm a 45 year old father husband and soon to be grandpa. I have to support my family one way or another. I've worked 2 and 3 jobs at a time before. If I can't make enough I'm not going to sacrifice this much for it. I don't care what I do for a living. I just need to support my family!

I really wish you would have asked us for some advice on this. I don't think you would have found much encouragement. Maybe that is why you didn't ask. You may have already known what we would say. I wish the best for you, but I don't think you realize how deep you stepped into it yet.

Wow real encouraging... I'll tell you this. I can live off of $7 or 800 a week. If that's all I make trucking then forget it and I'm walking away. If lease doesn't work out I'm quitting.

Well Annamarie told me on Facebook I needed to update here so here it is 🤣

This trucking thing us tough guys, not gonna lie. I've hardly been home at all in the last 5 months and it's stressful. It's stressful anyway but being away from home makes it worse. I was making 46cpm as a company driver for 2 or 3 weeks and wasn't making but around $700 a week and was running my butt off so I bit the bullet and went lease. My first week was about $800 I think, 2nd week I didn't make anything but it was a learning experience? Third week I'm on track to make $5000! I doubt that's sustainable but God worked it out that way this past week.

That is enough to make me want to stay out here but everything else is making me want to walk away. I'm staying because it's better than not making anything at all and I need the experience to get another job close to home.

Help me out guys... I need some encouragement.

Tim

Tim, is your engine running when you cook? My invertor can handle an 800w microwave, but not a toaster oven, I guess it is 1,500w, so I have to start the engine to use it.

Sorry about the late reply, I don't get any notifications on new comments. I have a Freightliner Cascadia which has opti-idle so whenever the batteries get low it cranks up on its own and charges em. The microwave runs fine but the air fryer would pop the breaker on the inverter and I'd have to reset it every time so I quit using it.

7) NO rookie should do it. You will hit things, get stuck in the mud or snow and could even roll the truck. As a lease op that is all on you. sure you have insurance and pay a couple thousand for deductibles, but IF they claim negligence, the entire bill is your responsibility. Last year a lease op rolles the truck on Mayfair on his first load. he will never drive again, plus owes the payment and insirance for the truck as well as the PSD loan and food advance. At best that is about $10,000.

Dang Kearsey you make a lot of good points and you're scaring me to death... I just signed a lease with Wilson/Prime because after all the training and work I put in, I only made about $700 a week the first couple of weeks on my own. My first week as a LO was decent, second week I didn't make a dime but it was a learning experience I guess, and third week I'm gonna bring home around $5000 if I did the math right.

Is that good money? Yes. Is it worth it in the long run? I don't know yet...

I've been trying to cook on the truck more. Truck stop food is expensive and unhealthy so I brought an air fryer, a George Foreman grill and bought a microwave. I've been cooking chicken thighs in the air fryer but it's getting to where it faults the circuit breaker on the inverter so I'll have to start cooking them on the grill to get them brown and finish them in the microwave.

It's been a while since I've updated! Mountain Matt ended up with my trainer (thanks to yours truly!) and I'm officially on my own! Normally we have a "solo week" where we drive for a local account and get a lot of practice backing docks but they were closed for the holidays so they had me run loads within a few hundred miles of Springfield for a week, minus the 4 days I took off for Christmas. Now I'm officially a company driver paying my dues and getting paid!

I've had a couple loads to and from Denver but only just now have seen any snow. I deliver here in Pennsylvania tonight. I plan on staying out until me and my wife's anniversary at the end of February.

The training I've received at Wilson has been top notch. If you're toying with the idea of becoming a trucker I highly suggest contacting them.

So passed my 30,000 miles and then some on our way to Cali then routed back to Springfield. Passed my road and backing test with flying colors! I'm finally in my OWN TRUCK yall! About to have embark on my first solo load later today!

Thanks again for dinner the other night, Matt! Good luck and be safe!

(I totally forgot to snap a picture of me and Matt🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ but here's a picture of the truck!)

Ok quick update:

Almost at 30,000 miles. Was hoping to be back this week. Will go over my miles in order to get them all in. Just left Reed City MI yesterday en route to Carson CA then will head back to Springfield to test. Almost there!!

I'm driving the night shift so headed to bed. Should see our very own Matt McKellar this week!

Being a C/O was similar .. right ?!?!? Fun & frazzling, all at once! Hahaha! I only know from the 'jump seat' of a truck, mostly...tbh! Our cousin that lives behind us is a C/O at MANCI . . . (i HEAR stuff... i'd rather not.. tbh!)

Pharmacy tech's get robbed more'n C/O's this day & age, LoL !! My guy was IT thru & thru.. and got rif'd in 2000'ish. . . never looked back since he got his 'real' CDL in 2003. Tried STNA'ing in between, and owned a dump truck/refuse route all during. Fell under the radar, haha!

Oh yeah!!! Dang me.......Just checking BACK.. SINCE YOU HAVEN'T, haha!

And???

I wait patiently ... for a week, most'ish, haha!!

Hope all is WELL!!

~ Anne ~

I never get notifications when I get new comments... its weird but yes things are going great! We are in south Texas for the week where my trainer lives. If I stayed with him I can still get paid for the week (so I'm not on hometime technically). I found out once we hit the road next week I'll only have 9400 miles to go! We may run into some pockets of snow though so PRAYERS APPRECIATED!!

Yes Anne being a CO could be a little touch-and-go at times but overall we were in charge and kept order. It was a lot of barking orders and making sure nobody was screwing around when I ran the kitchen. They would rob us blind if I didn't!

I'll try to post some pictures from the road so far if I can figure out how to post em...

- Tim

Where were you a C/O? I have seen the insides of some units.

I was a cook in high security at one unit. Worked in the kitchen commissary at the same unit.

I was security in the kitchen at Meadows Unit, Eyman Complex, Florence AZ

Hey Tim, I'm considering going for the lifestyle, and your pictures are an inspiration. Congratulations on your success so far. I'm sure I'm not the only would-be new driver encouraged by your story.

Thank you! It's good to know it could help somebody! I really enjoy trucking as a job so far and think it'll make a long and fulfilling career.