Comments By HAMMERTIME

I spoke with a lease operator this morning at a rest area near Canby Oregon. I asked him why he leases his truck. He stated the reasons commonly given on this forum: freedom to chose routes, fuel stops, his loads, drive ungoverned and increased home time. As we talked he said these freedom's actually cost him money and he was actually spending less time at home in Oregon because it was getting more difficult to get good paying loads back into southern Oregon where he lives. He said he has a friend who does most of his driving in the Midwest and flies back to Oregon every 6-8 weeks for home time and he's considering doing the same thing because the pay is better in the Midwest. I asked him if he would consider being a company driver again and he said he would if he could find something local, but he wasn't ready to give up his dream of owning his own truck yet. He said he's been driving 7 years, the last 3 leasing. I enjoyed the chat and wished him well as we parted ways.

I'm just curious who do you drive for and what kind of rates are you getting. All I run is I5 from L.A. to Oregon and Washington. I'm always in Oregon or Washington after I pick up a load out of California and from my experience I get some pretty decent freight. I just picked up at Ready Pac in Irwindale, CA which is right in the LA Valley and it's paying me $1.98 so I'm curious as why you can't find freight on the West Coast. I don't have problem pulling them kind of Loads out of WA or CA. Oh and this load weighs about 2000 pounds, gotta love Produce!

Where are you attending School?

Bud A. I'm curious are you getting Mileage or Percentage? Have you ever heard of ATBS? I currently use them for all my accounting, they charge $20 a week. They also help track revenue per mile, cost of operating a truck per mile and fixed cost per week or month depending on how you view things. They also calculate your taxes Quarterly for you. One thing they offer is a expense report that has really helped me bring down cost on the road, I'm more aware of what I'm wasting my money on and it helps bring more money home. Obviously my revenue per mile wouldn't change but my Savings account grows. :)

Dont be discouraged, do your research, talk to O/O's that have found success. It's possible to be a successful Owner Operator given the right environment. Msg me privately if you have questions. I'm an Owner Operator and I net 9k easily, obviously my gross is much higher but expenses can get pretty high.

I drove 673.6 miles in 11.49 hours today total ,on duty 12.48 hours. all on e logs. just found a Wal-Mart with parking. I was scared because no parking at two truck stops and I was running out of hours. don't know if the office will be happy or mad. but I am going to sleep. I will see in the morning.

The front office might let you get away with it but sooner or later DOT will catch up to you, its still a violation. Just because safety over looks it doesn't mean they can help prevent you from receiving a citation.

Be careful some drivers will tell you to continue working their for 1 year! but on a much more serious note, so you didn't get your CDL? If not just walk away and cut your losses, no sense in staying with a Company that does not meet your needs. Start looking at other School Sponsored CDL Companies.

I saw Swift catch on fire right in front of me, he was screaming down a grade on his brakes the whole time. This was only 7 days ago.

Howdy, sorry to bother but I was wondering if CA89 to CA44 to US395 is good for loaded trucks. Taking the i5 down to i80 across Donner will add some miles to my trip.

GPS and Primes directions suggest the former route, but then again I was in Arkansas on the AR27/28 the other day following that and felt like I was rock climbing in my jeep (1st gear and praying I didn't roll over).

Got two months solo and it's amazing how much you learn in those first few weeks. To anyone struggling in training, it does get better! I didn't feel ready at all and while I've been laughed at a few times I still haven't hit anything! Ha.

I take that route always when I'm going to Reno from Oregon but only in the Summer months. It's a very fun scenic route and you can speed all you want unlike I5. There are some tight turns but nothing you can't handle by just slowing down. When you get to Susanville there is this really steep quick downgrade and almost turns at the same time into the Downtown area, make sure you read that sign telling you to slow down.

Sounds like you have actually been working hard even though it doesn't show it in class. Good Work! Now go watch a ton of Youtube videos on shifting, driving and backing up. :)

When I first started driving I would go home for hometime and because I needed the money I would work while I was at home with my previous employer and then one day my buddy called me and told me that someone just called and asked if I was still working there. I had a pretty good feeling it was someone from my Trucking Company. They must have had a hunch I was still putting in hours when I was on hometime. My friends family owned the Mechanic Shop so I told them if anyone called just tell them I'm no longer employed. I don't recommend doing such a thing but I was hurting for $$$ at the time.