Set Yourself Apart From The Pack

Old school posted a thread about how competitive things are out here. Even more so since I bought my own truck but this also applies to company drivers.

This is another example of how you set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. You stay away from packs when driving and it is the same in the eyes of your dispatcher.

As a lot of you know, Denver is one of the worst places to find parking. Especially at night.

I was in Colorado Springs yesterday afternoon. Forecast was for blizzard conditions. My load was 9'9" wide. Because of this I am able to run at night.

After chaining I had an hour until curfew ended. Now I could have stayed and left today, but remember the blizzard that I mentioned earlier? It was due in at 1 am.

I had 3 hours left on my clock and it takes 2.5-3 hours to get to Cheyenne. I decided to go for it. I made it with one minute left on the clock.

Got up this morning and continued on. I found out about 9am that they had shut down I-25 in monument. I was in Billings by the time the others were able to get moving. That is 620 miles ahead of everyone else.

This also put me at 2500 miles in 4 days. I don't get paid by the mile but by the load. I will have 3200 miles in by the end of the day tomorrow. Take a 34 and do it again. Will actually gain me an extra load this month. Right now I am averaging around 650 miles a day.

Now I do not have set appointments but those little choices you make set you apart from the pack.

That's some good stuff Pat! I'm always doing little things to keep me ahead of the game. It becomes second nature after a while.

Pat, I'm curious about something on this current gig you're doing. What are you doing for back hauls, or do you just high tail it back and grab another load?

Hey Pat, since you are an O/O are you running paper or an elogs app on a device?

I have to grab an empty or stack of empties and hightail it back. I am on paper logs. Run it all legal but my truck will cruise the speed limits.

Being an owner operator is not all roses. Personally I have not seen a paycheck since December when my former employer lost this haul.

Between the aging of the invoices before they are paid and recouping start-up costs it only leaves about $500 a load to cover misc expenses. But the good thing is that within the next two loads the last $3,000 of fuel will be caught up and paid off.

It has been interesting so far. Some expected and some unexpected things have come up but nothing game stopper.

Between the aging of the invoices before they are paid and recouping start-up costs it only leaves about $500 a load to cover misc expenses.

my former employer lost this haul

Knowing all of the expenses, bad luck, and major changes that happen to any business owner I always have a minor heart attack when I hear people say, "I'm gonna save my money and then pay cash for a truck. That way I won't be in debt and I'll have a better chance at success."

Oh my god! You're going to burn through all of your cash before you even start your business??? How are you going to remain in business through the hard times? Because there will be hard times. There is for everyone.

I've mentioned that one time I went to a business seminar and the speaker said, "In business, cash is king. When you're out of cash, you're out of business. So do all you can to hang onto your cash. Use other people's money to fund the operations if at all possible." That always stuck with me. Knowing how to use debt properly can often be the difference between having a longstanding, successful business or a short but painful lesson followed by a long rebuilding process.

Hang onto your cash!

Lol. I passed them going west on 90 around Hardin, MT. Me? I'm heading back down for another one. I bet they do not drop today.

I have to grab an empty or stack of empties and hightail it back. I am on paper logs. Run it all legal but my truck will cruise the speed limits.

Honestly you are better man than me. If I was on paper I would be one lying, story telling SOB on my logs. We all know the bigger the lie on your logs, the bigger your paycheck. I guess it is good I am on e-logs.

So what is your opinion on the December cutoff for e-logs? Is your truck a '99 model or older?

I have to grab an empty or stack of empties and hightail it back. I am on paper logs. Run it all legal but my truck will cruise the speed limits.

Honestly you are better man than me. If I was on paper I would be one lying, story telling SOB on my logs. We all know the bigger the lie on your logs, the bigger your paycheck. I guess it is good I am on e-logs.

So what is your opinion on the December cutoff for e-logs? Is your truck a '99 model or older?

It's not that I cannot do it and not get caught at the scales but there are guys that make that run in one day. Now we are talking roughly 800 miles one way with 250 of those miles being 65 mph.

If you do the math you need to average 72 mph. If you take out the 250 miles and 4 hours for the Montana portion of the trip that leaves you 7 hours to go 550 miles. This means you have to average 78 mph. Max in Colorado is 75 mph and you have to go through Denver. Then it is 75 mph from Buffalo to the Montana border. It is not possible without speeding. I have done 750 in one day but I started and ended in Wyoming and spent most of the day at 80 mph.

I am less worried about the scales than I am an audit. A good DOT office can catch it but more likely a an audit.

As far as the elog thing, my truck is a 1993 so I don't have to worry about it.

Between the aging of the invoices before they are paid and recouping start-up costs it only leaves about $500 a load to cover misc expenses.

my former employer lost this haul

Knowing all of the expenses, bad luck, and major changes that happen to any business owner I always have a minor heart attack when I hear people say, "I'm gonna save my money and then pay cash for a truck. That way I won't be in debt and I'll have a better chance at success."

Oh my god! You're going to burn through all of your cash before you even start your business??? How are you going to remain in business through the hard times? Because there will be hard times. There is for everyone.

I've mentioned that one time I went to a business seminar and the speaker said, "In business, cash is king. When you're out of cash, you're out of business. So do all you can to hang onto your cash. Use other people's money to fund the operations if at all possible." That always stuck with me. Knowing how to use debt properly can often be the difference between having a longstanding, successful business or a short but painful lesson followed by a long rebuilding process.

Hang onto your cash!

The good news is that the pay from two more loads will bring me even.

The reason I mentioned this at all is like you hearing the cash for a truck thing but nothing in reserve.

Did anyone catch the fact that I have not had a paycheck in three months?

Here are some things to think about if you are thinking you want your own truck.

1. Start-up costs over $5,000 for licensing, insurance etc. Now if you have a new truck expect that to be much higher.

2. Fuel. This is another big outlay of cash. Right now I run about$1200-1400 a week.

3. Permits. $25 just about every time I go through Wyoming for oversized loads. Out of 14 loads 3 have been legal sized.

4. Invoice aging. This is the time it takes for you to get paid. Normal is 30 days. But it could be later and there is NOTHING you can do about it.

Now that you are finally starting to get some money coming in you have a truck and insurance payment due. So those first few loads need to make those payments.

You also have to recover your expenses and rebuild your cushion.

It might be another meeting nth before I start to take a regular paycheck.

I don't want to encourage or discourage anyone from their dreams but you always have to wake up to reality.

Would I do it again? Heck yes, but I was expecting all of this.

I may even keep my pay low until I have $50,000 in the bank. I want to be able to fix anything on that truck and $50,000 can get everything from the motor to the rears rebuilt with a small oh crap cushion.