One Year Ago Today...

I went to the lobby of a hotel, was handed a packet then sent to a class to begin orientation with Averitt. What a year it has been. I have documented on here the woes that I have encountered (and caused) plus some accomplishments too, so I'm not gonna do that again. Instead, I thought I might share some info that I have collected along the way. I was considering going into business for myself after a year...but...

If I were a regional owner operator and paid for my own fuel, I would have spent roughly $60,000. (I used my Rand Mcnally GPS to keep track)

I also had a couple tires replaced, some damage to a trailer, 3 preventive maintenance visits, my Apu worked on a few times, a turbo replacement, 3 trips on a hook, a transmission repair (if I had the same truck) and some mystery electrical work. I have no idea what all this would add up to, but I bet it is around $20,000.

That alone is a lot of cash flow going the wrong way. Let's say I had a truck payment, insurance, tolls, food, showers, scales.... and so on to pay for too. How in the hell do they do it and make any money? Insanity.

Anyway, I will stick with the company option.

It would take a lot of time for me to put down all I have learned this past year in the trucking world so I will just say I'm looking forward to another good year of learning and growing to get me where I want to be in life.

Thanks again for this site and to everyone here who has helped me get this far, you have made the learning process much easier.

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

Owner Operator:

An owner-operator is a driver who either owns or leases the truck they are driving. A self-employed driver.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I went to the lobby of a hotel, was handed a packet then sent to a class to begin orientation with Averitt. What a year it has been. I have documented on here the woes that I have encountered (and caused) plus some accomplishments too, so I'm not gonna do that again. Instead, I thought I might share some info that I have collected along the way. I was considering going into business for myself after a year...but...

If I were a regional owner operator and paid for my own fuel, I would have spent roughly $60,000. (I used my Rand Mcnally GPS to keep track)

I also had a couple tires replaced, some damage to a trailer, 3 preventive maintenance visits, my Apu worked on a few times, a turbo replacement, 3 trips on a hook, a transmission repair (if I had the same truck) and some mystery electrical work. I have no idea what all this would add up to, but I bet it is around $20,000.

That alone is a lot of cash flow going the wrong way. Let's say I had a truck payment, insurance, tolls, food, showers, scales.... and so on to pay for too. How in the hell do they do it and make any money? Insanity.

Anyway, I will stick with the company option.

It would take a lot of time for me to put down all I have learned this past year in the trucking world so I will just say I'm looking forward to another good year of learning and growing to get me where I want to be in life.

Thanks again for this site and to everyone here who has helped me get this far, you have made the learning process much easier.

stay with Company option better yet get a local food service delivery/Mclanes or CoreMark 60,000-80,000 to start sure beats OTR by a long shot

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Owner Operator:

An owner-operator is a driver who either owns or leases the truck they are driving. A self-employed driver.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Congratulations on making it through your first year!

Congratulations Rolling Thunder!

My how the time has flown! So much has transpired in this past year for you that it's hard to believe. I wish you many more successful years in your new career!

Thanks Old School, I appreciate all of your help

Congrats Rolling Thunder!!!

You're right about leasing or owning a truck - there's very little money to be made and a whole lot to be lost. The average profit margin in the trucking industry is about 3%. It's extremely difficult to make any profit at all, and almost impossible to do it every single year. I can't imagine the thought of running a business where I know every year will be a struggle to (hopefully) turn a profit and yet there is no limit to how much you can lose. Almost all risk and little or no reward.

And what a massive pile of headaches running a trucking business is!

And you can change your forum status from "Rookie Solo Driver" to "Experienced Driver". That one year mark is where you earn your badge.

And you can change your forum status from "Rookie Solo Driver" to "Experienced Driver". That one year mark is where you earn your badge.

Kewl, thanks Brett!