Update on truck buying and becoming independent.

I would try to figure what the extra insurance would cost versus the extra that you'll be making. And you're going to have to figure something for a trailer.

But positively if you keep going like you are unless you can literally live on pennies you're going to go broke. Your truck is going to at some point have a large failure that's going to be expensive. And you're going to have all these fees to pay with maybe your truck being in the shop for a month or something like that.

Every single week you need to put a large amount of money into a maintenance account and tighten your belt and pay yourself a few pennies no matter how much money you're making. Your personal spending and your personal needs are meaningless compared to putting money away to repair that truck

The most important thing for anybody is that you make enough money that you can put money away so that you can repair your truck or buy another one no matter what happens.

If you can't do that then there's an extremely good possibility you may end up going under.

 

Call F2F Transport in Chattanooga. 80/20 split you pay non trucking insurance they pay cargo and liability. You get access to Truckstop.com for like $14 a week. The company you are with is robbing you. F2F will rent you a trailer for $235 a week. But you need to find your own. Southland trucks in Birmingham has 53’ flatbeds right now. You could do a lot better than you’re doing. Good luck either way.

 

Wait, your company is pulling escrow? For repairs?

Do they own the truck and youre leasing from them?

As you say, thats not going to pay for any repairs, if thats the plate cost, might be overpriced but more reasonable.

Im going to have to agree with everyone else on finding a better company

3500 a week, thats YOUR check?
What is taken out of that before you see it? Make the full list in one post, and then also list what YOU are on the hook for afterwards.

If youre clearing 3.5k and only have to pay taxes and truck note out of that, thats workable but probably still low

running your numbers, 2k miles to 3.5k $ is only 1.75 all miles, that wont put you under if youre not unlucky/dumb, but you will never really get ahead that way either

 

Just to be clear. When I referenced F2F. You can run how you want when you want. There is a load posted right now out of Houston to Hutto paying $741 on 202 miles. You call that broker and I’m pretty sure you could get 200/300 more. If being home is what you want do it. Just know you can be doing better....

 

Odd, they charged you 75$ on that first one, didnt pay you a dime.

Probably some weird story but i think what it boils down to is that youre just never going to make money there with them nickel and diming you AFTER they already took 25%

AND you get 0 fsc any way theyre doing that calculation, which they arent doing at all, so if thats what the loads actually pay, theyre taking 25% of your fsc on mostly crummy paying loads.

 

Short trips are tough. Even if you could Broker a load back, by the time you DH, load as and unload, you lost time. Best to just DH back. If you could run 2 loads per day at least 2-3 times a week it would work. Might have to push for that, a longer and a shorter, or a couple short ones. Whatever. I pull a Dry Van. Flatbed always pays higher, and usually 3-4 times the amount of Loads available. Don’t know how You verify what’s loads pay. Some Companies run everything through their Brokerage first, then pass it on to an O/O at their “new” rate. Just look around on the boards, make some calls. Tell them you’re in the process of getting your own authority. Looking for Local and short trips. Longer trips will be tempting, once you start doing the math. I can almost guarantee there’s something out there that will work. You have to watch out for all the Leeches trying to get control of your Truck.