Update on truck buying and becoming independent.

No offense, but your business is running you, not you running it..
If you are only able to run daily or m-f, then I don’t see how you will make it.
Texas has some of the worst open deck freight in the country unless you specialize.

 

Is this for real??

 

If you own a truck and are dispatched then you are basically company driver.
At the least sign on to a company that has a load board or get your own numbers.
You are literally putting your business in the hands of a stranger that could care less about your profit.

 

Trucking only in Texas is tough. I’m pretty sure myself, @God prefers Diesels and others have said. You will wear yourself out pretty quick and won’t make very much money. I’m that guy with the 27 year old 379 and everything is paid for and if I wanted to be a slave to the grind I could make a living running only Texas. However I’m 55 years old and I’ve done my share of humping. It is hard work and one thing I’ve learned is it is better to be present and around family feeling good than it is to be present and a #### zombie working that many hours for that lil scratch.

Just a few weeks ago I did a 132 mile run in Texas (to test the local runs and see how long the day was) pay was $4.54 a mile @ $600 not great but was one of the better paying loads I could find on the board that day that was localish. My goal is $1000 a day to the truck. Again this was a test.
They wanted me there at 10:00 am, I showed up at about 9:45. There was one other truck there and they actually started loading me first. Then started loading one piece on mine and one on his. Long story short I was stuck there until after 1 o’clock. I was gone before the other guy who got there at 6:00 am. I felt bad for him and would have been pissed. Hauled ### to drop and got unloaded pretty fast. Dead headed home through rush hour metroplex traffic and think I may have walked into the house at dark 8 or 9 o’clock I don’t recall. I said fudge that business. Not my kinda fun. Now I selected this run based on a few things. No Waco traffic, no Austin, no Dallas etc. out and back as quick as possible. Ate up near the whole #### day and even if I had started at 0600 I couldve gotten screwed like the other guy loading with me. It is just not worth it. Again this was one of the better loads that day. Other days can be much better but I’ve learned that better money and better times come from leaving Texas to other states.

I don’t go out for very long like others. I tend to go out and do two or three loads and that third or fourth I’m heading home. My worst week out I think was $4500ish (I was new) and my best was $12-13kish (I’d have to look it up) longest I’ve been gone other than this time out has been 6-8 days. This trip I’m on I should be walking in the door tomorrow and it is a 10 day trip and is a $9500 week gross. Should been a helluva lot better but my return load got cancelled and I had to get creative. That is two loads. A lot of miles though so not a great week but I have had a blast and seen some #### cool stuff. There are better places to run but I wanted to experiment.

I take it you need to be home more for family? I don’t blame you. But I think if your willing to run out a bit further you can make more and actually have more more quality time. If you’d like send me a message or we can talk on phone or whatever I’d be glad to screen shot some of the load boards for you to take a look at. From point A to B etc. I have my own authority and I’m not a heavy runner but I do watch the boards like a hawk. There is a guy that parks by me that has has several guys leased on to him. I have talked to them away from him and they all like him and how things run. He does have a lady that dispatches and does some regional stuff. They do stepdecks mostly. He seems to be a good dude. I’d be glad to get you his number and you chat with him to see if what your doing now can be done better. He is up in Fort Worth.