Closing up shop, or thinking about it?

I did most things myself. Just couldn’t do heavy suspension work or engine rebuild. It’s unfortunate I had trouble with a small shop AFTER being strung along by a large, well respected shop. Had the first one done me right we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

 

I get that but when I say work on your own truck I mean replace engines and work on rear ends and transmissions and the suspension and everything on the entire truck.

That's your Ace in the Hole on older trucks.

If you can rebuild your series 60 or you can just swap engines if you have a problem not only saves you an astronomical amount of money, you only have the time and cost of you doing it rather than waiting for someone else.

So many owner operators are pretty much Master mechanics after having their own truck because after waiting for repairs and then waiting and waiting and then you are paying to wait? No I'll do it myself thank you.

In reality that's the only way to get whatever repair done in a timely and cost sensitive manner. Not to mention half the time you take your truck in, when you get it back it's still not right.

 

Until I have a legal tread depth on my tires and the oil pressure is sound, enough cash to buy fuel, I won't close anything, sadly waiting for others to lose their resolve before me, so that when the next gravy train arrives I will find my seat on it again.
It has been merely half a year since people were reporting 10k + weekly revenues here. $10k+ revenues for 20 months in a row...
What the heck did they do with that money?!
It took me awhile and quite an effort to open up the shop to begin with, so in order to close it I need to be tested more than what we see today.
We yet to see equipment prices drop to reasonable levels.
2024 is when the next gravy train or ship is coming.

 

I like gravy

 

I do like sausage gravy on biscuits for breakfast in addition to 3 eggs over easy with 5 slices of hickory smoked bacon.
Yeah... I am sitting here at this pick up without breakfast on my stomach yet.

 

Bacon egg and cheese on a hard roll is one of my staples

 

I'm doing quite fine. Stupid fuel prices made me slow down 20mph, but at 60mph fuel prices are not impacting me hard. I'm careful what I pick, and don't run under $2 a mile, and only $2 a mile one way, with return of $3-5 a mile or I don't go in that lane. I can still clear 5-6k after expenses (trip, not maintenance included)

 

At this point i think i have enough know-how, and even most of the tools, but its the land + building that are doing me in at the moment.

if push came to shove, i can borrow a guys shop 400 miles from home but its 400 miles from home... fine in the winter, summer, i start sweating just THINKING about turning a wrench in there at 100+ degrees, im almost certain to have heat stroke if i did anything there.
(Genuinely, i tolerate heat so poorly its ludicrous, winter even down near 30 degrees i throw tarps chains etc in just jeans sneakers and a hoodie, at 20 degrees i might also toss on my overalls, my wife says im too exothermic for my own good half the year, and cant get enough of cuddling me because she's always cold the other half)

My diff is probably due, that doesnt even need a shop, could do it all in my driveway, an engine rebuild... trans swap... not confident enough to tackle that on my gravel at the moment. Hoping to get there, but its an uphill battle

 

You don’t really need a shop. My primary mechanic works in back of his house and it’s a dirt lot with a 60” umbrella he moves around and I’m in San Antonio. If it was me I would invest in a cover and a cement pad. Also if heat does you in, did you know there’s like 8 models of portacools for under $1,000.

Reading the threads here sounds like mechanics are make or break for your business. A friend of mine had a cat rebuild in 4 days. Another friend actually went and bought a replacement cat from Kansas and engine swapped his 379 and it took 3 weeks.

in contrast, I had another friend had a rod blow a hole in a 2013 T660 ISX and replaced engine with a series 60, took 7 months.

My 2000 peterbilt with a series 60 is approaching that time. I might just buy the whole kit now so it will be ready.

 

Y