Whats missing on this FIRST TIME O/O PREtrip LIST???----------------------------

Get a CB even a cheap one , nothing looks more Mickey Mouse to a new customer than a O/O saying sorry do not have 1 when they tell you to turn to CH __ and wait to be called to your door.

Get business cards with your info on them , you can print them yourself Get into a habit of checking fuel prices daily

Reset your attitude from being a driver to being a business owner , its a different game now.

Know your Cost Per Mile then divide it by .79 and that is the LOWEST amount you can haul freight for and still likely be here next year as an O/O. This gets you out of low freight areas or to a better load without running for FREE and costing you $.

As For NO CHEAP FREIGHT well your going to come across it all the time , it is up to you to decide if its TOO cheap to haul and thats when you need to know your CPM.

Regardless of your MPG try and improve your MPG by 1 mpg based on the average of $3.86 / Gallon in the USA yesterday and if you ran 120,000 miles in a year thats a saving of $10,629.00

 

if your serious about a microwave and the other power consuption devices make sure you have a 2k power inverter and getting a APU or else you trk batteries will die out fast. Also, if you plan to go to cali for loads make sure that your in a 2008 trk with a dpf filter.

 

WD40 and duct tape. If it's stuck and it's not supposed to be, WD40. If it's not stuck and it's supposed to be, Duct Tape.

 

For your dog:
Baby wipes to wipe his paws if you let him on your bed. You might want a mattress cover or some kind of blanket to put on the bed, if you let him up there, that you can toss in the washer when you get home, and keep your bed cleaner, and you can shake out the hair periodically. If he's a shedder, you won't believe how much hair accumulates in a small space.

Poopy bags, leash, a refillable jug for fresh water, a spill-proof water bowl.

A dog toy if he's got a favorite. Ours loved a daily game of tug on the bed before going to sleep.

I carry a small bucket, there have been times in her youth she'd gotten into so much mud and the easiest way to clean it up was fill the bucket with water and dunk her paws.

 

The one thing I will say about Quickbooks is make sure you know how to use it first. I went out and bought it and figured it would be a little harder than playing Oregon Trail but, boy was I wrong. The software can do so many things and is very powerful but knowing how to use it all is a little tough. I can do the A/R and A/P on it pretty good but I still pay a girl to log on at the end of the month and clean it up, download transactions, and essentially make it look the way it should.

Maybe you are more savvy than I when it comes to Quickbooks but just want to put it out there that you may get frustrated with it at some point.

 

Tornado season is in full effect. Make sure you have a cb.

 

If you are using your CELLPHONE as your business # put a polite / proper greeting on it .

 

Don't plan on taking your dog into very many businesses some places won't even allow pets on property inside your truck.