My answer to Schneider load board being fixed.

Discussion in 'Schneider' started by rickybobby, Jan 2, 2018.

  1. kanidana

    kanidana Heavy Load Member

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    My experience with used trucks has been so bad, I'm scared to consider it as an option. I mean, REALLY BAD. Like tens of thousands of dollars in the first year. Bankrupt level bad. Both as a company driver and a lease operator..and I'm talking about just 270,000 miles.

    My addendum to this is that I'm at a lease company that floats you the money for repairs. I literally drove myself out of debt. Without that help, my first used truck with them would have emptied my savings account and left me with multiple negative settlements.
     
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  3. Dave_in_AZ

    Dave_in_AZ Road Train Member

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    There's definitely some luck involved. And it helps to know a wrench. Mine has done probably $3K worth of work on mine for $1K. Probably spent about $1400 on mine so far PM's & repairs in 60K miles.
    But I need an alignment, clutch soon I'm at 460K, and the rear main seal is starting to weep, so that gets done same time.
    I'll get new steers before the end of spring as well.
    I'm warrantied on the big stuff to 600K.
     
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  4. kanidana

    kanidana Heavy Load Member

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    It kind of makes me frustrated to be at the mercy of luck and mechanics as you go higher up the ladder as a business operator. Taco Bell franchise owners can still rely on repair people for their business. Somehow, the driver O/O game makes you have to become a mechanic. I'm mechanically retarded, to be honest, but I sure do love MOST of my job. It doesn't help that I paid 5000 dollars for a private truck driving school and I couldn't tell an out of adjusted brake from an adjusted brake. Somehow there were no mechanics at my school. I can definitely tell a burned up brake, chalky and stuff. /SHrug.
     
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  5. PoleCrusher

    PoleCrusher Road Train Member

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    If I wanted to be a mechanic, I'd of went to mechanicing school.

    Seriously, you make your best revenue doing what you're good at. Spending 10 hrs to do what a competent mechanic can do in 2 hrs is stupid. Just my half a cents worth on that subject.
     
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  6. gentleroger

    gentleroger Road Train Member

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    I believe he's turned the truck back in and is working for USPS now doing local work.
     
  7. Dave_in_AZ

    Dave_in_AZ Road Train Member

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    LOL

    I tell everyone Landstar is not for the faint of heart lol.

    Post office is good work though.

    I'd love to be UPS local driver, door to door guy, those guys are at $90K year.
     
  8. ShooterK2

    ShooterK2 Road Train Member

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    This is true to an extent, but some things are way faster if you do it yourself. For instance, I can change my oil and grease my truck and trailer in 45 minutes or so. Or I can spend an hour or more just sitting in line waiting at a shop somewhere before they can even touch my truck. Same with brakes/drums, wheel seals, etc.

    Do it yourself and save time AND money, plus you get under there and get a good look at other stuff and maybe catch another potential problem before it leaves you on the side of the highway. Because THAT is what will make a person go broke the quickest: big tow bill, mechanic bill, plus all the down time, missing loads, etc.
     
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  9. ShooterK2

    ShooterK2 Road Train Member

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    And I realize this is the Schneider thread and I don't drive for Schneider. Just giving my opinion here. I'd like to see more of you guys make it instead of hearing about failed lease purchase deals, or guys constantly job hopping because they just couldn't make money at the last place they were leased to. If you can bring home owner/operator pay but not have all the bills of most owner/operators, you're at a definite advantage. Of course you'll always have fuel and parts to pay for, but labor is a killer. Might as well keep as much of that in your pocket as you can.

    I'm not suggesting you do your own inframe. Just relatively minor things that are common to trucks.
     
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  10. PoleCrusher

    PoleCrusher Road Train Member

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    Oh I'll do minor stuff, lights, fuel filter, grease job, stuff like that, but pretty much anything beyond that goes to my mechanic.
     
  11. Majestic 670

    Majestic 670 Heavy Load Member

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    I let speedco do initial oilchange pm then if needed a grease job. To me if I buy grease tubes and waste time on all the zerks it only cost me the cost of my be two subway visits a month. I can manage that I watch the speedco guys like a soaring hulk. Lights,filters,maintenance sure I have tools and I’ll turn them it depends but like I said most jobs aren’t worth the headache so I’ll take my girl to the shop and let them service her. There’s no to much saving money in this business. I’ll sit in my truck and listen to the xm and relax. I look over my truck crawl underneath it on weekends. I have the same set of 24.5 11r on for over 3years now still plenty of thread left.
     
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