Rates are crashing and fuel to the moon!

That is not true... there is plenty of ####ty carpenter's out there ... they are a dime a dozen in some places... most people would say that about trucking. Not everybody can afford to buy a semi and have the knowledge to file authority and obtain a Cdl etc etc ... but yet look at what is driving down the road everyday... driving a truck doesn't make u a truck driver just as owning a welder doesn't make you a welder and owning a tape measure and a saw doesn't make you a carpenter

 

I’ve been saying for years I’m going to start a Handyman business. Put in a light switch, hang a ceiling fan, small stuff. It still work. My Uncles been doing it for 35 yrs or more. Has a nice Trailer with a generator. I’ve got a lot of plumbing and electrical supplies. Most tools. More could be bought if needed. My own house needs work. Ever notice Mechanics always drive junk neglected cars? My step father built his house 45 yrs ago. He was an electrician. I asked him once why he was missing a couple light switch covers. Hi answer was, “ I can put them in anytime” He did everything himself. Really talented. I don’t think he ever did put those covers on. Lol

 

I have a 99 379 with 2.5 million mile and don’t spend even a quarter of that. Maybe you have a lemon. I have been running mine since 09.
6k a month payment is insane. I bought 2 gliders in 15 new and the payments together didn’t equal 6k per month.

 

I'm not an O/O but I just got a rate confirmation from my dispatcher, and it says $1215 for 688 loaded miles, flatbed, 43k load. From IN to AR. I don't remember things being this bad. I'm not sure whats their plan because I have always been relatively satisfied with the dispatcher's work.
I asked to cancel. I'm just a driver for this company, but I refuse to carry cargo at this price. Someday I will become an owner operator, and I will not be ashamed of what I did before.

 

A lot of carriers are just taking loads to keep their drivers busy at break even or even losses. Of course not all loads are the same. If that load gets you back into a good area you will do it these days. Unfortunately I’m taking one of these loads this week but it gets us back home and into our good money lane.

 

That's great and all but you're a company driver and you go where they tell you to. How do know that isn't getting you to a much higher paying lane

 

That's not really your worry. You don't know the big picture and you'll probably just make them mad and end up sitting for nothing. You're only hurting yourself. Better haul that one and make your paycheck. There's a lot worse out there and the vast majority of posters on here have run similar or worse, to no ill effect. But nobody talks about it.

 

You are all right that I am just a company driver, I pointed this out right away. They will pay me my cents, but one day I want to be an o/o.
Don't you think that driving for free can only exacerbate the situation in which we find ourselves? You guys, the owner operators, are facing the consequences of this. It's just sad, hope things are going to improve soon, but how they are going to improve if everyone is taking cheap loads?

 

You're not going to change the market being hard headed. You're going to piss off your dispatch and suffer the consequences for nothing. You don't have to impress anyone on here. Do what you want though, you're the captain of your ship ultimately.

 

As a company driver, that’s it, your paid to do what the company/Boss tells you. If your getting paid percentage, then ask for more for that load. It’s unfortunate many take those kind of paying loads, but it’s not your decision. Once you become an O/O, you can choose and decline what you wish. As you know and read on here many threads about cheap rates, it is what it is. Keep learning “grasshopper”, by the time you get your truck, you should be well educated on how the system works.