Yearly Profit After Expenses...

yeah I decided to form that one down and got one headed back to san antonio for a hair under 2k. I know everyone says to stay out of Texas but we want to head back west anyway and I was hearing better numbers out of there than I am here in the SC area.

 

I am really enjoying the post please keep em coming, we are just starting out ourselves. I've be in the business a little while but breaking out into the owner op arena. You have impressed me and I have also learned alot from you and this thread jmc and maybe we will meet out on the big road. Jj.

 

Well i love the unpredictability in this whole trucking thing. We got out first payments in (about 2100) for our first two loads and things were starting to look up. Then we were fortunate enough for the ac compressor to burn up. We called a few shops and found a Petro off I-20 in LA with no wait by the time we got there. For a total cost of 936 we got our AC back. The tech was also nice enough to tell me my radiator will need replaced soon so that is another 1500 or so to plan for. Good side is we have a few months before it needs done.

On a side note I have good and bad news for yall. The bad news is there is another startup company out there that has the great potential of being a rate cutter. The good news is he hauls logs right now and more than likely wont be in business for more than a couple months anyway. He has given his wife a $1500 per week spending limit, he has no idea what it costs him to run the truck and as a result no idea if he is making any money, he is not putting any money back in case of repairs (his light bill was a little high this month and he is broke for the week lol). Instead he spends the money to party every weekend, add lights and chrome to his truck and whatnot. Although the best part is the fact that he has done more or less no research on the industry, is doing a lease purchase and has the "boss-man's pride and joy 09 Pete", has no idea what a dot new entrant audit is, no idea what a driver qualification file is, no idea what a maintenance record is, I could keep going but you get the idea. He also refuses to own a computer so he cant research online, and refuses to take any help from anyone because "he has drove for over 5yrs and knows what he is doing".

 

Was actually Houston so the rate was a little better than I thought.

 

Well we did take a plunge but not into unseen waters so a little research goes along way. As you can see so far things happen and they tend to happen without warning so prepare as much as possible. Other than that good luck to you and your adventures and maybe we will meet on the road somewhere.

 

thanks. we get our trk on wedensday. we will be leasing on to a company though. maybe in a few yrs we might go totally independant. take care JJ.

 

TA SUCKS!!!!!!!!!! We stopped at a TA in LA to do some luandry and the dryers were garbage so we wasted around 6 hours which made us late for our delivery and late for the pickup on our first prebooked load. As I was backing into the dock I noticed my air pressure stopped building. I called TA and they told me how to check the compressor which was fine. Then told me how to bypass the air dryer. I didn't have the tools to bypass it so they did a road call and came out well he swapped an elbow joint on the secondary tank and it built pressure so he left. Went to pickup and got our next load went to get dinner. After eating came back and right as we got in the truck the buzzer went off. I noticed the compressor was cutting off constantly. So I recalled and told them to come replace the governor they send out another guy and he reruns a line directly from the compressor to the dryer and bungie cords it down and leaves. I was asleep so I just trusted him and let it go. Got about 10 miles down and noticed I wasn't building pressure again. To try to save money I tried to just drive it using the brakea as little as possible. I started to smell the brakes at a redlight so I just pulled off and called them again. They sent a guy out and he replaced the governor and bypassed the dryer like I told them to in the first place at no charge and now it works fine.

 

Reading your last few posts, I can tell you if you want to survive you better learn to turn a wrench.

That AC compressor could have been fixed by YOU for about $300. Dryer canister are like $25 and take about 20 seconds to replace. Tell me why you wanted to bypass the dryer?

Could it be you dont have the foggiest idea in hell what youre talking about? LOL at "like I told them to"... Gimme a break.

 

You can buy a governor for about $15. It only takes a few minutes to change it out. I put an air dryer on one of my trucks last year and it cost me $320. That includes the filer and dryer assembly. For a few months it seems I was replacing one thing after another with the air. I replace a pop off valve and another valve in my dash. I bought two more that I need to replace and I think that I am finished with the air. I always keep tools in the truck. You never know when something may need to be tightened or replaced. I saved at least several hundred dollars on labor by doing it myself. I always keep a couple of spare lights that I can change out along with fittings and spare wire. It is a lot cheaper to keep a few parts with you and replace them yourself than have a garage or truck stop do it for you. A couple of months ago I had to replace an a/c belt down in Louisiana. I found a parts store and changed it for about $20. It would usually be at least 1/2-1 hour minimum charge from a truck stop or garage. I try to save as much as I can. I try to do the little things and let a professional do the more complex repairs that I can't do on the road.

 

For the first guy I do know how to turn a wrench for some things. I tried to bypass the air dryer but I did not have the coupling or a big enough wrench for it. The reason for doing the bypass is I have an older truck and you have to replace the assembly not just a filter. As far as the air conditioner I did not have the compressor or dryer to do it for one. And for two I had no way to drain the r134 vaccum the system and recharge it.

To gman I try to carry a lot of spare parts but apparently not the ones that want to break lol. My main problem with all that was I couldn't build enough air to release the brakes so I was stuck with the road call for the part at minimum. There belts and lights and whatnot I do have though and can replace.