Yeah, its frustrating. I called back today to see if trying again might get me some more info... again just got told that the customer opens at midnight tonight. But, I'd a. have spent about 28 hours of a 34 hour reset only to cancel it if I delivered then, and b. if I got there and they were closed, I'd have to back out into the street with a trailer which I'm not about to do, at least from what I could tell from google maps. So, I'll just deliver tomorrow morning, and that'll be that. I'll ask what hours they are actually open for receiving and then depending on what I find out maybe message in and see if someone can update the info about the customer so the next drivers don't get shafted. Already booked a loaded headed to South Carolina, not sure where I want to go from there so we'll see.
Like I replied to 6-speed who seemed to have the idea that I'm running on such thin margins that going home was not an option - its not that at all. On a 342 mile run that pays 1.54 a mile, it does not make any sense whatsoever for me to drive 135 miles from where I am now to my house, where I have no room to park a trailer anyway and would have had to stop at a truck stop, only to then drive 100 miles back to the customer the following day for a grand total of 235 miles out of route on a 342 mile run. The only thing that "speaks volumes" about that would be a downright stupid business decision. I would not have had time to complete a reset had I gone home, either, as the delivery window ends tomorrow. Frustrating being that close? Oh absolutely. But, I had about as relaxing a day as one can have sitting at the truck stop, caught way up on Breaking Bad and by the time I leave tomorrow morning will have completed a reset just in time to not have to run recap hours and instead can run hard as I usually like to do.
As I said in my last post, I will work on getting some numbers up that will be of actual use to those trying to get a very rough idea of what my costs are. I had to get IT support to reset my crossroads account because I wasn't able to load the 1st quarter sustainment training, and unfortunately when they did that all my past settlements disappeared and I'll have to get with my ICA this week to figure out how I can get them back. Too bad because with the sitting around I've done today it would have been a great day for me to really sit down and look at some numbers.
To anyone who is reading this thread with interest in looking into running on Choice and how much money can be made, asking questions such as "how much net profit" have you made is a question that is not going to help you make a sound decision in any way shape or form. My situation is going to very different from the situation that ANY other driver is going to be running. I started mid November - truck was down for a bit while I did the repairs to the DPF system - I got sick for 4-5 days in December or late November (can't remember which). I was off for around 16 days for the holidays. Would I have netted the same as the guy that stayed running constantly all the way through? Surprise - IT DEPENDS! Did the other driver run loads that actually made him a profit or run loads so cheap he was just breaking even? Did the other driver only plan extremely high-profit loads that he sat for a day and a half in between loads waiting for another one to come up on the board? Does the other drivers truck get 2-3 MPG better than my truck, or is he running a poorly maintained engine that is getting only 4.5 MPG?
THESE are the questions to ask that will help you be able to plan your business:
What do you average per mile?
How many miles are you able to average per week at that rate?
What areas are you running in?
What are you fixed costs?
And then you have the question that I can answer, but may not reflect your experiences in any way shape or form:
What kind of fuel mileage do you average?
How many miles do you ACTUALLY WANT to run a week?
How much time off do you want to take?
How much do you spend on maintenance?
And the list goes on.
Those variable costs listed above are the big ones that other drivers need to seriously consider. For example, I know my fuel mileage is not as good as it should be. I don't let this stop me from running and sit and throw money at the truck sitting still in a dealership and let them take me for every cent I'm worth to try to "fix" it. No. I work on the truck myself, doing a little bit at a time and I am seeing steady improvements. I drive slower than most because the load is gonna get there one way or the other and if I've got time I'm going to take it. Believe me, nothing is nicer than rarely having to cancel the cruise, shift gears, or change lanes. Its just how I prefer to drive.
I like to run hard. Given that I have a place that I know I can stop and park for the night, I will run my hours down to nothing. I will then take a longer break than most, I hardly ever break just 10 hours... usually 12-14. Again, just my preference. I don't need to be home every weekend. Instead I try to be home just when it all works out and its convenient. I don't have a set schedule or certain places that I have to go or need to be at... I just go with the flow and run loads that I know are going to be money makers for me. I deal with familiar customers that I know I can get in and out of quickly as these keeps me rolling and happy. Do I go new places sometimes? Sure... and I'll decide whether its worth going back or not based on my experience there.
I like to plan loads that allow me to route through the OCs for my break. Free shower, cheap fuel, ok food, I enjoy talking with other drivers, shop there to repair my trailer, etc. Would I take a load that might pay, say, 10 cents less per mile, knowing that I can stop through an OC compared to another load that is going to leave me sitting in the middle of nowhere trying to find a place to park once my hours are up? Me - absolutely - you? Well thats up to you.
Your truck - are you really going to take care of it? Yeah, I talk with these Choice drivers all the time talking about all the problems they are having with their truck. Let me tell you this - a little preventative maintenance and care for your truck will go a LONG way. I had one the other day telling me he runs 60k intervals between his oil changes on a stock oil filtration setup. Its your truck buddy...
I like to keep my truck and engine clean. Salt and grime lead to wiring harnesses getting corroded and the grime can cause the wires to chafe and become an absolutely nightmare to repair because you are pouring money at a mechanic at $120/hour to track down one or more little shorts on a massive bundle of wiring on your truck. I hear this all the time, especially with the Cascadia EVOs that are running up in the Northeast a lot.
Do you have money saved up for repairs? Is your truck going to be like mine and show up with a surprise repair needed that's not under warranty as soon as you take your first trip? Are you going to throw a fit and whine to SFI like its their fault, or are you gonna man up, realize that you bought a used truck, and a used truck is just that and may have problems? Well, you have some money saved up for stuff like this right? Truck down for a bit and you need to make the payment from your account? . Oh you don't have any money saved up? First week, only $220 in your maintenance account and you've got a $800 bill? What are you gonna do? $800 repair, oh and the truck is down for 4 days of the week so you only got in about $800 revenue on a couple short loads before it broke down, $600 of which gets pulled away from your first fillup, the remaining 200 goes towards your $1074/week payment... ARE YOU PREPARED?
THE ABOVE is the kind of stuff to consider.
NOT wondering about what someones net profit is - because mine will be COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY different from what yours will be - TRUST ME. Some months you'll do better. Some months I'll do better. Others we'll both do great, the next we'll both do poorly. I started in mid November, with the downtime mentioned above. I've been running hard since January 6th with only really time off for restarts. I'm hoping I can continue running like this for a full month (and beyond, lol) so I can really start planning for the rest of this year.
So I hear freight is slow this time of year. Yeah, it does seem to have slowed down a bit. I'm running new freight lanes, no problem, like I said above, I go with the flow. I'm doing just as well as I was before the holidays when there was tons of freight... just running in a little different way than I was before. Am I making money? Absolutely. Am I doing better than I was as a company driver? Absolutely. Am I still feeling like I made a good decision with starting my business with with SFI? Absolutely.
Sorry for the long post... closing in on 24 hours at the truckstop and I'm going a little stir crazy I guess. Like I said, I'll get some numbers up as soon a I have my statements fixed. The number I am REALLY curious about myself is what my actual fuel mileage is, and what my actual per mile rate has been. I've got enough miles in now (roughly 25k on the truck) that I feel I can start calculating and getting a good average that I can look at and figure out what changes, if any, I need to make to improve.
I'm also not trying to scare anyone away with what I said above, especially regarding the downtime associated with repairs, costs piling up with weekly payments, etc... but its something to remember - are you prepared for it, or are you gonna be like one of those guys we see post up every once and a while, blaming Schneider and saying they're handing in the keys because they "just can't make it".
THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE - DFO gets a truck and hops on Schneider's IC Choice Program
Discussion in 'Schneider' started by dieselfuelonly, Nov 1, 2013.
Page 60 of 388
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