TACU, and other groups...

I know I am going to catch hell for this, but I have to say it. This economy is going to cause a lot of stress. This economy is going to put a lot of people under. The people of this country NEED a downturn though. The waste and careless spending of the last 20-30 years is the biggest problem. Nobody lives within their means anymore.

Look, keeping up the with Jones's isn't going to make you happy. If the Jones's have a $500,000 house, with a BMW, and a Jet, but only make $50,000 a year then they will eventually lose it all. That's how you become the Jones's, you outlast them. Save some money, spend only what you have, pay off the debt, and buy a house you can afford. Not everyone will get their dream home, there isn't enough space on earth for that.

Nobody is entitled to a house and a job. If you don't want to work for it, then you don't deserve it. Plain and simple.

The good that will come out of this whole fiasco is long overdue. People will conserve their cash, spoiled children will have to learn what it's like to EARN that PS3. Some of the crap drivers will be run out of trucking. The wasteful companies will be run out, they only serve to help inflate the prices we pay at the shelves.

You can say that the stores will not lower prices when the costs go down, and you may be right. That is irrelevant though. We don't need them to lower the prices of the products we need, we need those prices to stabilize. If the waste continues, then we will only see ever growing inflation, prices, and debt.

Here's what an owner op can do to lower costs:

• Get an APU!! There's tons of financing options available, which makes no excuse not to get one. If fuel is hurting you, and you're idling that truck to stay warm, you can only blame yourself.
• Slow down. You can put a lot of that money back in your pocket just by slowing to 60-63 mph. Don't try to convince me that your truck defies the laws of physics, cause it doesn't. HP & Speed = Fuel use, plain and simple.
• Make your next truck an aerodynamic one. A long-nose may look great with all the chrome, but it costs more to run.
• Put the skirting on the truck. Skirting improves the air-flow around the truck.
• Stop buying chrome. Chrome will not make you more money. You can say that customers call you back because of the pretty truck, but that is simply not true. Costs outweigh the benefits of show trucks hauling your goods.
• Maintain the tires. Underinflated tires can cause a lot of extra drag, and reduce fuel efficiency, no matter what kind of truck you have.

And that's just the major changes. There's small things you can do as well...

• Shift properly. Bad shifting, or whinning the engine only wastes fuel.
• Buy products that ADD to the aerodynamics of the truck, rather than detract. That visor may look cool, but it costs you as much as an extra 0.5 mpg!!
• Remove clunky add-ons. Bug-deflectors don't really help keep the bugs away, and they add to the drag of the truck, reducing fuel economy
• Use the cruise control. Consistency helps efficiency.
• Stop less. Every stop costs you more fuel, so consider that next time you run into that truck stop to grab another coffee. Prepare yourself before you start moving for the day.

The problem isn't just the government, a lot of the problem is drivers who refuse to adapt to the new world of driving. If you can't drive responsibly, pay attention, or reduce your costs, then you will be pushed out. That is the nature of business, the strong survive and the weak don't. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

I myself may not be able to survive it.

Difference is, I will only blame myself if I fail.

I don't necessarily disagree with what TACU and other protestors want, just how they are trying to get it done, and some of their reasonings. Also, I believe that allying yourself with "activist" four-wheelers can amount to a very dangerous game. Look at the HOS mess, caused because the government thought that OOIDA, Teamsters, AND Public Citizen all wanted the same thing, and that wasn't even an alliance!

Bottom line is: There's a lot of whining going on. A lot of drivers want to complain about how bad they have it, but few want to change with the times. Staying up on the issues, and methods, is the only way to stay competitive.

"Slowing down will make me loose loads."
Maybe, but the fuel savings that come from slowing down, to your truck's sweet spot, will more than make up for it.

"The DOT are only out there to get money."
Some are, others are just trying to do their job. If the industry had been responsible in the past we wouldn't need the regulations now.

"Rates are too low."
Did you consider lowering your operational costs?

"Big Companies steal freight."
No they don't, they just have a better business plan than you do. They offer the same service, for less money. It's a basic economic principal.

"How can I compete, when they have thousands of trucks?"
By lowering your costs, increasing efficiency, and offering the one thing the big companies can't... Personal Service, and accountability.

"I'm going broke."
How much chrome did you buy? What kind of house do you live in? How many cars do you have? How many excess toys are you paying for?

A family of four has no need for a 5 bedroom house, 4 cars, a boat, and 2 ATVs if the bills can't be met. Consider skimming the fat to save the meat. If your bills at home affect how much you need to make per load, then you are stretching yourself too far. Assign yourself a fair wage (.30 to .45 a mile) and budget the household on that. If there's extra money after you pay yourself, then you'll be able to afford maintenance without taking food off the table.

I would venture to say that for every 100 O/O's that sold, or lost their trucks, only 15 got pushed out by circumstances beyond their business control: illness, death in the family, marriage problems, etc...
Of the remaining 85...

• 15 got stuck in a lease they couldn't handle, or did not check out thoroughly before signing.
• 40 couldn't manage their spending
• 25 couldn't survive the fuel roller-coaster, because they could not, or failed to try to get a FSC, or higher rates.
• 5 wrecked their trucks and didn't have enough coverage to fix or replace it.
• 50%, or more, had more than one issue

The priorities in this country are severely messed up!

Please do not respond with unintelligible drivel, I like to discuss things. I would like to have a decent conversation on this, not a flame-fest.

 

I drive my own truck (as in, I am paying for it, the fuel, etc..), whether or not I haul a Schneider trailer is irrelevant.
I can articulate much better than Bush. I also have no interest in making this a Dem vs. Rep discussion because I hate them both.
People should know if they can afford something.
Changing circumstances require changing plans, if income went down, you need to lower your costs as well.

I am facing the truth, maybe it's you who is not. I NEVER said anything about drivers destroying this country, what i DID say, is that they need to start taking the blame for the things THEY did wrong.

Maybe YOU need to read what I said again. This time, try not to read between the lines for a political agenda, as I can assure you that I have none. I am simply pointing out the truth.

 

It's NOT supposed to be the government's responsibility to save us!!!!!

Of course, on the same token, if they had stayed the hell out of it, we wouldn't need them to.

It's my fault, I stayed too long and refused to see the signs. I am close to leaving Schneider right now, because all the signs are pointing to a lack of a management that can handle the economy we are in.

What do you do when you lose a job? You sacrifice and live without things until you get another one, OR you sacrifice a little more and take a lower paying job, for a shorter amount of time. Nobody wants to take a lower paying job. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to take lower pay, but there is something wrong with REFUSING to. It's easier to get a better job when you are employed, than when you are unemployed.

We are not all destined to be rich, and we will NOT all be millionaires (unless inflation gets so bad that a million is worthless.) Everybody is NOT equal in business. There are people who can't handle business, and there are people that can. Nobody wants to face their own flaws though, they just want to blame the government.

Let me ask this. How many of you have encouraged your kids to think about NOT going to college? Right now, when the average person goes to college, the costs are over $50,000 a year. Yet, when they come into the job-market, it is so flooded with people who were made to believe they could be anything, that they can only command an income of $30,000.

There USED to be manufacturing jobs that made you more money, without the college. NOW, if you don't go to college, you can only really expect to earn $24,000 or less. All the manufacturing jobs went over seas.

REPEAL NAFTA!

 

I am a voter, have been since 2000 (when I turned 18 ). I believe voting is a responsibility. Voting is your duty to YOUR country, and if you do not vote, then you should NOT complain about where it's going politically. Apathy is running rampant, so the decisions that affect all of us are decided by 10% of us. Something is wrong with that.

It's not supposed to be political, the idiots that people have voted for over the last hundred plus years have made business a political issue. I understand that there are things going on beyond our control, but there are OTHER things we CAN control. The only way we are going to get ahead is to seize the opportunity to control those things.

Nothing in life is fair, get used to it.

I have a problem with TACU for a few reasons:

• Who are they meeting with? I don't want a generalization, like "congress," I want NAMES, DISTRICTS, WHAT THEY DISCUSSED, and THE RESULTS. I want that information made PUBLIC.
• They are overly concerned with fuel prices, which is only a small part of the issue. I want a group that will handle much more than a narrow-minded approach to a single problem.
• I have a hard time trusting people who have a hard time being responsible enough to keep their trucks out of IMPOUND!

So far, everything has shown me that they will be no different than any of the other groups. If voting is so important to you, then why schedule "rallies" to be held on ELECTION WEEK? Don't you people need to go vote?

The following statement goes out to everyone, not just one person, or group of persons...

My problem isn't a disconnect, it's an attunement. I never claimed to be above the hardships. I am having a tough time too, but I also plan to survive it. I will make ANY adjustment that I have to, in order to achieve that end. Have you? Are you? Will you?

Because, I haven't seen evidence of "most" drivers changing methods.

 

You know what, you just want to defend yourself based on party lines. You have yet to actually base your argument with anything other than emotion.

Once again, I need to tell you to READ WHAT I SAID!

Why are jobs leaving? NAFTA (Said that didn't I?).

I do not, nor have I had since I was 18, the choice to go back home. You are assuming things about me simply because I am younger than you are. Youth does NOT mean stupid! Rather than flipping out because you are emotionaly involved in these things, just think rationally.

I have lost jobs before, and I have sacrificed. I prefer to have my own place, but at times I have had room-mates, I have also sacrificed going to the movies, buying toys (games, dvds, tvs, cd, etc..), I have even bought $200 clunker crap-trap cars. I never used a credit card, and I live with whatever my income allows. How is that wrong? I don't expect you to answer that, you would have to think about your own situation to argue it.

Want me to make an age based point so badly? Ok. I'll oblige.

Your generation, and the one before it have left a disaster that will require the next 2 generations to clean up. Wasteful spending, and habits since WWII have caused a severe lack of discipline when it comes to financial matters. I do NOT like McCain, because he represents OLD THINKING, and OLD WAYS. He represents continuing with all the same stupid things that all the baby-boomers before him have done.

I do NOT like Obama, because he represents a very NARROW view of the world, in which everything has to be solved by the government. He wants to increase spending, yet also balance the budget? You can't have it both ways.

Now, I have said that I do not like either side, so maybe this will get that point across. I wanted to discuss the issues affecting DRIVERS!! TACU is supposed to be helping DRIVERS. This thread was about DRIVERS, not the rest of the country.

I can debate the economy in other areas with you, but I would have rather done it in another thread. Now this one has gone completely off course, and you have detracted from the VERY VALID points that I made in my original post, by spouting democrat rhetoric.

Let me be very concise, since that is obviously what is needed. I'll be sure not to include too much detail, as it may confuse some.

Are fuel costs seriously affecting your ability to run?
Are your surcharges/rates not covering things?
Are your maintenance costs killing you?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, and yet you did nothing to try and change it, then YOU are a part of the problem. You could slow down, renegotiate, change companies, buy a newer truck, become a company driver, etc...

There are plenty of ways to change things, but NOBODY wants to actually DO them. I understand that you are attached to your truck, I really do, but if you are going broke, you have to change something. The government is not going to bail you out like they did the banks, nor should they!

They shouldn't have bailed out the banks either, but also for another thread.

Nothing pisses me off more than when somebody gets all high and might because they are older. Just because you have been doing it for 30+ years, doesn't mean you were doing it RIGHT for 30+ years. Things have changed, and many people have not. If you can't change, then you will fall, period.

Call me cold, call me uncaring, call me whatever you want, but don't accuse me of thinking based on a party line. Party lines are exactly why this crap keeps happening, and why it's not getting fixed.

Open your eyes.

Just because I do not plan on voting for a major candidate does not mean I am wasting my vote. Think about this for a minute, actually consider it before you say "you're wasting your vote."

If all the people who thought their vote was a waste, actually went out and voted based on the ISSUES rather then party lines, or "likelihoods" then maybe we could change that.

Wouldn't it be great if the Congress could actually do something other than bicker like children?