And so the journey begins.....jumping off the cliff

yes, and yes and paperwork on a fresh rebuild. 80k miles. Didn't come directly from tmc. I am the third owner.

 

I have heard the same thing. From what I am told they take care of the outside/inside appearance and only replace what breaks. He had three that they picked up from Tmc. Two of them he did rebuilds on. The third I wouldn't even consider. The other one with the rebuild still had a short warranty for about five grand more. Someone scooped it up before I could get my money together. Even with the rebuild paperwork, oil sample, ecm check, its still a risk. I have enough in startup funds to cover one major. Hopefully with a little luck that major doesn't come anytime soon and hopefully not at all. I need a good 8 months to a year to recover the investment in the truck at this point. Fingers crossed.

And thanks!

 

Well another update in the saga, the General Manager (the person I directly report to) found out thru the grapevine. Came in and said we need to talk. I knew something was up. "I heard you have a piece of equipment." Wasn't the way I wanted it to go down because he approached me, not the other way around. That being said he was the last person I wanted to have the discussion with and at the very last possible minute, giving him enough time to replace me. He has been an awesome mentor to me and I respect him greatly. He wouldn't have got where he is if he was a dummy. He told me he had my back and congratulated me. Asked me to give him at least a month but two months would be better. We will see what happens, but now that the cat is out of the bag, I am a little less stressed.

 

Ok, just an update so you guys don't think I fell off the face of the earth. Looks like I am here until June 30th. This will qualify me for our bonus if we hit our numbers. Right now we are on track with two months left. It will be nice to have additional revenue if needed. Plus it gives my mentor 8 weeks to find a solid replacement. The company I am leasing onto has decided to let me jump straight into flat open bed freight. He just bought two newer 53 spread axles. (one specifically for me to lease). I am still going to lease it from him in the beginning and then either buy it from him or buy my own. Rent is a lot cheaper on this one than the reefer trailers. I honestly think he bought it with me in my mind. We are meeting later this month to work out the details of the contract. Working on getting the truck ready on the weekends. If all goes as planned I will walk out of my current management position on the 30th of June, and put my truck and business on the road around the third week of July.

Excitement and nervousness all at once!!

 

Thank you Tug. I went back and looked at some of your post and you are correct. How are things going for you right now?

 

Alright it's been a couple of months. The day has finally arrived. Truck has been D.o.ted inspected by the carrier and we will be pulling out this morning. Needed 2 drives(I knew to be the case but waited until I could get it to the carriers shop this week so I could get their discount) but went ahead and put on four. I get about a 40% discount off their regular shop rates. Only bad thing it seems is only two bays right now and they do take outside work as well. New facility will have additional bays, so I will be swinging it thru here for regular maintenance. Also I could have wrote a check but they are letting me take it out of first settlement. Not sure if all carriers operate this way but felt pretty good about it considering I haven't pulled a single load yet. All in all everyone I have met here has been great. It is a family owned op and all of the family works here and they are very good Christian folks. It's actually a nice change of environment for me. I am having to stay on my toes and watch my "potty" mouth around them. I am not to terribly bad but I do have a habit of saying #### and #### when I get excited.

I had a few other known issues besides the tires that I had to get taken care of and then one hidden issue popped up. I also spent 5 hours(probably a 1 hour job with an experienced mechanic) having to take apart the brake pedal assembly. The metal cylinder under the brake pedal that pushes down on the valve got froze up. It was so caked in dirt and grime. Seems to be a common problem on the petes. Man there was so much grit and dirt in there, It took me an hour just to clean it all up. Two hours to get it apart as it is #### near impossible to get in there with any kind of tools and those bolts had never been removed in 11 years.

Also swapped out the drivers side tank, in the front yard might I add. I am sure the neighbors have been wondering where I have had the redneck hid all these years.Man this stuff would be a lot easier to do with a proper shop. Don't worry it's on the list.

I will say it has taken me a little more money than I initially estimated to get everything ready and take care of the few issues. Diong it again I would have tried to find an additional 10 to 20 percent of what I started with. I also may have considered a small truck payment to ensure I had enough free money. That being said I do have a small lump on the bank and the backing of my carrier so that helps ease my nerves a bit. Although not having a truck payment has allowed me to not panic and have to rush to get the truck on the road.

Don't want to get long winded, so I am sure I am leaving a few things out. But now to the good stuff.

Picking up in Atlanta this morning, headed to Dallas Tx. About 60 miles of deadhead. Can't be to picky right now and having to run with what dispatch can find two loads together so I can get some securment and tarp training. I will post up some numbers maybe at the end of the week.

Here is a photo before the logos and dot numbers.