I'm a new driver- Help

What does your buddy have on his record that insurance is so high? Mine wasn't pretty and I was only 21 when I started and it was less than 14k a year.

 

Is that full coverage on someone else's rig or what?

 

41K from Progressive to insure him will essentially be all the wages on his end, he might clear 20 or more K depending on what you pay him above that amount in 12 months.

If you need him to cover the cost because you cannot team, then do it and see what happens. If you hunt for other drivers you know nothing about and insure them and they burn out in 90 days leaving you hunting more? hm.

I have a feeling your buddy is committed to the company. Not just you as one. You are two businessmen trying to make one truck as a team pay off everything far enough so you can at least make something each week and someday become two trucks, then 4 then 8 and so on.

You need to sit down with your buddy. Figure out what that truck can do, tell him that HE costs 41K just to put into that drivers seat when it's his turn to drive. Does he have what it will take to bring in the revenue to not only pay that 41K that he costs but also help bring in all the revenue and then some?

I have other questions. Why are you even renting a trailer? Is the buying a trailer payment and maintenance the same going to break your company financially? What is it costing to rent the #### thing anyway? Suppose you take that money and stick it into your own trailer. (The company's first trailer anyhow I have to think in terms of two people. with your question)

On the other hand... as a passenger... he might still come in handy. As a mobile company office man. Cell phone, printer, computer and all that good stuff on his side of the truck. Essentially you don't need that big company building office anymore do you? But you do need someone to keep up the taxes outgoing and such. Maybe he IS dispatch, etc. Getting loads set up and so on, all on the move.

I wonder if the definition of a passenger does not require him to do anything for pay to the company working for you.

I got another question which requires some hard thinking. ive gotten a little bit hard over the years. If he quit the job to be with you to see about helping the company work? Or... who benefits? Riding around as deadweight rent free paying no utilities and very little for food. Does HE benefit because he has nothing after he quit whatever he did before riding with you for housing and food? Does HE want a company like you do?

Teams are very valuable in this industry. With two in a team, the money and everything should take care of itself.

FFE leased a tractor knowing wife and I would burn through it in the first year and it will be handed to another driver the second year, a solo. It wont matter a whit to FFE if that solo went ahead and trashed it some more.

We burnt 85000 in fuel that time together, Our gross was 65K revenue to the truck was actually not as important as accounts saved when they threaten to simply find another trucking company to haul the loads. Because the solo is late. We out about 210000 on it in miles. there were times due to paperwork complications and overlooking, we had to take our journal of all loads handled in everything to the nth detail and get a comcheck for the previous unpaid 4 to 6 loads
several times a year. We were out 306 days that year in 2001. I ran two more months after 9-11 solo.

When running with a leased fleet to McKesson, there was no issue with payroll. Just have drivers ready to go when I have been fed up on my hours and need that load to continue on down the road to be on time. It's million plus in medicines that WILL be there next morning. Or you are not contracted to them anymore. That is a work of a team in each truck. Not a solo. Now I did some supporting roles by bringing medicine to stage in little rock so that teams will grab it drop, hook and head west without having to fight to get to memphis and then double back. It's never ending. Two trips to memphis a day and night. Sometimes I needed to simply stop a little while and let someone take that work while I ran a nice calm routine apple load (From Yakima WA) to Atlanta GA overnight then return to Little Rock after proper hours in sleeper berth both ways. it's a form of resting but still making money.

JBH lured me away with promises of pay approaching .50, instant payments and so on. Lasted three weeks with them when certain things I explictly told them there will be a problem (Cabover) did actually come true. And medical issues finally put me to pasture at the end. No worries. The wife was much sicker with cancer that was developing prior to actual diagnosis so we were no longer trucking, we were fighting to defeat something so we can live. But we would not be doing it on the road.

We had 10 good years out of it since trucking. But I will have to tell you that it is not going to be forever. At some point given enough years hopefully you are a thousand paid for trucks with people day and night doing what is needed to keep that whole thing you two built with one truck running. But it's going to take 10, 20 or more years to do it.

I have seen fleets and companies of all sizes simply cease to exist. 5 trucks, 200 trucks. or whatever. poof gone. All done. sold. Land is razed and someone else comes in to do something with it that makes a profit.

Talk to your buddy. Tell him what you told the world here on this post about that 41K bill it will take to make him a team driver. What about that trailer rental. Buy a trailer one time and be done with it. Excepting every tire you scrape turning against curbs or whatever else. At some point that trailer will be all in, and you will need to get another.

It never ends.

Or is your buddy in a very pad position in life with absolutely nothing to him other than the chance to work for you because no one else will hire him? Then tell him that one year 41K insurance will have to some way come out of his pocket somewhere somehow for the benefit of the company as a team. Being just a passenger roving like a homeless is no life. It's just a form of between death and existence and living.

Not very many people make good passengers. I call my wife a very very good passenger, because she handled the truck's paperwork taking a load off me. But she was a full team driver in her right too. So when it's time to get across George Washington Bridge in the top of the evening rush for Connecticut there she is doing it. (And has done it) We actually talked about her riding with me as a passenger. But we understood that there is no income for her doing that and she will only sit there until I have the necessary rest and hours to get going again. What are you going to do when the truck must sit and stay where it is under the ELD with what computer gaming to pass the time because YOU the driver is asleep?

I don't have much else. Your Buddy needs to answer questions and put on his boots. Either to work for you with full understanding of the costs and potential gain over a year to the company or... get out and go find himself a living somewhere else. You two will always be buddies, friends whatever. But life does not always work that way. If he is a full partner then ha.. half that expenses needs to come out of the total settlement for the loads. in other words he is carrying the pay when it's profitable and suffering the losses equally with you when you smash something.

For this to work, it needs money. No matter what you both have to put aside a percentage of your pays as a sort of escrow or savings fund so that if for some wild reason the truck got sick and requires a 20,000 dollar mechanic work to make it all better. that money will be there ready to go, otherwise you both essentially are no longer in business and now both have to go find something else to do to bring in a living.

Edit, in the time I write this others have asked questions that are way better than mine. If anyone around here in TTR would know it will be either Ridgeline, triple 6 or even Lepton1 etc.

 

Aren't there rules about the other passenger having a CDL whether he drives or not? Or was that some bs I read on here at one time?

 

Definitely look around for insurance progressive wanted to insure me for 60k!!! I found a new one that was 18k but cause of my age and I’m 19 so that’s impressive just keep on looking you’ll find one eventually !