Anyone else adding trucks this year

Don't matter, unless you are actually partner with him, there is no way you should just go on all of what he says, always confirm it, always reduce your risks.

Hurst this is what divides a lot of people up when it comes to being owners.

Many of the owners I run into and those who put up fleets up for sale (many are at forced sales) all seem not to be able to handle the responsibility, even at two or three trucks.

It is amazing how they spiral down into the abyss because it becomes overwhelming.

I am considered a small fleet by some and sometimes it is frustrating but I set the rules that others don't even know about, I don't put up with crap because it is a waste of time and other who run over dollars to chase pennies don't seem to get that there is so much work out there, even when the economy is in the dumpster, that they don't understand how I won't not be stressed while they are pulling their hair out trying to make it work.

 

Originally my plan was to have 10 - 11 trucks and just dispatch from home.

Now with 2 trucks under my belt and almost a 3rd,.. reality and truth have shown me that its a lot more work than I had originally anticipated. He got stuck in the snow last winter,.. he was freaking out. Thought I was gong to fire him. I'm in the middle of getting loaded and trying to calm him down and arrange for a wrecker to come pull him off the shoulder. Another trucker came by and pulled him out,.. all was well. But its little things like that which could escalate into something really bad.

I read these posts from guys who have little to no trucking experience who want to buy trucks and get a fleet going. In my head I'm thinking,.. you have no idea what you are getting into.

Hurst

 

Nope, staying with one truck. I don’t need the headaches or stress of more than one. Hell, most days I don’t even want one truck anymore.

 

Hahaha, sorry to laugh, but you’re delusional. In a recession, the rates will get hammered to a point where you may not even break even. You may still have access to the freight, or you may lose it to a larger company. I got the t shirt and trophy from the late 2000’s. I hope to never own another reefer again.
All that said, I’m looking to buy another, but it will be cash. Finding the drivers is the hardest part of the entire equation.

 

Yeah I get that, I tell my drivers "I don't hold hands", you are on your own on the loads but when it comes to problems, let us get involved and relax. I had one driver who would constantly call me in the middle of the night for stupid crap, the fuel card didn't work (he kept putting it in wrong at the pump), the girl at the counter could not cash a comcheck (which was not registered), the truck was running rough (because he put in oil additives instead of fuel additives) and so on. Crap, deal with it, call the manager, don't call me for stupid crap. Finally I told him I can't take it any more, I sent him to a truck stop under the guise of maintenance, got a driver in the air and he arrived 8 hours later he told the driver he is taking the truck back to the yard in Indiana, where does he need to be dropped off. About a week later I get a call from another fleet owner who said he applied at his place and I warned him about what he did, so he thought he had a hand on the problem child and hired him. There he lasted three weeks, not five months like he did in my fleet. The owner called me up at 11pm at night and b****** me out for letting him hire the guy. He said the guy was doing a drop and hook and forgot to raise the dollies and drove off only to have the dollies almost ripped off the trailer, but that's not what the problem was, it was when he called to tell them what happened that he didn't mention that he also took out two tires from some debris and hit another truck. He told the owner a half hour after the first call to ask about why the cops were there and not the tow truck.

I had one that was stuck in Erie and I was stuck in Buffalo, just finished a run for the same customer. He calls me up and complaining about being stuck, I asked him what does he think he needs to do, he said leave, I said well come up to Buffalo and see what real snow is like. He didn't like that, so I said well are you really stuck, he said yes, I said well you can do this two ways, one is to just wait it out, you'll get paid or you can get a bus home. I was there for four days, he was out in one. AND he just went back to the yard here in Detroit, dropped the truck off and went onto another job only to last a month. By the way he was paid well - $350 for the day being stuck in Erie.

People think this is easy, it is not. I wish the FMCSA would impost means testing for owners, a minimal requirement for an authority that hires or leases. Something like six months of operating expenses plus a projected cost to lease partners and have them maintain that level at all times to remain active. This may sound like I am mean or something but hell if you look at all the crap drivers who are running for crap owners, you would see it would take out many who don't need to be here.

 

You've got some great points and it's interesting seeing things from your perspective.

Issues come up and headaches start mounting anytime you start adding people whether it be employees or contractors. And it doesn't matter what type of business it is.

I would like to own a small fleet someday myself. It's what I've wanted since I started trucking 20 years ago. I'm fixing to lease on to a guy that has a small fleet, 4 company trucks and 18 O/Os and what I think is the best business model I've found.

He's going to mentor me to get where he is if I do indeed choose to build a small fleet. I'm going to get a good look at what it's taken him to get to this point and stay there. I feel then I will be able to make an educated decision on whether or not that's really what I want.

 

The driver I have is an angel compared to all that.

We had some hickups in the beginning. Due mainly in part that I had to de-program him from how the 2 mega's he had worked for treated and trained him. And with me learning how to dispatch him in order to make best use of his HOS while on ELD. Thats the other reason I want to get rid of the Columbia,.. I cant stand ELD.

Took me a good 2 months to break him of most of that. Especially the calling me for every little thing. I told him,.. Look,.. if you want to be an O/O your going to have to learn how to handle these things. He has a credit card and a fuel card. He can get emergency cash from the fuel card. The credit card is if he needs to be towed, blows a tire or for emergency mobile repairs.

I dont have a manager or anyone else. So its all on me. The process to get to the point where I could afford to hire a manager, mechanic etc is not something I think I have what it takes to make that work. I am better off just being responsible for myself. I enjoy my sleep too much. Thinking I would never get any sleep if I had to handle everything that comes with a full blown trucking business.

With the knowledge I have gained this far,.. I will gracefully bow out while I am still ahead in this business. Stick to my retirement plan and maybe get into rental property or something else to bring in some residual income. Heck,.. I still have this crazy idea to start up a sandwich and snow cone shop on the beach. Funnel cakes, hot dogs and drinks. Never know. Cant be any worse than trucking.


Hurst

 

Same. It's no fun anymore. I don't even get excited about a great load or week. Knowing what I know now there's no way I would choose this path if I could be 21 again. It's no wonder younger people avoid this industry like the plague. They're wise to do so. There's no future in it as an employee driver. You can piss away a lifetime making somebody else rich driving trucks.

 

Oh, great, rental property. I hear Ridgeline's former driver is looking for a place to rent....

 

Same. It's no fun anymore. I don't even get excited about a great load or week. Knowing what I know now there's no way I would choose this path if I could be 21 again. It's no wonder younger people avoid this industry like the plague. They're wise to do so. There's no future in it as an employee driver. You can piss away a lifetime making somebody else rich driving trucks.
Agree 110%