Do I *NEED* a home as a new driver?

Fulltime rvers have the same problem. Many of them use a mail forwarding service as an address.
Big brother gbmt thinks everyone should just stay in one place, easier to keep an eye on peeps.
Mary

 

Yes it would but anything is possible with FMCSA.

 

That was a little harsh, I think. I brought up the subject of truckers being squatters in another post several weeks ago. Honestly I agree with everything that you say and can even relate to every detail brought up "Homeless Truckers are Us". Still,we have to associate this more with economics problems of the monopoly trucking system. I think that truckers live in a work situation that is technically close to low income housing and tolerated squatting.That doesn't make things bad or disrespectful towards truckers individually but a reality that trucking is treated as a sub-economy within the real economy these days. This treatment of the truckers as sub-workers has to change. How could things change? First, things could improve on the road if many of the major truck stops were forced to offer free showers and free parking to truckers on the road regardless of points earned on cards. Second, things like toll fees and scaling fees should be entirely free for all truckers. Instead, I would introduce a general tax that is taking from the trucking carriers annually to pay for this. Finally, things could be improved for trucker with the proper collective bargaining power and the reduction of power of the monopoly trucking industry. My 50 cents for 4th of july !!!

 

My plan is similar, but I will be 'renting' a (ghost) room from a friend (really cheaply since I won't actually be staying there), stash a box of my stuff there and I'll be able to claim that as my physical address for tax and per diem purposes. What I have read about per diem and tax issues, this seems to me be my best answer on how to deal with not renting or owning a domicile that I'll actually use.

 

So let me get this right. Instead of T/S's provideing their services at a nominal fee ( scales and parking) and trying to draw more carriers in with fuel discounts for them and "perks" for their drivers. You want a tax? Is that a flat general tax or a usage tax?

Now "I" have to pay a tax on tolls and "I" never use a toll road. That sucks for me. . . Who am "I". . . Well I'm a carrier aka owner operator. I'm now paying a tax on scaleing that I've never used cause I know how much that Cat dozer weighs, don't need to scale it. ( example only). Hmmmm I'd think most "oversized" wouldn't even fit on scales. Pull on back off? Sure not gonna fit between the poles. Sooooo they are gonna pay a general tax on a service they don't ( can't) use?

I get my showers "free" through points, a service no truck stops HAVE to provide.

A service is just that and you don't have to partake of it.

I Do agree it would be nice for higher pay.

 

You raise a valid criticism about the tax issue and whether or not people should still pay even if they dont use such services. Let me try answering it from this angle.As far as I know they did not have any toll roads anywhere in the U.S. 75 years ago because they were free. So why do we have to pay for them now? Easy answer: Because states tolerated the financialization of our road system about 30 years ago. It places less responsibility in their hands and allows outside market actors to profit from everyday activities like driving freight on the road. It would argue for the de-financialization of our road system which would immediately ban toll roads in all 50 states. This might sound radical but I do think this could be achieved if we really desired it. Taxes are a much better tool than toll roads anyways. Every-time I read up on some of the corruption scandals about were the money from toll roads actually go it makes me sick to my stomach. Granted, I'm not saying that government is always the best answer but I do think there will be better political oversight than what we get with those toll road providers in Oklahoma which often do not work in the interest of the truckers nor the public.

 

The best thing about driving a truck, and being single w/ no kids is not having expenses. My biggest monthly bill is 120.00. Outside of food, i pay less than 200 a month in bills, therefor putting me in a position of saving 85-90% of my income. My car is paid for, and live fairly modestly. All of the money I'm saving is gonna go towards buying me a truck/authority when the time is right.

When I need a few days off, I either stay at my folks house, or my girls house. I could go home a lot more often than I do, but end up only going home when I NEED a few days out of the truck. If the freight is good, I'll sometimes get a nice hotel room for a night so I don't mess up a whole week by going home.

You mention a hotel room for cable... If you're electronically literate, you won't need a hotel for cable. I have more access to TV/video in my truck than any hotel could provide. Most TV's have the ability to play video straight off of a hard drive, add that with streaming tv, and digital TV, and you're good to go.

 

Scott,

You just ain't all that krazy, man. You're plan will work flawlessly as long as you stick it out and have the discipline to save your cash.

One thing though, that I haven't seen anyone bring up just yet. Banking. Start looking at internet banks (maybe you already have). Find one that reimburses ATM fees and maybe even pays a lil interest. That way, when you do hire on, you can have everything set up to direct deposit to your new bank account from day one. Most companies will load your check onto a comdata card or similar but they charge every time you draw on it and it adds up quickly. I'm usually reimbursed $30 or so every month for ATM fees. That's $360 a year out of your pocket for nothing more than accessing YOUR money. No need for that.

Best of luck to ya

 

The icecream man in my neighborhood ( when my son was little) played all types of "classical" music, said the regular stuff would have made him cuckoo. My son recognized the music from The Nutcracker. ( I did warn my son about telling his friends about that).