Really want my own rig

My ECM readout for the last 3 fills has been at 8.3. Hand calculated at 7.8. 2006 Intl 9400, 435 ISX, 13 spd, 3.42 rears.

 

That's good for a 9400. I wish i had a 13 speed

Ethan

 

I have found the reverse.
The very latest engines are the most sensitive to driver input.
Because they now have high torque in a wide band off the possible revs,when you shift has become more important.
If you run them out off their "sweet" spot,they become gasgusslers.

 

I dont watch television to hear about what has already happened in Bond markets. I read FOMC minutes, listen in to Franklin Templeton and Goldman Sachs Shareholder meetings ( yes I own them ), and try to keep up with the ever changing ECB. What good does it do to read the headline the day AFTER something happened? As an investor I have to act BEFORE the event effects the market.

"$4 fuel"? Why would four dollar fuel bring the economy down? Other than being a very small tax on the end consumer ( most shipping and trucking companies have surcharges ) $120 - $150 Brent is here forever (yes I know its "down" today but OPEC will fix that). I think $100 WTI is built into the American economy, $150 Brent may hurt southern Europe but it wont "collapse" because of that, it may collapse because of 7% yields on 10 year bonds however.

I am glad that you are optimistic about the American economy, we do need that. I have a responsibility to my family to look long term. Right now investing 100% of your savings AND borrowing all of your working cap for the next 3-5 years is far too risky for someone with a steady job and a family to feed. I think the OP here wants to do just that. I happen to believe Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, and Mervyn King who are all positioning their firms for a severe credit crisis that could last years.

Can you say with 100% certainty that Congress will resolve the tax bomb that is set to go off January 1st? Some of the things in that mess that will effect the trucking industry are:
1) Depreciation deduction for equipment goes away.
2) FET deduction goes away.
3) No longer roll major expenses (like a $20,000 engine) over for 3 years.
4) $59 per diem overnight goes away (Im still looking into this one because the wording in the original IRS tax code insulates it from the "discretionary" list however it was re-written several times and Im not sure if the new wording continued to keep it off the discretionary list).
Then of course the things that will effect everyone like basic income tax rates.

How do you put together a business plan without knowing those things?

 

Easy, you DON'T put them in your business plan and plan to operate without them and the associated costs that DO go with them. And then when you can use then, you will be money ahead.

Plan for the worst case and go from there. If you can NOT make your business fail in the business plan, it will be shear neglect when it does fail in real life.

 

More than likely there will be a small fleet exemption like California did with emissions. If he is leased to a large fleet they probably wouldnt let him lease a 30 year old truck on anyway. If he has his own authority and only has a few trucks he'll probably be OK for years.

 

I had been thinking that there may be an exemption or "Grandfathering" also, as the DOT has done in the past. However, our person in charge of this stuff has asked FMCSA about that and their reply was a straight out, "All interstate trucks WILL have EOBRs, no exceptions".
If you notice, the small fleet exception, in California, is only for a short period, ending in 2015.
There are a few large fleets, such as LS, that have no age limit

 

Looks like they're about "poised" to sneak the EOBR requirement into the current Highway Bill (despite the court decision OOIDA got against them, that caused FMCSA to remove it from their "new rules enforcement list").

Personally - it's more politics and $$ than it is about "Commercial Vehicle Safety" - similar to the BMI/Sleep-Study/CPAP "scam" that was all the scare-tactic-rage a few years ago. If the gov't wants to subsidize the cost of me putting an EOBR in a truck, and PeopleNet gives single/small fleets a "reasonable monthly subscription fee" for service, it could potentially be a HELP to smaller companies on the "compliance/audit" side. If they aren't offering the "little guy" assistance in installing the box, than it's a MONEY GRAB/POWER PLAY to try to force the smaller carriers out.

I don't think EOBR and EGR/CARB/EPA issues are related really...

Rick

 

I have to admit, I was VERY glad on Friday I had an EOBR in my truck.

I got a ticket in the mail for doing 66 in a 55 in Sioux City IA. I called the company on Saturday and asked them for the record for the time, place, location AND speed of my truck. They claim they can get away with it as this is a "civil ticket" like a parking ticket and will not be reported to DMV against my license.

The Qualcomm is showing 56 at the same time stamp as their ticket.

This should be an interesting showdown now.

 

The OBC will be challenged forever by OOIDA. Im guessing that if you have a compliance department you are probably big enough that you will not be exempted. Remember just because FMCSA says it is fact does not mean it is, they can only ask Congress to pass a law, right now they cant even find a Congressman to introduce the legislation. As out of touch as Congress is, one thing they do understand is that we are getting sick and tired of regulations. With a Republican majority in the house chances are even if it did get introduced they wouldnt get 218 votes anyway.