Running with JCT

Traff, I finally caught up on the thread again this morning and I have a question. You said you deposited 49k in your personal account and that you use your business account to pay taxes and insurance. I want to make sure I'm clear on this. You pay all your income taxes, SS, etc from your business account? If I read that correctly you're doing ###### well as a L/O, you could teach most O/O's some tricks I think!

 

By keeping that left door closed and your wheels rolling while at the same time achieving high mag and low down time will bring you the most profit. Now when you have that profit you want to set it aside and not go on a spending spree like most people I know. Also at home only spend what you have and be as debt free as you can. That's the way to be successful.

Also at jct most of the o/o expenses like road use tax, fuel tax, reefer fuel, etc are paid for by jct. As a l/o all you have to worry about as far as taxes is your income and payroll taxes.. I was always told to put aside 8% of your gross or 20% of your net and that should be more than plenty to cover your taxes.

 

Preaching to the choir reverend. I just find it amusing to read the anti-l/p crusaders who swear it NEVER works for anyone. Then come here where there are at least two drivers pretty much documenting point for point how it can work when the driver is smart and the company isn't shady.

 

Its like anything some make it work while others because it did not work for them right from the start .

 

Just my opinion mind you. But many who try L/P and even OO have 2 common issues that lead them to fail. 1 poor personal financial habits/ situations. That shows up in a number or different ways. Most commonly too much debt. No money budget plan. And or no long term goals and plans to achieve them.
The other is a lack of understanding or inability to focus on profit margin rather than paychecks. If a persons decisions are near sided paycheck minded they will make decisions to make a specific paycheck be as good as possible rather than their profit margin to be as high as possible.
Dealing specifically with the mileage based lease purchase driver that has very dire consequences. As one I need a few things to aid my success. 1 miles 2 decent to good fuel mileage 3( specifically at Jct where our road tax is paid for us) to keep every gallon purchased as low as possible and 4 finally maintence costs need to be kept down. Planning simple P.M?s and such while on a break so they don't interfere with my money making ability. And get small repairs fixed as early as feasible so they don't become huge repairs.
it kills me when I pull into an expensive fueling station for a break and see one of my fellow drivers fueling there. Often times I will ask them about their fueling strategy, envariably it begins with a comment regarding their fuel gauge. Under our system that is more of a reaction than a plan and it can get very costly. A guy can make many wrong, or paycheck minded decisions and make 600.00 dollars a week, but if that same guy alters his mindset to profit over paycheck he can earn 3200.00 to 4000.00 a month with the exact same truck.

 

There is several good points in these last few post, I think if I were to get to JCT I would certainly abide by what these guys are saying, I'd rather put the $$ in my pocket then in the tanks, The savings by fueling in the cheaper states is a huge savings! I appreciate all of your willingness to help those of us that are less knowledgeable then you are, The giving of this advise is awesome. Thanks all of you.

 

Nice...I visited a Buddhist monastery on the NE side of Vegas a couple years ago, to get some pointers on meditation, and got to meet several of the monks there. They have a lot of restrictions they have to follow (discipline) in regards to lifestyle and diet (mostly vegetarian), but I asked one of them what his favorite foods was, his eyes lit up and without hesitation he said "rib eye"...lol

Thanks so much for your thread and continued postings Sharpp, it has been one the most satisfying and informative that I have found here. I'm up to 8/24/13, and it's 4:45 am, so I will have to continue later tonight. Stay safe out there.

 

I have been doing a lot of thinking about going to jct. I have talked to a few drivers each has there own opinion on jct.. the question I have is they say you have to take all these written test during orientation? just what are these written test? also truck selection, they say you get what you get I just don t understand if I am going to to lease an possibly purchase a truck at the end of the lease why can 't a driver pic the truck he wants? any info would be great... I also called jct an the recruiter I talked to really did nt have much to say about the process of orientation an the equipment.. any one know a recruiter there that can answer questions...... keep up with this thread its very helpful..

 

LOL! Don't get eyestrain! When I was with Watkins Shepard, I delivered some pig feed to a Hutterite colony (Similar to Mennonites and Amish) in Montana. While unloading, one of the men asked me if I ever delivered beer. I said that I often picked up Bud and Coors from Colorado. He said to think of them the next time I got a load of Coors. I guess with their Germanic roots they still allow themselves to have beer, although Coors is a disagreeable imitation to me! Thank you for your binge reading, lol.

 

Orientation has changed in the last few months. Now you're given some computer modules to work through. You'll be presented with the Smith System for safe driving, and you'll probably be tested on that. The tests are easy though.

Truck selection has always been a slight bone of contention although it's been greatly improved in the last six months. There will be several trucks available for you to choose from. You'll be able to see the specs on each used truck to help you narrow down your choice, then you go out to the "corral" and pick one out. Company policy has been that if you're not satisfied with your truck, you can trade it in after 90 days. This policy can be flexible. I know a driver who went through orientation this month and less than two weeks later it started making a noise. He got routed back through the yard and selected a brand new Cascadia.

As for the recruiting department, they are only involved in recruiting. They aren't likely to be able to knowledgeably discuss the trucks or orientation. That's what this thread is for, lol.