Running with JCT

I originally wrote something that just would have started an argument so I deleted it.

 

Yeah, we don't need anyone ELSE looking at us as free labor, we have our companies for that, lol! I hauled sugar, flour, instant potatoes, etc. into the big DCs on the dry side too. Watkins Shepard wasn't really set up to handle dealing with lumpers at 3 am, and it could be a nightmare getting a Comchek issued. Over here, we deal with this all the time and have plenty of staff 24/7. I rarely wait 10 minutes for an EFS code.

JCT has a group plan available, but I'm not in it and don't recall the specifics.

If you've run a business before, then you'll be miles ahead of the average driver. If you've been keeping up, you know that I spent last weekend playing Candy Crush in the driver's lounge while my truck was getting all souped up. There were many drivers passing through for various reasons and several discussions broke out about how to be successful with JCT. A lot of these drivers have been at JCT longer than I have and must have some sort of success to have been around so long. Yet many didn't really know what kind of MPGs their truck got (i.e. they didn't use Fuelog or track fuel purchases and do the math themselves). There were some real steering wheel holders who ran like company drivers, yet still managed to make enough to get by. One guy said that he equalizes his check by fueling only enough for each trip!

You can't think trip to trip or paycheck to paycheck if you want to make the maximum profit. For instance, I'm on a similar trip to the one I ran last week. Fuel is pricey in CA, less in AZ and NM, and cheapest in Oklahoma City. My goal is to pull up to the pumps in OKC with a fuel light that's been on for at least an hour. And even though this trip will be my last one of the pay period, I'm going to squeeze every drop of fuel on that I can.

I'm glad to have you as a reader! If you have any specific questions that aren't relevant to an open forum, please feel free to PM me.

 

You nailed it on the fuel Sharp, so many guys(and companies talking to O/O's) say that one of the reason for a bad/negative settlement is overfueling. That's just wrong headed thinking. You have to think long term and buy as much fuel as your tanks will hold where it is cheap and as little as possible where it is expensive. You do that and over time you'll come out way ahead of the guys that worry about overfueling so they get a decent settlement next week.

 

im not in a union.
i think its foolish to tell each other to ignore him.
retirement is coming up fast.
he is talking about your health care and if your social security check is gonna cut it.\
so you cant afford to take the weekend off or go on vacation. that freight dont pay squat

 

Is there really going to be social security when we retire? And we will all be under government health care in a few years.

 

The fuel part was the mistake I made. At first, I didn't keep track of my fuel mileage and was buying trip to trip. Then I found this thread and it encouraged me to track all that and I started using fuelog and started looking harder at fuel prices. I consider my tanks full with 150 gallons (dual 100's) to save weight, but now I don't fill up til I really need the fuel and try to get where it is cheapest. I am going between 800-850 miles before getting fuel again. That seems to be working for me right now and have managed to put a few hundred dollars more in my pocket.

Right now I have enough fuel to get me to Detroit and still able to go another 500-600 miles.

 

exactly. my boss been paying all my health insurance forever and now im looking at taking a crappy voucher down to the insurance office.
if there is social security the leasers arent paying in.
so your an old man with a million mile freightshaker cant afford a day off. no thanks

 

Right now, JCT offers a Scheduled Plan. It is kind of limited since you only get so many visits per year and all. But between October and January, they should be offering something more in the line of major medical, since we'll all have to comply with Obamacare regulation or pay additional taxes as a penalty. Of course, we'll still have to pay for it...it's not like they're going to foot the bill. LOL.

 

You can check out www.mygauges.com for free fuel tracking software. The site has other features too (like Profit Gauges), but Fuel Gauges is free. You just input your fuel receipt info and it gives you your daily, 30 day, 60 day, 90 day, and overall avgs. It also lets you compare your numbers with other trucks. Check it out.

 

lol I was giving a few drivers a hard time didnt mean no harm!! Lol