Running With Watkins & Shepard

Hey when are you gonna be in Conover? I'll be there tomorrow....



American Trucker

 

Hang in there buddy. It's just a bump in the road. Everything will sort itself out.

 

How long have you been "off?" Not to pour salt in the wound, but a bum truck really seems to be cutting into your income.

 

Hey Sweetie!
I hope you enjoyed your home time but I bet you were ITCHING to hit the pavement a short time after you got home LOL!!

I have to agree with cpape......your truck really has had some sheety things going on with it! Would W/S consider another tractor if you have so much down time or lost time?

Saw a W/S truck here the other day and though of you, American Trucker, Wedge (even if he's not at W/S...) and a whole bunch of the other guys! Someday I will get to meet some or ONE of you!!

Keep it safe and stay between the ditches darlin'!!!

 

Hey guys just a little eye opener, could you imagine if Chralb owned that truck (lease). It happens and can really put you out of business quickly. If any of you are thinking of owner op let this be lesson number one. Make sure before taking on the responsibility of owning a truck that you have a good cash stash. If Chris were owner operator right now he would be paying for what ever the breakdown cost plus hotel, food etc... Also you still have to make your weekly payment for the truck and everything else. Unless you get a loaner right away you aren't making a dime until that thing gets fixed . This week Chris would have lost roughly $1000 for his truck payment probably another $1500-2000 for weekly income. Add another $300-400 for hotels and food. Now I don't know what it cost to fix his truck but it's rare to come out of a shop for that amount of time under at the very least $500. On the bright side he didn't spend any money in fuel! So at the very least if Chris was an owner operator he would be roughly and conservatively negative $4000.00 for this week! Hopefully as a smart business man he had this in his bank account under emergency funds or least in his checking account. If he didn't if he is leasing the truck from a company the good thing is he would be covered by the company however he now owes the company $4000.00. A lot of companies charge interest too! Now if he wasn't covered by a company he would probably be out of business or looking for a loan somewhere.
Now by the good grace of God hopefully he doesn't break down next week! Actually for the next three months would be nice but rare.

Sorry for rambling guys I just saw an opportunity to maybe throw a little owner operator education at you guys. I have been in that situation many of times and boy it hurts bad! Just something to think about.

 

Good post, Chompi. Definitely something to think about for those contemplating leasing or going O/O.

 

Definitely something to consider, thanks for that reminder!!!!!

 

Chompi--
Thank you for posting that. It drives me crazy that so many new drivers jump into the lease purchase gig. It is almost never a good deal. The driver is taking all of the risk with limited financial upside. Realistically, they are independent contractors in name (and corporate tax benefits) only. They are not truly getting ahead of the game. I have started a thread about this, and also hijacked several threads to throw my 2 cents in about this problem. If you are considering L/P, think about what you are really getting out of the deal. Are you really getting more pay? Doubtful. Are you really getting a better truck? Usually you are getting a company driver two year old hand me down. When you buy (or lease) your own truck, you are becoming a business owner. You may make more money, but that has to make up for things like vacation, downtime, exposure, etc. You no longer get to drive to a terminal and toss someone the keys to fix what ails her. In no way do I mean to take away from company drivers. I have some of the best working for me. To be honest, I really dont understand why my guys would want to own their own truck. They make good money (55-65K), drive good equipment (Petes for senior drivers), and have good hometime.

Sorry for the long post...MOST L/P PROGRAMS ARE A LICENSE TO STEAL. THEY SET YOU UP TO FAIL AND THEN KEEP YOUR PAYMENTS AND THE TRUCK. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS. PLEASE STOP DOING THIS!

 

cpape, I hope people read what you have posted on this issue. Plus what chompi has stated.
I know years ago when I bought my first trk. I had the I'll show them all thinking.
Well guess what? I failed big time. Made it 1 1/2 years allways behind the 8 ball.
But it was a good learning exp.
I waited before I bought another trk. Drove for the man.. Let him fix it.

Then later for all the wrong reasons I bought another trk.
Was tough but I made it. Knock on wood