Running With Watkins & Shepard

This may be my golden cause. Maybe I can get a few people to avoid falling for this license to fail. Find a mentor...someone who has done it before.

I will let all of you in on a secret...there is very little monetary benefit of being an independent contractor over a company driver. I promise you, the vast majority of company drivers would be best served be staying compay drivers...there is nothing wrong with this.

 

This is true, They take out the taxes, they offer health insurance Yearly paid holiday 401 k plan. They get to pay to fix the trk. They pay the fuel and repair bills.

Anybody wanna buy a trk. and trl. and I can go to work for cpape if he will take me as long as I get my winters off so I can go home.

 

Another thing to think about when it comes to leasing is that the companies tell you the truck payment is about $400-500 a week but it is another $400-500 a week for insurance, permits, qualcom rental etc... This also doesn't include your over mileage fee once a month. This can range from $1-400. You also have to include your tolls, scales, truck washes, medical insurance, accountant, food, break downs, hotels, cabs, home time, truck parking (usually $80-100 a month) All this really adds up! Figure on 1800 miles a week will break you even as far as truck payment and insurance. Everything after that is what you will make. Being a new driver you are going to go through tires, brakes, transmissions etc... in a 1/4 of the time of an experienced driver. In the beginning you will also be getting lost a lot and this can really add up fuel expenses. A wrong turn can result in a 30 mile round trip! Plus planning trips, doing paperwork and such is going to take you a lot longer as a new driver. You still have to make your $1000 a week payment during home time too! This makes going home tough. Break downs and winter time shut downs can put a halt to your weekly mileage too! Just some things to think about that the companies don't necessarily tell you.

 

All excellent points, Chompi. To add emphasis to something Chompi was touching on...ONLY EXPERIENCED DRIVERS HAVE ANY BUSINESS AS O/OP OR LEASE-OPS. I mean no ill will to any new drivers. There is so much to learn about driving the truck and being a truck driver. There is not reason to try to learn to run a business on top of it. Take a couple years, and get good at being a truck driver. Learn the things it takes to be successful, and achieve consistently high mileage. Then start talking to other operators. Find a company that treats their operators well, and helps them make money.

Once you make the jump, get 2 checking accounts. Your personal account and the truck account. Have the truck (business) continue to pay you your driver's wage per mile and any benefits (health, disability, life ins, retirement, vacation, etc). The rest of the money stays in the truck account. It pays for repairs, breakdowns, etc. If you get ahead, pay off your truck sooner. Start saving money for your next truck. Continue this cycle. Keep your overhead low. You will eventually get ahead but it is not a quick process.

Do not become an operator thinking you are going from .35/mi to .95/mi. It ain't the case. The trucking company is paying your company to provide services. For example, I am paid a wage by my business even though I am an owner. This wage is paying me to do my day to day job. If I do it well money will accumulate in the business. The same will happen for you if you run your business (truck) well. My business might be a lot more complicated, but other than that it is exactly the same.

If you really want to succeed, I hope you have a little mechanical ability. With the rates shops charge these days, you need to be able to take care of the truck whenever possible. My most successful independent contractors change their own oil, tires, and perform whatever maintenance they can. If you are serious about being an operator and don't know maintenance, LEARN. You will be operating your business on slim margins and need to save every penny you can.

 

oh its normal for new guys to get lost all the time? i was starting to worry there haha

 

Heck I'm old and still get lost. That's why I do permit loads. The states list my rtes. haha

 

How do ya get to Thailand?

 

"How do ya get to Thailand?"

It's right outside Jersey isn't it?

 

Sorry Chralb, didn't mean to hijack your thread. We just got a little carried away! Hope you are doing alright out there, drive safe!

 

Chompi- Chris WANTS us to hijack his thread LOL
It keeps it higher up on the top of the list!!

Chris hopefully you finally got rolling again since you haven't been posting?