So you want to "own " your own company

When I find a broker and fax them my information, is that it? Do I have to give them any money up front for anything? How long until I get paid by them after each load? Will they advance anything for fuel or will I need the capital for that as well? What all will my information to them consist of?

 

I'll pm you a sample arrangement.

Oftentimes you can get 50% advance on any load you accept to cover fuel. You don't ever send a broker money. The only thing you would pay for out of pocket is a subscription if you were trying the load board route.

 

You may have to post it on here. I don't think I can pm yet.

 

You can receive. You should already have the info.

 

I got it. Thanks alot. I'm going to email you. That name you gave me, are you talking about leasing on to them, or is that a broker service?

 

No leasing on. But they offer many of the benefits of leasing on. It's as close as you can get and still under your own authority.

 

I know a little about aerodynamics from my other profession(s), and you are absolutely correct. All this may be a review for you, but I'll post it for those folks who are not familiar.

There are three types of drag working on a truck, all under the definition of what we would call parasitic drag. If you read nothing else below this sentence, know this: parasitic drag increases with the square of the velocity. All you drivers who want instant increase in mpg - KEEP YOUR FOOT OUT OF THE VERTICAL PEDAL ON THE RIGHT!

As a quick aside in our discussion of drag, take two drivers - Billy Bigrigger and Mr. Smooth. Both drivers have the exact same truck, exact same amount of fuel, exact same load, are driving the same route in the same weather conditions, and are wearing astronaut underwear (read that as diapers) so they can drive 10 hours straight without stopping. Billy Bigrigger takes the lead and drives 70 mph the entire time. Simple math shows he will have traveled 700 miles in that 10 hour timeframe. Mr. Smooth, on the other hand, drives 65 mph the whole time. Again, simple math shows that Mr. Smooth has traveled 650 miles. Now, let's look at the difference in drag. In one hour, Billy Bigrigger drove 5 more miles than Mr. Smooth, but he had to overcome 25 times the drag coefficient! The truck worked harder, he burned a lot more fuel, but he only went 50 more miles in the same 10 hour time frame. I invite those drivers who don't believe in physics to test this theory out on their own, and see just how much a 5 mph reduction in speed earns them in their rig's mpg. I know there are times when you need to make that extra 50 or however many miles, but just know it's going to cost you.

ANYWAY, back to drag.

The first type MM mentioned would be considered interference drag. That huge gap between your tractor and the trailer obviously hinders the smooth flow of air around those two objects. The tractor cuts into the wind, and as the air flows around it and then off the backside of it, it cause vortices - think of mini tornados. These vortices are not smooth airflow, and they twist and twirl until they come into contact with the trailer. Eventually, they begin to conform to the trailer's surface, and the drag reduces slightly as we move aft along the trailer body....right up until the end of the trailer, when the same thing happens again.

The second type of parasitic drag MM mentioned is considered form drag. It is also sometimes called 'front-plate area' - just imagine holding a dinner plate vertically and pushing it through the air. Like MM said, the more junk hanging off the rig, the bigger the front-plate area and therefore the equivilent form drag. Form drag is reduced by streamlining. Smaller frontal area with a smooth body that follows is better aerodynamically. Form drag can play into interference drag when the body has breaks in it - just like between the tractor and trailer. Again, all types of parasitic drag increase with the square of the velocity, so if your rig is an aerodynamic 'anteater' type, you may have less form drag than a W900 conventional. Therefore, you will get better mpg at the same speed, or can travel at a higher speed and get the equivilent mpg of a less aerodynamic truck.

The last type of drag is called skin friction drag. Believe it or not, on a molecular level, as you are driving along at 65 mph, the local airflow right near the surface of the rig is actually zero mph. That's how dust and dirt can stay on your truck even at highway speeds. As we come away from the surface of the truck, the localized airflow speeds up, and reaches equilibrium with the speed at which the vehicle is plowing through the air mass. In some areas of the rig, the wind speed may actually be faster or slower than our model truck's 65 mph, due simply to interference from sun visors, mirrors, air cleaners, etc. Skin friction drag only comes into play at very high speeds, well above what any truck (excluding Shockwave) would ever experience.

So what does all this gobledegook add up to? Plan your starts and stops well ahead of time, be Mr. Smooth, drop your mph a bit and you can instantly have better mpg out of the same truck you've been driving.

 

I never knew i was so smart! lol

 

You, sir, are a GENIUS!!!!!

 

If I give you my home phone number can you call my wife and tell her that?? I've been trying to tell her for years and no luck getting her to believe me as of yet