Under $2/mile loads with $6/gal diesel.

You'd be surprised.. About all it takes now.
Maybe you should hang up that dry box & grab a skateboard.? If you can do the little that I said above your whole world will change. Try to stay away from the giant steel mills, & DC's. Lot of these folks on the reciever end greet me their long lost brother..

 

I’m gonna say this once.

You become the company you keep.

 

@Opus - I'm gonna call you on this one.

@AgPilot1 posted back in September the path and process that he had followed to get into the industry. His post reminded me of @zmster2033 , and @staceydude , both had a plan, it was out of the accepted norm of an entry path into trucking.

Your post stuck out to me, and never left my mind.

Maybe I read or interpreted it wrong, but it just came off mean spirited. Like - "Who are you to come in here with some capital and a plan ?"


As @rch10007 had echoed - why is it that we all lament the state of the industry, but as soon as someone comes in and shares their journey with an obvious intent to be a 'step above the rest' - someone has to attempt to shoot them down?

I wish the guy all the best - @REO6205 has cast a light on what may or may not challenge him down the track.

I don't personally care where an individual get's their capital to venture into this. I'd rather see a story like his rather than the "Got no money, no credit, no idea, but I wanna go trailer trucking"

 

Well, the strike talk can go right out the window. That will never happen in any meaningful way. Once the price goes up a nickel, people will be beating on brokers' doors. Lol

So...maybe just sit the lean times out, or be REALLY picky about the loads you take for now. This could be a great time to contact shippers directly and set up a lane. Fewer hands on your revenue.

 

Here's someone you should idol. The high dollar rates this guy pulls in will have you having a wet dream!!!

Just look, he's got the duct tape roof patch job, cardboard&duct tape sleeper vent window, a thick bead of caulk around his sleeper side box ( don't wanna let any water get inside that fancy thing, ya know ) the bent exhaust muffler blowing right into the back of the cab, the 1970 former extra lease wagon that's about ready to snap in half, of course not only 1 but 2 spare tires just incase that premium rubber he's sitting on ever blows out ( I'm sure michelin, so that won't happen ). Who needs bungee's or edge protection on that flat steel he's hauling when the vinyl tarp will do the trick!!!

I meant C'mon, according to your other thread we aren't "competitors" after all right?

I've got the red truck below so I guess you're half right, I can't compete with bozos like this guy, I actually have standards. Good grief.

 

I got quite a few tips as a company guy when I was hauling pipeline materials to job sites. Not some ground breaking amount, but it bought lunch for me a few times. Think the biggest one was $100 because I agreed to back the trailer a quarter mile or so up a curvy goat path to reduce some work load for a crew putting in a waterline. As I backed up they pushed the 40 foot lengths of pipe off of the trailer along where they were digging the ditch.

Quite a few times after I came off the truck full time I'd fill in when the new driver(s) were out sick or took a day off, I'd get comments from regular customers saying that they preferred it when I came out because I didn't F-around and was willing to get my hands dirty to help get offloaded faster.

But, you know how it is. Some people like to project their own personal experiences on to others, because-- Nobody gave ME a tip, or appreciated how I presented myself so obviously nobody actually cares and that kind of stuff is a myth....

 

@blairandgretchen, you are right I was wrong which is why I jumped off.

 

Yessir. Thank you.

 

@TallJoe - this post stuck in my mind and apparently most glossed over it.

I'm not sure what year you are referencing - as "In my last year of being leased on" - maybe you can clarify, timeframe etc.

Just looking at my fixed cost this year - $1.70/mile - I'd have been driving myself broke at that $1.45/mile rate you quoted.

In 2015 when I started - $1.67 all miles. It was terrible. But it was still more than my company job that I left paid, at a pure 72 cpm W2 driver wage.

Of course things improved - $3.67/mile all miles this year, and not quoting this as a pecker measuring contest, but maybe you can help me comprehend why you would run your own business at those rates, when you could easily run for a company at 75 cpm pure wage with benefits.

 

And that one has bounced around my otherwise empty skull the last few days too.

In the last month I've talked to enough one man operations and small fleet owners that are hurting in various ways - be it drivers/parts/rates/inflation and everything in between. I can't think of one that has a positive outlook for the coming year. I've watched neighbors sell 80% of their cattle because of ongoing, yet cyclical drought around here - others sell equipment and take local company jobs, mechanic operations and repair providers downsize or sell out.

I hope all of us swim to the other side and rest on the shore a while, I find zero respite in watching some drown.