Update on truck buying and becoming independent.

The other thing I just wanted to tell you is don't put your faith in that company. At the year rolls on they're only going to get slower.

It does not matter to them whether or not you are profitable. It really does not because every load you pull for them they make money. If you don't make money they really don't care because they'll just find another truck to do what you're doing.

And as far as local and being home every night some guys do it but you're always going to sacrifice money for it. You're not going to have a truck payment and be home every night and be profitable. You might break even or you might make a little money but it's just not realistic no matter where you are.

Whether you have your Authority or if you work for mag carriers or whatever you do, if you want to make money you need to work in some kind of a triangle. You need to be able to pick a load up it's not far from your house and go out so far and then pick another load up but either takes you past your house or takes you in a triangle and then the next load that you get takes you past your house.

I am in a different area but I generally don't go that far. However I tend to stay out without coming home because getting to the next place and getting the next load when you look at that by the end of the week it adds up to a lot more money. And when you try to come home every night even if you were able to do that you still end up coming home for like 8 or 10 hours maybe and you have to go right back out again.

If you stay out even just a few nights a week not only do you get a jump on the loads and you get more done by the end of the week but you also can deduct the per diem because you didn't come home.

Now don't go and get yourself divorced or anything like that but the difference in the money between staying out two nights a week or something like that versus trying to come home every night can be quite significant.

Find a company that you can book your own loads and take control of your destiny.

These guys that you are working for are not going to do any better for you than what they are and you're just going to go under. They are a sinking ship and you need to get on a Lifeboat and get the hell out of there.

 

Correct

But if it’s an easy job like shocks and you’re just sitting around the front yard having a beer then you’re probably able to save some $
in that case doing it yourself
It’s when you start taking days or weeks off for a repair that was a 1-2 day shop job that the numbers don’t work

Had a friend who took several weeks off doing some stuff on his truck that would have been a 3 day job
He tells me how much he saved doing it himself and I replied with how much it cost him doing it himself

He lost way way more than he saved

 

You also have to factor in that a lot of shops will make you wait to just get to your truck.

And you also have to factor in that a lot of times shops will do it wrong and you will have to do it over again yourself anyway. Or with whatever they did do they make a problem somewhere else and then you'll have to fix that.

 

The good thing about being close to home is you can build a relationship with a good local shop. Once you establish a relationship and you pay your bill in full when you pick the truck up then suddenly those wait times go away.