Where is everyone #5

im about ready to throw in the towel on this business.. think id rather go do something else. anything other than driving... i shoulda taken the sign when i blew up my blue pete to get out but i didnt. because im stupid and dont know when to quit.. just constantly fighting problems all the time. with equipement, with finding work, when i can actually find work, it doest pay jack ####.... idk how anybody makes it out here with their own authority trying to work the rgn market...lost every penny i put into this business.. i am just done with it all... shoulda just taken it all to vegas woulda had the same outcome with less work

 

Didn't really want to thank that post, because I don't like reading it...

I don't know the rgn market, but the entire spot has taken a ####. AZ has never been good to me with a step though. Get over to the midwest. Been doing a lot a bs pick today drop tomorrow $1000-$1300 loads, but they only go 150-275 miles. Sure my revenue is down to $5.5 or $6k a week but so are my expenses. Hell, I can't even stuff enough #2 in the tanks for a shower credit every day right now..

Either way the industry would lose a great hand. Never seen a tarp quite as taught as yours. Somedays I just want to pack it in too..

Sorry if this sounds like a silly pep talk. Just hate watching the good ones leave, with only jabroni's to fill the vacancies.. Whatever you decide, hope it's what your look'n for..

 

I find myself thinking along those lines with every single job I've had since I was 16, but it was a lot worse once I went self employed. General consensus is that I also am stupid and don't know when to quit. Have you looked into finding a pocket somewhere you know generally what moves and where it moves where you could work for a few weeks? I've found myself doing a lot of short hauls around home because it's the only thing that pays, yet if someone randomly looked here on the spot market, it would appear to be a horrible dead zone.

ETA: Like @singlescrewshaker, revenue is way down, but so are expenses. Sometimes I don't buy fuel for 2 weeks or more.

 

really appreciate it screw. at the end of the day i dont mind the grind of trucking i guess. it just seems there is no reward for any of the work or time i have put into this..i am back in the midwest now and it is complete dog #### here for any work with this trailer.. i really should have stuck with flatbed or stepdeck because for dd/rgn freight it is maybe 10% of the amount of loads compared to anything else.. but at the time when i needed a trailer, this is the only trailer i could find in my price range.. the rates are worse then van rates when its all said and done because there is so much deadhead involved.. i dont even waste my time in the home 20 any more. i deadhead 1700 miles to the midwest only to get it shoved up my ### out here...

i guess if i had more money in the bank i really wouldnt be so frustrated with it... but i been turning wrenches on this pile of junk truck for 6 months and it still has a laundry list of problems that need fixed.. i guess i shoulda just rebuilt blue because i could atleast rely on it for a couple months to make me my money back... its been to much to ask out of this pile tho. doesnt seem to like working at all.... just dont know how much longer i can survive before all the money is gone... i worked harder at this business then i ever worked in my life and done nothing but get the ### end of it it seems like.. the whole thing is just incredibly frustrating. leaves a bad taste in the mouth

 

I have an old 48' flatbed that you could use if it would help you any. Shoot me a message if you want.

 

i think i have called every equipment dealer in the western united states trying to find some direct freight to get off the load boards.. but its always deadends. it is always i dont have enough trucks or i dont have enough axles, or if they do have the work, it is inconsistent and goes to random places and they are unwilling to pay what i quote them for stuff going to bad areas and round trip rates...just a never ending battle of bs... i dont know how some guys talk about getting direct freight is the way to go. it has been the opposite experience in my opinion but it seems with this trailer it is the only way to find work, because the spot market is trash everywhere.. not just rates but no volume either..well if it all comes crashing down, i cant say that i didnt put everything i got into it.. it will take all my money but i still have dignity atleast

 

i will take you up on that. pm coming your way

 

That post was hard to read brother but I, along with plenty of other Owner Operator's, feel your pain across the industry. I have a couple of really close friends who are in the boat with you pulling RGN and they are struggling mightily as well. I don't know the RGN market as well as I probably should but I will second what @singlescrewshaker said that AZ has never been kind to me with outbound freight. It has been hit or miss for most of my years and mostly a big miss unless I wanted to haul into the PNW. I always have good freight going to the Southwest but crapsickles coming back east. When I do go out your way I try to negotiate the best rate I possibly can even if the load is paying above normal so I can soften the blow on my return trip.

Don't want to intrude in your finances or your business acumen by any means. Do you have access to pull a skateboard or a step for a while to generate some revenue? It's not the greatest paying freight in the world right now and not always easy to do that but it might give you a little better opportunity to get the funds rolling in if that's an option. I have nothing else to do but ask questions and try to provide a glimmer of hope to a fellow trucker. Sorry the times have been tough for you.

No matter what happens I wish you the best.

 

thanks brother. in a way its nice to know im not the only one struggling out here because at times it feels like i am on my own planet sometimes no matter how hard i push thru it... i guess it is the life of a truck driver, being alone all the time can make ya feel that way... it is always a money thing at the end of the day , you know? money always solves the problems.. if i could afford to buy another trailer i definately would have flatbed as well

 

I thought I was doing it "the smart way" when I got into this 5 years ago, but I probably made more dumb choices along the way than most. The only thing that kept me ahead of my stupidity was the upwards trending market. This year (and next I fear) is brutal to just about every single owner operator in the country. If Trump doesn't get back in '24, I think I'll be trading the truck for canned food and ammo.