[rank]

No disrespect to tanker drivers, but they ain't no air traffic controllers and look what happened to them. :shock:

Truck drivers are nothing but slaves to the people that buy the goods. Laws will always be changed to the benefit of the people that consume. 13 hour work days. No overtime. Piece work (pd by the mile) is the industry standard. It's all setup so that the driver has to work insane hours.

Do we really think that governments will allow truck drivers to get in the way of the economy? Look no further than Mexico and the middle east for the future of truck drivers.
:asta:

[pepe4158]

Hmmm just wondering...why ask owner ops forums about just wanting to be a driver....I mean shouldnt the question be...going to own my first truck.....can I make $?...hate to be picky but just seems logical
Hmmm so just my 2c....I think ill take Gmans advice n lease on to Landstar next year...this having my own authority just hasnt worked out for me that well.

[nsxman2001]

Originally Posted by pepe4158

Hmmm just wondering...why ask owner ops forums about just wanting to be a driver....I mean shouldnt the question be...going to own my first truck.....can I make $?...hate to be picky but just seems logical
Hmmm so just my 2c....I think ill take Gmans advice n lease on to Landstar next year...this having my own authority just hasnt worked out for me that well.

Sorry to hear that PEPE but i think that alot of people think automatically that getting there own Autority equals more money but in most cases it does Not and I think its because of lack of experiance. It too bad that there is alot of bad information out there and people willing to empty there saving thinking that they will get rich quick and endup going broke..

Good luck and happy motoring

[pepe4158]

Originally Posted by nsxman2001

Sorry to hear that PEPE but i think that alot of people think automatically that getting there own Autority equals more money but in most cases it does Not and I think its because of lack of experiance. It too bad that there is alot of bad information out there and people willing to empty there saving thinking that they will get rich quick and endup going broke..

Good luck and happy motoring

Yeah certainly not going broke...Ive made a little $ n made back my investment.
I certainly didnt expect to get rich, but after 6 months I cant justify enough extra $ to keep the maitence on the trailer, worry about brokers screwing me or stiffing me, n all the DOT own authority complience hassels

Landstars looking better n better if they really will let me keep my independence.

[LOAD IT]

Originally Posted by pepe4158

Yeah certainly not going broke...Ive made a little $ n made back my investment.
I certainly didnt expect to get rich, but after 6 months I cant justify enough extra $ to keep the maitence on the trailer, worry about brokers screwing me or stiffing me, n all the DOT own authority complience hassels

Landstars looking better n better if they really will let me keep my independence.

Pepe you're making money, but you dont like the back office work involved with being a motor carrier. Find someone else to do your back office work. Use those shippers, pay a pretty waitress to call on shippers, you tell her what to say. If you add 17% to every broker load that you have hauled and assume thats the least the broker made off of your hard work, you might start calling those shippers and stop giving us the woe is pepe story. I'm riding you because you have taken the jump, arent giving it your ALL, and are discouraging those who want to jump behind you. You are encouraging those nay sayers who will never jump but want to say I told you so. Theres money to be made right NOW while im typing and when you are reading. You have INDEPENDENCE right now and you are going to pisss it away.

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by person

It would be interesting to see a comparison of the debt to income ratio of the average trucker in the 70s compared to now. Generally people feel a lot more free to go in debt now. So they don't have the room to do things.

When I first started driving most of us either paid cash for what we wanted or didn't get it. About the only debt we had was for a car or house. Other than that we just didn't have a lot of extra debt. The bank cards were just starting. Of course, there was American Express, Carte Blanche and Diners cards, but those were mostly not for blue collar workers. I got my first credit card in the 1970's. It was a BankAmericard. The name later changed to Visa. It is much too easy to whip out the plastic to pay for something. The debit cards have only compounded the issue. Most of us have gotten used to using plastic. Things are much more expensive today and more cash is needed. It is easier to just pull out a piece of plastic rather than take so much cash with you. It doesn't take nearly so much money to live or maintain a certain lifestyle if you don't have the debt. It might amaze you to see how much less you actually need to live when you don't have debt. We have gotten in a pattern of buying things we cannot afford and paying for them tomorrow. Using credit costs everyone more money. Lenders must cover their losses due to some not paying their bills on time. As consumers, we have to make up the difference. Imagine how life would be if we all paid cash??? I remember those days. Things were much simpler....and cheaper. We pay a high price for credit.

[DaveP]

Originally Posted by GMAN

When I first started driving most of us either paid cash for what we wanted or didn't get it.

About the only debt we had was for a car or house. Other than that we just didn't have a lot of extra debt. The bank cards were just starting. Of course, there was American Express, Carte Blanche and Diners cards, but those were mostly not for blue collar workers. I got my first credit card in the 1970's. It was a BankAmericard. The name later changed to Visa. It is much too easy to whip out the plastic to pay for something. The debit cards have only compounded the issue. Most of us have gotten used to using plastic. Things are much more expensive today and more cash is needed. It is easier to just pull out a piece of plastic rather than take so much cash with you. It doesn't take nearly so much money to live or maintain a certain lifestyle if you don't have the debt. It might amaze you to see how much less you actually need to live when you don't have debt. We have gotten in a pattern of buying things we cannot afford and paying for them tomorrow. Using credit costs everyone more money. Lenders must cover their losses due to some not paying their bills on time. As consumers, we have to make up the difference. Imagine how life would be if we all paid cash??? I remember those days. Things were much simpler....and cheaper. We pay a high price for credit.

Yeah, but 'll bet buggy whips, harnesses, and even spare horses were a lot cheaper then.

[GMAN]

Everything was less expensive including wages. You could actually make a living on $150/week and have steak several times a week. Most need that much or more per day to take care of the basics. Using credit is expensive. Those costs are passed along to the consumer. Diesel was between $0.15-0.25/gallon. Most people didn't rely on the government for their living. We took care of ourselves. It costs a lot of money to feed several families off of one paycheck. If you get rid of your debt and subsequent interest payments you would not need nearly as much money to get along. Most people think they own a car when the bank is really the owner. We don't own anything until it is paid off.

Yep, you could buy a brand new decked out buggy with all the whistles for between $500-800. A horse would go from $100-500. But we would pay cash.

[rank]

Originally Posted by GMAN

It costs a lot of money to feed several families off of one paycheck.

:shock:

Are you from Utah? Or is it Tenessee where bigamy is legal?

[person]

Yep, you could buy a brand new decked out buggy with all the whistles for between $500-800. A horse would go from $100-500. But we would pay cash.

And Steve Booth thinks you don't have humor.

But yeh, I can't figure out what Rank wants to know either. Perhaps we should just leave it alone. :P