I'm still in mourning today due to the Patriots loss :sad:

How am I doing and am I making a profit. I really don't know. It's all just a blur to me and catches up when I get home. I'm averaging $1.80 a mile so far and paying my bills. I'm still putting out tons of money for this and that. I bought 5 more winches and straps for a total of 20. I bought crossfire air things for all 8 sets of wheels. Truck goes in for a PM this week and a few other little things. I'm still trying to set things up so I don't have to come home and pay bills.

Right now I'm using this winter to get a handle on this new career. I'm taking it easy on myself and not running hard. I plan to start doing this the right way in the spring.

To be honest. I don't see how anyone who thinks they can just buy a truck and trailer and jump in without I'm guessing at least $20,000 cash in your pocket. I put out maybe $10,000 in the first 6 weeks that I'll never see again unless I give this up. It's like an employer holding back your first check until the next pay period. You'll always be behind 2 weeks. Same thing with this. I put out all this money for fuel, repairs and my bills but the brokers take 4 to 6 weeks to pay so I'll never see that money and it comes out of my pocket.

When I say $10,000 it's for tarps, binders, chains, snow chains, fuel, food, tolls, wash, showers, personal bills, insurance for car, truck, motorcycle, health, electric, gas, oil, heat, phone, Internet, cell.....THE LIST GOES ON. Those bills don't go away and need to be paid. Something to be said for being married and having someone at home to take care of things. I walk into a freezing house with a stack of mail the size of a Buick.

I'm thinking about moving also. The ideal place to live with regards to trucking seems to be the middle of the U.S.. I live in New Hampshire and if I'm stuck in CA I have the whole country to come across as opposed to just half way if I lived in the middle. I think I'm a lot more mobile than most since I rent. I gave up owning a house a long time ago and love the freedom and I don't do crap around the house when I'm home. Someone else's problems.

I sat around yesterday pretty much doing nothing just overwhelmed by my list of things to do before I head out again. I should have taken that time shut down in Texas with the ice storm to get a PM done on my truck. I do need to make more efficient use of my time when on the road instead of naps and shooting aliens.

I drove up to LL Bean the other day and dropped over $500 on clothes also. I don't have any nice flannel shirts and other warm clothes, One thing you don't think of when you have a 9 to 5 job surrounded by a million people in case you get into trouble. Being out in the middle of Arizona or Utah was a sobering thing when I realized that man, I'M OUT THERE!!!! I even bought a rabbit fur lined mad bomber hat. Boy is that sucker warm!!! I don't care what I look like.

Driving the truck is the easy part. There's a million other things unrelated to trucking that just get in the way. I'm finally going to the doctor today for my yearly physical after being canceled and rescheduled 3 times.

 

I am glad you make a point of telling people how much money it can take to get started in this business, Steve. Where do you think you would like to live?

 

This is for loaded miles right?

 

Also if I was ever gonna move due to trucking I think I would move to the Indianapolis area,seem like a good starting point to any direction.

 

Yea, just look at them COLTS.....lol

 

Yup, for loaded. I've been pretty lucky and not much dead heading.

YA YA YA, rub it in ssoutlaw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not sure where I would move to GMAN. I don't think I can take driving through NY much longer. The roads are unbelievable. I'm thinking Nebraska or Kansas. Florida wouldn't be out of the question either.

I just dropped my truck off for a what they call level B PM. They have a checklist that includes about 75 points that they either check or adjust including clutch, brakes and a bunch of other stuff. I think I have a coolant leak some place and my oil pan is leaking. Everything was fine on the road and the second I park my truck for 2 days things go wrong. On the way over to the shop my drivers side round mirror cracked in half.

 

Just some food for thought Steve: Nebraska and Florida are not the busiest of freightlanes, although they do seem like nice places to live. Florida usually has plenty of freight coming in, but most of the time you will be dead heading to get out of there. Much the same in the Nebraska area, although you might get a lil luckier there than if you were in FL. I dont mean to sound partial or anything, but there is a lot of freight coming in and out of TN and Al. Especially for flatbed freight. IMO the MidSouth would put you in the center of the freighlanes which would be pretty beneficial to ya if you are worried about location and freight availablility. It doesnt hurt to mention that we are steady growing down here with all the car plants and such coming in. Our weather isn't too bad either! 8)

 

Thanks for the tips. In my case I don't think it matters where I live. Once I'm out, I'm out for 3 to 5 weeks going where the freight is. I think every state has something leaving. I would be leaving from home after being home for a while so I could wait the extra few days or so before something comes up. Not like I would be waiting at a truck stop.

 

Steve,

A few ideas to look into. You can get a lot done with online banking.

Consider using a credit card with rewards for you fuel or expenses and take advantage of the float. Pay it off each month. I know some truck stops charge a few cents per gallon extra, but the rewards can offset that plus the interest on the money in the bank. You need to be organized and on top of it otherwise it can be a slippery slope.

 

I already do online banking and credit card with miles but there are a lot of bills that cannot be paid online and I refuse to let people just take money out of my checking account without my say so.