thanks....gonna spend turkey day at home then head back out next week.

hope you and yours have a safe and great Thanksgiving

He is with dart, after already being with dartco for about 5 years. Lots to learn for both of us, lol.

Did I miss something cuz I am not sure to whom you are referring or why???

I think you asked where my hubby is L/O, lol

oh duh.....I must have had a "blonde" moment....lol

For anyone thinking about becoming an owner operator or lease operator, I would suggest you wait until at least the end of February or into March. This is especially true for those wanting to pull flats. Rates have been down for some time and winter months are always slow for open deck freight. Next year is likely to be slow due to the upcoming presidential election and lack of confidence in our economy. Fuel prices are down and that will further push rates down. If you want to buy or lease a truck it is more important than ever to have money put aside. I think that if I had never owned a truck and was interested in becoming an owner operator, I would start as a company driver and save as much money as possible. If the economy is soft next year, many will be selling their equipment. That means you could get into a good truck for less money than when the economy is doing well. Personally, I think the economy is not doing as well as our government would have us believe. Having a good nest egg could help you survive during a slow economy. Be careful when buying or leasing that you don't over extend yourself. I think that it is a good idea to keep payments low enough that you could make your payments should you need to park your truck and drive for a company.

very well put. and adding to it in regards to having money set aside.....you never know when something will go wrong with your equip and cost you a lot in repairs. before I bought this current truck I had a dyno test and oil anyalist done....everything checked out great yet a few months later I dumped almost $10k in repairs on the DEF system.....had I not had the money set aside for such unexpected repairs who know where I would be today.

Once again it's been a "minute" or two since I last updated this thread.

Well I am still here at Mercer and I am still alive and doing well both physically and business wise. Just came off a nice little 2 month "stay-cation" at home.

Although my current truck has been operating well (knock on wood) I have been considering trading it in for a new one.....and I do mean NEW. For those of you that are familiar with me or at least this thread, then you know I am a fanatic when it comes to research....with that said there are a LOT of pros and cons when it comes to buying a new truck. I am currently weighing through them all and have yet to make a decision.

One major point that has prevented me from moving forward (and there are several I assure you) is weather I want a pre-emissions truck or not. With that said, one option is a glider where I could have both a new truck and a pre-emissions motor.....but that too has many pros and cons as well.

The other thing I am considering is getting a Conastoga. Not a lot of "cons" for me in that area but still haven't pulled the trigger on it.

In any case I will continue to do my research and will post on here as to what, if anything, I decide to do.

Wow, it's been a really LOOOOOOONG time since I've been on this site, in my mind it was just a few months ago but in reality its been almost 2 years .



Still out here doing well and stuffing mile markers in my back pocket.


Anyways, hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season.