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You answered your own questions, Greg. Recommended events also include EO workshops, the Expedite Expo and the Louisville Truck show. These have been mentioned countless times in the Open Forum. As for recommended people, they too have been mentioned countless times in the Open Forum. They...

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the beauty of the Open Forum. You don't have to wait to get into the business to learn from your mistakes. You can study the business ahead of time and learn from the mistakes of others. A careful study of the Open Forum enables you to look before you leap...

When you hit the road, something you will probably want to have in your truck, whatever kind it is, is the Rand McNally Motor Carrier's Road Atlas. In addition to maps, it includes a lot of useful information, including truck weight and size limits, gross weight definitions, pretrip inspection...

American Truck Business Services offers their clients industry comparisons that could help answer the questions you ask, IF you were an owner-operator running a big rig of some sort. They create industry benchmarks from their database. Their information comes from the thousands of...

Humble2drive, It is hard to imagine a better-prepared team coming into expediting than you; two years together in a cabover, household goods experience, a successful track record as owner operators, financial means, no unusual tugs toward home, modest income expectations. While general...

butterfly610, you warm my heart! :) Great story. Thank you for sharing it.

Be careful, kangar0085. People might get the idea that you enjoy expediting. :D

It is a reasonable question. An answer would be quite helpful to readers, and especially aspiring fleet owners, would it not?

DaveKC said, "But, I do know what is realistic, and what isn't." So do I.

My vision is as clear as ever. What changed is general economic conditions. I call 'em as I see 'em. The problem never was my unfounded optimism. It was your unfounded gloom. Kindly note that we did everything we set out to do, and then some. My optimism was not unfounded. It was spot on. As...

You are asking great questions, Kyreax. Since we have already met and talked, I'll leave it for others to answer. I just want to clarify one thing. We do not have an unmanagable truck payment. Very soon, we will have no truck payment at all. We made a nice down payment with money we saved...

In the last few days, Diane and I have visited with more than the usual number of expediters on the road. The visits happened mostly by chance as we stopped at truck stops in the Southwest and stumbled upon expediters from a variety of carriers who were waiting for freight. Some of the visits...

Check out the American Trucking Association Technology and Maintenance Council. It will cost you some money to join but it may be well worth the price your employer pays. Lots of good information there. You can also learn how fleet managers think about the issues you now face in your new work.

Diane and I have never been afraid to turn down a low paying load, and there is nothing in the new system that would change that. There is nothing precious about a low paying load. If others want them, they are welcome to them. In fact, as i think about it, I would be delighted if they take...

Some time ago, two or three years, I don't remember for sure, I met the owner of that Peterbilt and he gave me a tour. It is a nice floor plan and a solo driver would be very comfortable in it. At the time, the truck was leased to All-State Express. The owner said he and his wife had been in...

Keep in mind that FedEx Custom Critical likes its trucks to have white boxes (truck bodies). They will not put the full size FedEx Custom Critical lettering on a box that is not white. Some owner-operators that lease to FedEx Custopm Critical prefer to not have the FedEx logo on their truck...

Exactly right on both points! I expect that most expediters have had times where sleep needs trump the need to be available for load offers. If that is the case, go out of service, turn Qualcomm off, turn your telephone off and get the rest you need. If you are not too tired to drive and...

The pleasure was ours, Kyreax. When your time comes to jump in, fleet owners who run solo drivers will be wise to snap you up.

That is a very good point, Terry. Dispatchers don't have a lot of free time. We try not to waste it. If we receive an offer that pays too low, we immediately decline the load. There is no need to mess around. We are proud of our acceptance rate, but if the load does not pay enough, maintaining...

Now there's a reason to avoid FedEx Custom Critical! Don't sign on with them...your Qualcomm will keep you awake with too many load offers!