Looks like nervous newbie is now very busy to update ..
Sent from my SM-N900T using EO Forums mobile app
Sent from my SM-N900T using EO Forums mobile app
Nervous newbie
- Thread starter Josh
- Start date
With our experiance level (not much) I think the most useful advice I can give is, be patient. This entire adventure required a lot of patience and still is. It can be very rewarding so it's worth it in the end. Also expect the unexpected, and be able to roll with the punches. You never know what's gonna come next.
Example: we dropped off a load Friday, that took hours. Stopped at a truck stop after and accepted two more loads starting the following Monday that would have added another 2000 miles to our check. Mid Saturday I'm laying in my bunk playing PlayStation, I start to smell burning.. burning electrical. I jump up and lift my bunk to find smoke pouring out of the power inverter. I lift the other bunk and grab the fire extinguisher, and shut off the inverter along with the main battery disconnect (which is irrelevant to the inverter but I wasn't fully aware of the issue yet). After a few minutes the smoke stops. Once we cleared out the sleeper from all the smoke, I carefully place my hand on the inverter which is hot to the touch. The cables are cold (which is good. That was my main concern) I turn the inverter back on and it displays a code (E05) for overload voltage. Doesn't make any sense since the only thing running was the PS4 and tv (200 watts).
I call thermoking and was able to get a service tech to call me back (closed on weekends). We both agreed the inverter prolly just crapped out. Since it's not a huge deal and our load didn't pick up till 8pm Monday I told him I would avoid the extra cost of a service call (expeditors would be paying but that's not reason to be greedy) and bring it in Monday morning.
We get to thermoking and they start the diagnostic process and discover the reason for the overload. Apparently the wires going to the microwave are shorting to ground somewhere. They will not do that type of repair/diagnostics. No big deal. Call expeditors and they said just bring it to bolt (sleeper manufacturer). Well, conveniently, there is a bolt an hour away from our home and we're 300 miles away. Since we werent gonna make the loads anyway (FedEx dispatched them out to another driver) the wife and I just decided to drop the truck off and take home time. We wanted to be home for Christmas anyway.
So, again, patience. And just breathe. lol
Start your 1/4ly tax payments before you get too far behind.
That is something we need to look into. I have no idea where to begin. We're prolly gonna have to find a tax person to handle it. How does everyone else do it?
Here's a primer on estimated quarterly taxes with links to IRS forms and worksheets: https://bench.co/syllabus/tax-basics/estimated-quarterly-taxes/
Josh thank you for your reply, We head to orientation on the 5th of January. Orientation is on the 8th. The only thing that FedEx has not received is the Employment Verifications. I believe mine is there but one of my husbands is not. I hope that your Christmas is merry and bright. Thank you for all your updates.
It's easy to do. Follow the link Moot posted or hire a cpa.
Hope all of you had a good Christmas be safe out there if your back on the roads 
Christmas was good even though the whole family got sick. We were suppose to go back into service today. We got out to the truck and let it run for a bit, once it started to get cold we shut the truck off to let the apu run (heat), however, the apu failed to start. It killed the truck batteries in the process. Had to jump start the truck. All the thermo kings in the area are closed today. Gonna head there in the morning. Not gonna complain about the extra day to relax. Got our new tv mounted in the truck also. Hope everyone else had a good holiday!
Yeah it seems like there was a lot of people here sick during the weekend to. I got sick Friday night and pretty much was on bed rest from Saturday night up to mid Monday Christmas Day. Was horrible. Still trying to come off of it. Hopefully you guys get all fixed up today and on the road. Did you go with a bigger tv? Just wondering what’s around the maximum size that will fit where they normally mount them? Then I’ll have a rough idea if I can use one of ours if the one in there is to small if we get one with a tv which I would assume they would supply a truck with.
Lol. Well, the max for the mount our truck came with is prolly 24? The mount me and a buddy made last weekend holds our 50" 4K tv.
Tv did not come with our truck. Get one from Walmart. You'll pay twice the price at a truck stop for a small tv.
Truck battery was dead this morning. Had to wait for a jump from a service company since my personal truck wasn't up to the task. I think I left the apu on standby and it tried to start during the night killing the battery. Thermo king cannot get to us today so we are gonna leave the truck with them tonight and spend the night back at home. At freightliner down the street right not getting our mirrior fixed from when we got backed into.
Training was in union town Ohio, yes. Awesome lunch. ... awesome. Lol. A lot of information when you go. Take notes, but they also will give you a binder with most if not all the info. Their lot is a little tight for parking. In my opinion at least. Turn into the entrance on tabs dr. I think it's entrance #5? Right on the corner of the building. You'll see it.
We got everything squared away with the truck. For now at least. Grabbed a load from Illinois to nc, hit some snow in Illinois but smooth trip otherwise. Got a load picking up in Indiana (almost 500 miles deadhead) and it will deliver in ga. Does pick up till the 2nd so we got time to work our way to Indiana.
We got everything squared away with the truck. For now at least. Grabbed a load from Illinois to nc, hit some snow in Illinois but smooth trip otherwise. Got a load picking up in Indiana (almost 500 miles deadhead) and it will deliver in ga. Does pick up till the 2nd so we got time to work our way to Indiana.
Yep. As long as FedEx offers the load to us over the c link we get paid for it. If we took it all on our own from the load board we wouldn't get paid for anything over 100 miles
How much per mile I won't do such long miles unless it's a very high paying load once I pick up
Sent from my SM-N900T using EO Forums mobile app
Sent from my SM-N900T using EO Forums mobile app
Kip-it will be way less money than you or I would go for.
ES’s business plan is so different than ours, it’s scary.
Their cost structure is very different.
They need to balance profitability with driver retention. Which go hand in hand.
They’re more a volume of miles versus the run less/keep more mentality.
I think at times they’ve been up near 400 trucks.
The checks keep clearing. They still will spend the money to treat drivers decently.
It must work for them and the hundreds of employees they keep Happy.
No reason to compare your operation to theirs.
ES’s business plan is so different than ours, it’s scary.
Their cost structure is very different.
They need to balance profitability with driver retention. Which go hand in hand.
They’re more a volume of miles versus the run less/keep more mentality.
I think at times they’ve been up near 400 trucks.
The checks keep clearing. They still will spend the money to treat drivers decently.
It must work for them and the hundreds of employees they keep Happy.
No reason to compare your operation to theirs.
One problem, or question. .
How do we know what a load pays if we,ate leased to a company that pays a flat rate and keeps all the money above and beyond what they share with us owner operators, while still charging us for every possible penny in fees and not helping with the expense we incurred doing the job.
I have seen a fat cat owner and it never changes.
Fuel prices are going up Fast, they brag about how much the new fuel card is going to save us and I have yet to get a discount on Anything!
I wonder if some companies are charging a FSC and not passing it on...
How much are they making on that scam?
Egos and Greed!
Will it Ever change for the better?
Sent from my SM-N910V using EO Forums mobile app
How do we know what a load pays if we,ate leased to a company that pays a flat rate and keeps all the money above and beyond what they share with us owner operators, while still charging us for every possible penny in fees and not helping with the expense we incurred doing the job.
I have seen a fat cat owner and it never changes.
Fuel prices are going up Fast, they brag about how much the new fuel card is going to save us and I have yet to get a discount on Anything!
I wonder if some companies are charging a FSC and not passing it on...
How much are they making on that scam?
Egos and Greed!
Will it Ever change for the better?
Sent from my SM-N910V using EO Forums mobile app