Nervous newbie
- Thread starter Josh
- Start date
You will really laugh when you go back and read this a year or two from now. Kinda "cheap entertainment" 
We have all been there.
Question is, why are we still here?
Either we like it, or we are just a glutton for punishment.
Frankly, I'm just jealous that you are getting laid in your truck.
Us single, owner ops are not so fortunate.
Lucky bugger...
And she knows how to run a truck...
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Question is, why are we still here?
Either we like it, or we are just a glutton for punishment.
Frankly, I'm just jealous that you are getting laid in your truck.
Us single, owner ops are not so fortunate.
Lucky bugger...
And she knows how to run a truck...
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Indeed. Not sure I could handle not having someone with me. Sounds super lonely.
As for the truck, she handles it very well. There are times where she will get panicked. Example being our first night in California. She missed an exit, which meant taking a different "not truck friendly route" that also had poorly labeled construction and an overpass that was low enough we actually stopped to make sure we would clear it. Weird area, had an industrial city type feel to it but the other trucks that were in the area had zero patience. Even running red lights because they didn't wanna wait.
Today was a sit around all day kind of day. One load came over the c link, which we declined. Would have made like $40 for almost $200 miles. It would have but us back in the center of everything, which means no truck stops. Didn't seem worth it, so we asked if they could find something that would bring us east. If my dates are right we got about a week left on the road so I'd like to start chipping away at the 2000 miles we have to cover to make it home. The only reason we even want to head home is because our rv is at families house and needs to be moved, along with our truck, and my car (that I miss terribly). Not to mention they are watching our dog that couldn't come with right away. Otherwise we would just stay out. We're not really social people so what we're doing on the road really isn't much different then would we would be doing at "home".
Also need to take into account that our first week was pretty much spent getting to what we thought was going to be our permanent truck. I don't think we're doing too bad though, we've only had 4 loads and have made roughly $1,000 (take home after we set our taxes aside). Kind of a slow start but with the confidence to start pulling more loads and becoming more efficient the money is deffinetly there.
Heading to minisota now. Getting a load out of cali looked to be slim to none. Dispatch was not moving any trucks out of cali for free. Apparently we weren't the only ones.
Expeditors gave us a call and offered us an opportunity, they have a truck that was left in minisota by a team that ran into medics issues. They offered to pay us to go get it and bring it to Ohio. Good news: we'll make about $900-$1000 on the 3500ish mile trip. Bad news: once we get to the truck, we'll have 1,000 miles to drive alone.
Expeditors gave us a call and offered us an opportunity, they have a truck that was left in minisota by a team that ran into medics issues. They offered to pay us to go get it and bring it to Ohio. Good news: we'll make about $900-$1000 on the 3500ish mile trip. Bad news: once we get to the truck, we'll have 1,000 miles to drive alone.
And you agreed to this ?
Well ....I'm enjoying reading your posts , but in my opinion you need to start making money after the start you've been through. What's so special about the Truck in Minnesota as opposed to the truck you have now ? Plus you just went thru crap to get this truck road ready ...and now your gonna run cross country at a crappy pay to get another truck ? My opinion .......quit pussyfootin around and start making some money ......once you do ...then get another truck .....when you are near there ...not 2500 miles away . Be patient ...wait for a load paying full rate out of there .
A team with one week experience getting .50 per mile for a large volume of miles seems good to me.
Getting a good experience at their pace.
They could spend days in Ca and not get much more than that.
And they should be in a good freight area.
Plus, weekend miles.
I'd say they did all right for themselves.,
Getting a good experience at their pace.
They could spend days in Ca and not get much more than that.
And they should be in a good freight area.
Plus, weekend miles.
I'd say they did all right for themselves.,
That's what our thoughts were. We have been keeping an eye on the loadboard since we got to California and there has been nothing. Best case scenario they would have moved us at now cost. But that's no money in our pocket.
May be a shocker, but we only make 50 cents a mile anyway. They are paying us like we have a load.
We started running what? Last Friday? So in a week and a few days we'll have make almost 2k take home and taxes taken out. If this seems low to everyone else, it is what is is. lol we're not gonna get a raise on our rate. We get %40 of the load pay, and that has come out to 50 cents a mile, maybe a hair more. The California load was a bad idea since here are ZERO load opportunities west of i35. Not sure what you mean by "start making money". I thought we were doing ok.
And yes, we are recovering a truck that was left. We agreed for a few reasons 1. It got us out of cali and we will end in Ohio, where there are plenty of load opportunities, and Ohio is close enough that we can go to Indiana and get our dog we left behind.
By the way, I'm not trying to come off as crabby or butt hurt. I appreciate any advice, weather we wanna hear it or not.
You guys made a smart move IMHO.
You got out of a bad area and will be paid to get closer to home.
Hopefully all goes well with the truck recovery and the company appreciates and will remember what you did for them.
Just to compare experiences. A few years ago I had just finished orientation at Panther and was literally walking across the lot with the keys to my truck when the phone rang...
One of the fleet owners found out that I had a Class A CDL and told me that they needed me to pick up a truck for them.
Well, I was at Panther in Ohio and the truck was in Hattiesburg MS, plus, as a bonus, I was supposed to drop off 2 folks that failed the drug test on the way South in the rental car.
Being a newbie myself, I agreed, being told that I would be well taken care of..
The truck was a 2015 FL Cascadia and a 53 foot reefer that was parked in the guys yard who quit the company. After finding the truck , fixing a flat tire and getting it to a truck stop, I found it to be badly infested with ROACHES! The dirty buggers were EVERYWHERE.
Unhooked the trailer and went to Walmart to get cleaning supplies and bug bombs. Trust me, having bugs crawl on you while driving is not fun...
Waited 3 days for a load back to Detroit and it was frozen food so I had to get the reefer cleaned out and running, temp set and get the load out of Pearl Ms.
About 10 days total and I was paid 700.00 for my efforts.
I was ok with it actually because I was hoping to gain experience and become the Go To recovery guy.
So, guess what?
I agreed to do another recovery. This time it was a 2014 Peterbuilt 587 and another reefer trailer, a brand new Fed Ex one.
The truck had de_rated and was supposed to have been repaired and ready to be picked up at a truck stop in Shreveport La.
So, another rental car from Detroit to supposedly meet the mechanics that worked on the truck to get the keys and a ride to the truck.
Got there, truck started with a jump, shop guys took off in a hurry. Why you may ask? They lied about fixing the truck and held it for ransom till I got there, called the company and got the bill paid.
Anyway, after all that, the truck was still de_rated and would not pull. It was a 13 speed and the Paccar engine.
Called the company and advised them of the situation. 6 hours later a tow truck showed up to haul it to a Pete dealer in Texarkana for proper repairs. I unhooked the reefer and after the tow guys hooked up, off we went to Texarkana.
I got a hotel and waited, 5 days, spent Christmas and new years there.
Company called on the 2nd of Jan , the truck was ready.
I picked it up, drove it back to Shreveport, hooked up the trailer and headed for the Riceland factory in Stuttgart Alabama to load for Detroit.
The truck broke down near the Michigan border, got it repaired and delivered the load. Called the company and told them I was done.
They still wanted me to park the trailer, unhook and switch trucks with another driver, and meet at the office in Detroit to settle up.
I got Screwed, Again...
Some of my expenses were not paid and my time waiting for a truck that was supposed to be ready was not paid either.
I went above and beyond for these guys and got taken advantage of in a major way. Lesson learned. That's what I get for trusting someone I had never met at their word...
That's what contracts and handshakes are for.
Long story longer, I went on to drive Class A for a while until I read about Expitite, then bought a truck so I could run my own business as I see fit.
Like I said, doing that recovery will, hopefully work out well and perhaps even score a few brownie points in the process.
Best of luck in everything.
And, sorry for going so far off topic with that long story...
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You got out of a bad area and will be paid to get closer to home.
Hopefully all goes well with the truck recovery and the company appreciates and will remember what you did for them.
Just to compare experiences. A few years ago I had just finished orientation at Panther and was literally walking across the lot with the keys to my truck when the phone rang...
One of the fleet owners found out that I had a Class A CDL and told me that they needed me to pick up a truck for them.
Well, I was at Panther in Ohio and the truck was in Hattiesburg MS, plus, as a bonus, I was supposed to drop off 2 folks that failed the drug test on the way South in the rental car.
Being a newbie myself, I agreed, being told that I would be well taken care of..
The truck was a 2015 FL Cascadia and a 53 foot reefer that was parked in the guys yard who quit the company. After finding the truck , fixing a flat tire and getting it to a truck stop, I found it to be badly infested with ROACHES! The dirty buggers were EVERYWHERE.
Unhooked the trailer and went to Walmart to get cleaning supplies and bug bombs. Trust me, having bugs crawl on you while driving is not fun...
Waited 3 days for a load back to Detroit and it was frozen food so I had to get the reefer cleaned out and running, temp set and get the load out of Pearl Ms.
About 10 days total and I was paid 700.00 for my efforts.
I was ok with it actually because I was hoping to gain experience and become the Go To recovery guy.
So, guess what?
I agreed to do another recovery. This time it was a 2014 Peterbuilt 587 and another reefer trailer, a brand new Fed Ex one.
The truck had de_rated and was supposed to have been repaired and ready to be picked up at a truck stop in Shreveport La.
So, another rental car from Detroit to supposedly meet the mechanics that worked on the truck to get the keys and a ride to the truck.
Got there, truck started with a jump, shop guys took off in a hurry. Why you may ask? They lied about fixing the truck and held it for ransom till I got there, called the company and got the bill paid.
Anyway, after all that, the truck was still de_rated and would not pull. It was a 13 speed and the Paccar engine.
Called the company and advised them of the situation. 6 hours later a tow truck showed up to haul it to a Pete dealer in Texarkana for proper repairs. I unhooked the reefer and after the tow guys hooked up, off we went to Texarkana.
I got a hotel and waited, 5 days, spent Christmas and new years there.
Company called on the 2nd of Jan , the truck was ready.
I picked it up, drove it back to Shreveport, hooked up the trailer and headed for the Riceland factory in Stuttgart Alabama to load for Detroit.
The truck broke down near the Michigan border, got it repaired and delivered the load. Called the company and told them I was done.
They still wanted me to park the trailer, unhook and switch trucks with another driver, and meet at the office in Detroit to settle up.
I got Screwed, Again...
Some of my expenses were not paid and my time waiting for a truck that was supposed to be ready was not paid either.
I went above and beyond for these guys and got taken advantage of in a major way. Lesson learned. That's what I get for trusting someone I had never met at their word...
That's what contracts and handshakes are for.
Long story longer, I went on to drive Class A for a while until I read about Expitite, then bought a truck so I could run my own business as I see fit.
Like I said, doing that recovery will, hopefully work out well and perhaps even score a few brownie points in the process.
Best of luck in everything.
And, sorry for going so far off topic with that long story...
Sent from my SM-N910V using EO Forums mobile app
Last edited:
No...didn't come off like that at all . I was just stating my opinion . Stay safe on your ride east and Good luck .
You guys made a smart move IMHO.
You got out of a bad area and will be paid to get closer to home.
Hopefully all goes well with the truck recovery and the company appreciates and will remember what you did for them.
Just to compare experiences. A few years ago I had just finished orientation at Panther and was literally walking across the lot with the keys to my truck when the phone rang...
One of the fleet owners found out that I had a Class A CDL and told me that they needed me to pick up a truck for them.
Well, I was at Panther in Ohio and the truck was in Hattiesburg MS, plus, as a bonus, I was supposed to drop off 2 folks that failed the drug test on the way South in the rental car.
Being a newbie myself, I agreed, being told that I would be well taken care of..
The truck was a 2015 FL Cascadia and a 53 foot reefer that was parked in the guys yard who quit the company. After finding the truck , fixing a flat tire and getting it to a truck stop, I found it to be badly infested with ROACHES! The dirty buggers were EVERYWHERE.
Unhooked the trailer and went to Walmart to get cleaning supplies and bug bombs. Trust me, having bugs crawl on you while driving is not fun...
Waited 3 days for a load back to Detroit and it was frozen food so I had to get the reefer cleaned out and running, temp set and get the load out of Pearl Ms.
About 10 days total and I was paid 700.00 for my efforts.
I was ok with it actually because I was hoping to gain experience and become the Go To recovery guy.
So, guess what?
I agreed to do another recovery. This time it was a 2014 Peterbuilt 587 and another reefer trailer, a brand new Fed Ex one.
The truck had de_rated and was supposed to have been repaired and ready to be picked up at a truck stop in Shreveport La.
So, another rental car from Detroit to supposedly meet the mechanics that worked on the truck to get the keys and a ride to the truck.
Got there, truck started with a jump, shop guys took off in a hurry. Why you may ask? They lied about fixing the truck and held it for ransom till I got there, called the company and got the bill paid.
Anyway, after all that, the truck was still de_rated and would not pull. It was a 13 speed and the Paccar engine.
Called the company and advised them of the situation. 6 hours later a tow truck showed up to haul it to a Pete dealer in Texarkana for proper repairs. I unhooked the reefer and after the tow guys hooked up, off we went to Texarkana.
I got a hotel and waited, 5 days, spent Christmas and new years there.
Company called on the 2nd of Jan , the truck was ready.
I picked it up, drove it back to Shreveport, hooked up the trailer and headed for the Riceland factory in Stuttgart Alabama to load for Detroit.
The truck broke down near the Michigan border, got it repaired and delivered the load. Called the company and told them I was done.
They still wanted me to park the trailer, unhook and switch trucks with another driver, and meet at the office in Detroit to settle up.
I got Screwed, Again...
Some of my expenses were not paid and my time waiting for a truck that was supposed to be ready was not paid either.
I went above and beyond for these guys and got taken advantage of in a major way. Lesson learned. That's what I get for trusting someone I had never met at their word...
That's what contracts and handshakes are for.
Long story longer, I went on to drive Class A for a while until I read about Expitite, then bought a truck so I could run my own business as I see fit.
Like I said, doing that recovery will, hopefully work out well and perhaps even score a few brownie points in the process.
Best of luck in everything.
And, sorry for going so far off topic with that long story...
Sent from my SM-N910V using EO Forums mobile app
That's a very intense start, and one I may have not made it through. I don't do bugs.. lol.
We stopped somewhere in Montana for lunch/dinner. Don't even know what this place is called. Kind of a white knuckle ride through the mountains. They got some snow and while the roads were mostly dry, there were patches of "this is iffy". No other trucks had chains, wasn't really unsafe as long as you took it slow. 2 cars in the ditch, 1 pickup rolled over, and a tour bus stuck in the ditch on the brink of rolling over. Not sure why everyone was having so many issues. Wife handled it like a charm. Every time a few cars were waiting in line behind us we pulled off (plenty of pull offs, one every few miles) and let them pass.
Excellent approach, slow and easy, and courteous. Most importantly, let the wife do the heavy work.
Apparently. Not sure what the hell happened to me but I'm always a nervous wreck. That crap better fade. Don't have time for that.
Been there. It will get better, easier and the nerves will be less of an issue as you gain experience and get more comfortable.
A bit on edge is a good thing though, keeps you on your toes and aware.
I'm enjoying your updates keep on truckin.
I bet you guys are looking forward to having your pup with ya.
It would be super lonely without my sweet little cat.
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A bit on edge is a good thing though, keeps you on your toes and aware.
I'm enjoying your updates keep on truckin.
I bet you guys are looking forward to having your pup with ya.
It would be super lonely without my sweet little cat.
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