New or Used? There has been the discussion of buying new equipment or keeping the older truck that has been in your business for many years. Dave and I have bought both new and used trucks. When we first got into trucking we bought a used one-ton dually to transport campers from manufacturers to dealerships throughout the country. The truck we bought had about 30,000 miles on the odometer. Over the course of two years Dave put on over 300,000 miles. We still own this truck an...

Choosing loads based only on rate can hurt long-term performance; positioning determines future opportunities, downtime, and overall revenue consistency in expedited freight....

Taking certain loads in risky conditions can lead to hidden costs, downtime, and challenges recovering losses when fault and liability are unclear...

Tax Time It’s that time of year again. A time that many people dread or stress over. It is tax time. As business owners we have so many opportunities to legally dedicate expenses that the average W2 employee does not have. Yet there are still business owners that try to cheat the system to avoid paying anything in taxes. Our current president is also a business owner. Love him or despise him, he understands business and how to use the tax laws in a business owner’s favor....

Fuel prices are climbing again, and everyone’s staring at the pump like it personally insulted them. I get it. When diesel fuel prices spike, every driver suddenly becomes a human calculator, punching numbers in their head like they’re trying to crack a safe before the timer hits zero....

Rollercoaster of Life When I was a teenager my brother and I were seated in the front seats of a rollercoaster ride. I was so terrified that the ride operator stopped early to let me off. Since then I have avoided rollercoaster rides as well as any other thrill rides at all cost. When we first started our little trucking company we had no idea what was all involved. Over the years we have made mistakes. We still managed to make it through. We have seen years where the money i...

There’s a mystery out here on the road that I’ve never been able to solve, and trust me, I’ve had plenty of hours behind the wheel to think about it. It’s not why shippers take three hours to load two pallets. It’s not why every receiver seems shocked that a truck actually showed up at the time they scheduled. No, the real puzzle is this:...

Due Diligence  How much due diligence do you do before taking a load? Some due diligence comes before a load is ever accepted. Some comes after accepting a load but before the load  is picked up. And finally there is due diligence during the entire trip. Before accepting any load there are several questions to ask. Because the cargo area on our truck is only 17 feet the first question is always, “how many pieces and what is the weight?” Our truck can fit 8 regular sized...

There was a time, not that long ago, when turn signals were considered a basic part of driving. You know, like the steering wheel, or the brake pedal, or the general idea that you shouldn’t just launch your vehicle into traffic like you’re testing the aerodynamics of a refrigerator. Turn signals were invented for one simple purpose, to indicate your intentions....

If you’ve been out on the road longer than five minutes, you already know diesel isn’t cheap and it’s not getting any cheaper. Every time you roll up to the pump, it feels like the numbers spin faster than your tach climbing a hill with a full load....