5 What the Owner Operator Needs to Know About Equipment

2001 Kenworth T600

Information About How to Become an Owner Operator

5) Equipment

See my other posts:

A Holiday Wish

The Way it Was - A Short History of Trucking

Pro and Cons of Being an Owner Operator

FAQ for the Owner Operator
Pictures
Anti-Idling Regulations
Definitions and Industry Terms
Blackrock Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)
Interactive Cost per Mile (CPM) Calculator Spreadsheet
Privacy Policy
1) Owner Operator 411 – Welcome
2) Income and Expenses
3) Financing and Credit
4) Operating Authority or Leasing?
6) How To Do Bookkeeping and Other Necessary Paperwork
7) What You Need to Know About Loadboards
8) Companies That Lease Beginning Owner Operators
9) What You Actually Need to Get Started - Licenses, Permits, Insurance, and Taxes
10) Truck Driving Schools

There is one more thing you need to decide before you apply for a loan (assuming you have read my previous posts): what kind of freight do you want to haul?

This will determine what company you can lease to (all companies dont haul all types of freight) and what kind of equipment you will need. If you are buying your own trailer, then you need to know what kind to buy based on what you will be hauling. For example, do you need a refrigerated trailer (reefer) to haul food, a dry van for general freight, a flatbed to haul steel, or a drop deck or goose neck to haul equipment?

Even if you dont buy your own trailer, knowing what you will be hauling will determine how to spec your tractor. If you are going to be hauling heavy loads, you need to spec a tractor with heavy duty suspension and a big motor. If you are going to be hauling mostly light loads, you might be able to get by with a tractor with a smaller engine or lighter suspension. Also, the type and length of trailer might determine the length of the wheelbase of your tractor. What you are planning to haul will definitely decide how much your tractor can weigh.

Deciding what you will be hauling will also tell you what other equipment you need to buy. If you are going to pull a drop deck or goose neck, you will need chains, tarps and binders. If you are planning on pulling a flat bed, you will need all of those things plus a side kit. If you pull a dry van, you most likely will need load jacks.

When you are deciding what you are going to haul, dont forget to think about the physical side of what you choose. If you are going to be pulling a flatbed, you will have to be outside in all types of weather chaining and tarping your load. If you want to pull a reefer, you may be required to unload it, which means you will be working in very low temperatures, regardless of what the outside temperature is.

When you spec your tractor, there are several factors you need to need to consider. Will you be making long or short hauls? If you make long hauls, you will probably want to spec a sleeper. You dont want to spend all of your money on motels, and besides, there are a lot of times when you have to spend a night on the road and cant get to a motel.

What kind of engine do you want and how much horsepower do you want? The three major engines are Cummins, Caterpillar, and Detroit.

You need to decide what size tires you want, and what kind of a transmission and how many gears. Today, you can get a semi with an automatic transmission! Definitely a far cry from the old days when many trucks had two sticks (two gearshifts).

Modern trucks have power steering, ABS brakes, heat and air conditioning. They have big comfortable seats and privacy curtains. The beds are large and comfortable and some have a couch, and some have two beds. Most have closets and storage space. You have to decide what you need, then decide how much of what you want you can afford.

Other equipment you will need is a CB radio, gloves, coveralls, fuses, flares, a fire extinguisher (mandatory), tools, oil, fuel, and water filters. You should also carry oil, grease, and anti-freeze.

Optional equipment you may want is a cell phone, a satellite radio, and a TV. If you are planning on being gone from home a lot, you might want to consider buying an inverter. Then you can buy a coffee pot, a toaster and a microwave, and save yourself a lot of money on meals. 

A note about meals: When you file your taxes, the IRS lets people who are in the transportation industry and those who are regulated by hours-of-service rules (see "Income and Expenses") deduct meals differently and at different rates than everyone else. See an accountant or tax preparer for details. To simplify a very complicated rule, basically you can flat-rate your meals for every day you are on the road long enough that you are required to take a sleep break, even if you dont eat a thing, or spend a dime. Of course with the IRS, there are 40,000 ifs, ands, ors, and buts, so be sure to check it out with a tax professional or preparer.

An auxiliary power unit (APU) is becoming a must have. These range from about $6,000.00 to $10,000.00. What is an APU and what does it do? Basically, it is a generator. It is used when you are not driving to eliminate idling. Why is idling necessary? If you have to sleep in the truck in the winter or summer, you will probably run your truck so you can have heat or air conditioning. It is hard to sleep when it 25 degrees or 118 degrees in the sleeper.

With an APU, you can heat or cool your cab without running you truck. This is very important, as an APU can reduce your fuel consumption by about 75 %. Yes, I said 75%. Instead of using a gallon of diesel an hour idling, you use a quart with an APU. Not only is this important for your bottom line, but more and more cities and states are making anti-idling laws with fines ranging from $50.00 to $25,000.00 and/or up to 1 year in prison, for idling your truck.

Sometimes the idle time allowed is as few as three minutes. These anti-idling laws were written to reduce noise and air pollution. 

Click here to go to an: Anti-idling Regulations Chart

To view this chart you need Adobe Acrobat Reader

The cost and age of your equipment can affect the costs of your license plates and insurance.

As you can see, it is very important to decide on your equipment before you make a commitment. Once you have bought that $40,000.00 used truck, it is very hard to change to another truck if you find you dont like what you bought.

Although you will never know exactly what it is like until you actually do it, you need to ask questions of other drivers about their equipment, and what they like and dont like about it. If at all possible, go out on a load with someone. Volunteer to help them load/unload to get a feel of what it is like. The more you know before you buy, the better off you will be.

What make of a truck should you buy? That is up to you. Just a some people wouldnt own anything but a Chevy, some people wont own anything but a Volvo.

Any make of truck, if specd correctly, will do the job, it is a matter of personal preference and how much you can afford to pay.

The most popular trucks are Peterbilt, Kenworth, and Volvo. Other popular truck makes are: Freightliner, International, Ford, Mack, Sterling, and Western Star.

Anything with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating above 33,000 lbs. is a "Class 8" truck.

Good places to look for a truck (new or used) are "The Truck Paper" and "Truck Trader". If you have cash and are very familiar with trucks, good deals can sometimes be found on eBay.

Next post: How To Do Bookkeeping and Other Necessary Paperwork

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7 What You Need to Know About Loadboards for the Owner Operator

2000 Pete 379

How to Become an Owner Operator

7) What You Need to Know About Load Boards

View my Other Posts:

A Holiday Wish
Blogs, Forums and Othrt Resources
Texting Ban
The Way it Was - A Short History of Trucking

Pro and Cons of Being an Owner Operator

FAQ for the Owner Operator
Pictures
Anti-Idling Regulations
Definitions and Industry Terms
Blackrock Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)
Interactive Cost per Mile (CPM) Calculator Spreadsheet
Privacy Policy
1) Owner Operator 411 – Welcome
2) Income and Expenses
3) Financing and Credit
4) Operating Authority or Leasing?
5) Equipment
6) How To Do Bookkeeping and Other Necessary Paperwork
8) Companies That Lease Beginning Owner Operators
9) What You Actually Need to Get Started - Licenses, Permits, Insurance, and Taxes
10) Truck Driving Schools

One of my readers asked a question about loadboards, so I decided to do a separate post on them. See Coupon Mommies comments at Owner Operator 411 – Welcome

One reason 123loadboard doesnt seem to have very much freight is because it has dropped off dramatically. A year ago, if I did a search from Ohio to Texas, I would get about 100 loads returned, now I get about 25 - on a good day. It is the same on the Members Edge load board. My dispatcher tells me theirs is the same way.

Be aware, though, that a lot of the loads posted on the free loadboards is not as complete as the loads posted on the expensive loadboards the companies use.

As I told you, I use (and pay for) Members Edge , they are part of 3SixtyFreightMatch. I just found out that the company I am leased to uses 3SixtyFreightMatch. They get all the loads I get on Members Edge, but they also get loads I do not. The loads posted on MembersEdge seem to be "leftovers". They are all cheap freight. Very few of them pay even $1.00 a mile, much less more.

My point being, there may be a lot of freight posted, but is it anything you would want to haul?

One other thing I did not think to tell you, both of the load boards I subscribe to show the rates, but the companies seldom post them. They are like used car dealers, they just say, "Call."

Now that I have answered Cookie Mommies question, I guess I should explain for you new to this what a load board is. A load board is a place where companies post available loads and/or available trucks.

Some load boards are free and some have to be subscribed to. Some are public and some are private, that is they are only for owners leased to that company.

Almost all of them let you search in various ways.  Some have alarms or alerts that let you know when a new load that meets your criteria becomes available, either by a sound, email or a text message to your cell phone.

In the old days before cell phones and laptops, if you took a load to Houston, TX for instance, and wanted to get back home to Richmond,Virginia, the only load boards were in truck stops.

Here is how it worked. You would go to a truck stop and there would be a TV screen with a list of available loads, the broker who had it, their telephone number, what type of trailer, and the origin and destination.  This list would scroll endlessly.

There would be a lot of drivers (up to 20 and 99.9% men) standing around watching that board with a pen and paper in their hands. Every once in a while, the board would go, "DING", meaning a new load had been posted. All eyes would swivel to see what it was. Everyone would furiously scribble down the phone number, then run (fast paid off) to the bank of pay phones to call the broker. Hopefully, you got to the phone before everyone else, and had change in your pocket. You would then call the broker to see how much it paid, and any other particulars.

If you werent fast enough, or if the load didnt suit you, then you would go back to board and start all over. Usually there werent any chairs, so you had to stand. If you left to get a drink, more change, or to pee, the perfect load would come up and be taken while you were gone.

Often you would get excited when you saw a load going to your hometown, only to realize that it was for a reefer and you were pulling a flatbed.

It was not unusual to stand there from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., and have to start over the next day.

My, my, that sure was fun!  I really dont miss "the good ole days".

Now days, you sit in your truck with your laptop, tell the load board that you want a load for a flatbed from Houston to somewhere near Richmond, and it will sort out all of the loads that match. If you dont see what you want, it might still go "DING", but now you pull out your cell phone and make your call.

It may easier to look for a load, but it isnt any easier to find a load. Some industries are still doing well, of course, but freight is really slow, and the rates keep dropping. It gets harder every day to make a dollar.

Next post: Companies That Lease Beginning Owner Operators

I am sorry I have to do this, but due to spam "comments"  I feel I need to moderate comments from now on.

I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to my legitimate commenters.

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10 Ways to Know that You’re in Love

10 Ways to Know that You’re in Love

Love; one of the most popular searches Google makes every day, is an emotion of passion, fondness, and sincere devotion to someone we really fancy. Love has been defined in various contexts. From a passionate commitment, to a driver of great stories; yet one thing all definitions have in common is that someone who is in love with an intimate companion is enclosed in a state of mind where their heart and mind lusts for the other person, accepting them as they are, and feeling satisfied in their presence. We all, at some time in our lives, undergo a feeling of infatuation which is commonly mistaken for love. So, in order to avoid such a glitch with a special someone, here are 10 ways which will help you figure it out:

1.Can you go by a few hours without thinking of the person? 

You don’t have to be obsessed about the person, but if the person crosses you’re mind every once in a while when they aren’t there, or if certain circumstances like a book or a movie, trigger thoughts of the person, you may just be in love with them. Their absence may make you feel empty and you may find yourself searching for excuses to hear their voice or just talk to them. However, if the person doesn’t cross your mind often and you could probably go on a week or month without thinking about him/her, you are not likely to be in love.

2.Does the opinion of the person matter to you?

If youre in love, then the other person and their voice of thought, and perspective should carry some importance to you. Their thoughts and what they have to say are something which should leave an influence on you. You should be willing to listen to them with concern and understanding. If you give them the cold shoulder at such times, or overlook their opinion, then you are definitely not in a state of love. Taking into account the person’s ideas when making a big decision, or if you value someone’s opinion in time of a social crisis, makes you serious enough to be in love with him/her.

3.Do you feel like you can be yourself with the person?

When you are with the person, you should be happy and comfortable just the way that you are. The person should also appreciate you as you are, and bring out the best in you. If you have to pretend or act in a certain way that doesn’t make you happy, then you are not really in love because the person may not be prepared to accept you as who you truly are. You should never have to worry about sounding stupid and just be confident in your own ways and maintain your individuality.  Being with the person should make you feel like you are in the best possible version of yourself.

4.Are you aware of the person’s flaws and prepared to accept them?

With no doubt, nobody is perfect and envisioning the perfect and flawless life partner is quite impractical. If you are aware of the imperfections of the person and are okay with them then you are in love. Love is not seeing someone as perfect, but rather being able to confess their flaws and even laugh about them openly. If you see no flaws, then you may not know the person as well you may have thought you did.

5.Are you willing to compromise for the person?

If you are really in love, then you should be willing to adjust and adapt to ways that may make the other person happy. Being stubborn and having it your way at all times may mean that the person loves you but you don’t necessarily love them in return. You should give in to the other person’s demands at times, knowing that it will make them happy and in turn, make you happy. Both partners in a relationship should give in and compromise at times for the betterment of decisions and their relationship. Satisfying your partner and putting their views ahead may mean that you’re in love.

6.Are you comfortable with sharing your feelings?

The person you love should be someone with whom you are able to share anything and everything with. You should be able to open up and let the other person see through to the real you. If all you say is to make the person like you, then it is not love. You should be able to comfortably express your grievances or past mistakes and not be afraid of mentioning them. Love is when someone knows you inside and out, and accepts your less-flattering side willingly.

7.Have you made it through tough times? 

Life is not a walk in the park. Every relationship faces rough patches. What’s important is facing through them together. A relationship should be strong enough to work things out no matter how bad circumstances get. If no such opportunity arose, you may not have enough information to evaluate if it’s really love or not. Getting through a disappointing or hurtful phase and overcoming it is a sign of true love.

8.Can you picture a future without the person?

How significant someone is in your life can be analyzed by a simple vision of how you perceive your future to be. Is that person going to be in it? Can you imagine life without the person? Whatever you may be doing in the future, be it having children or reaching you life’s goal; you should want to do them with that person by your side. Being in love would mean that you wouldn’t want to start a new chapter in your life without that person. You would want them to be through with you wherever you end up and to grow old with you. That is true love.

9.Do you take pleasure in helping the person? 

Love is about give and take. But if you take pleasure in giving just as much as taking, then you are in love. True love is beyond conditions. It’s about sincerely caring for the other person and helping them in whatever way that you can with a devoted heart. Things like driving the person around or doing their laundry at times should be done without complications and arguments. You shouldn’t be taken advantage of, of course the person should help you when you need it in return. These things however should be a done with a good heart.

10. Do you enjoy doing little things with the person? 

All the time spent with such a special person does not have to be grand and illustrious, but rather, love is felt even in ordinary meetings such as while watching a movie or spending time at a local café. All these moments can be made precious and fun if your spending time with the right person, the one whom you really love. They should be able to bring the best out of such mediocre meetings by making them exciting and memorable. True love is getting a kick out of simple time spent just as much as extravagant dates.

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