No, I'm strictly in and out of the rails in the dallas area

Yeah, it was noisy and very busy where I delivered. My gross was $2194.40 and my net settlement was $1317.83. I had to watch the video again to get the numbers so I can't recall if that was a 4 or 5day work week .

The last company I was with had an amazon account and I ran loads from time to time. Finding the local work, which included containers, was hard to find. My best guess is the guys that do it everyday know when those routes are going to post and snatched them up as soon as they hit the board.

@@CDLDave23 yea that’s how it goes I do about 40 container s week for them and you have to keep watching the board to book them because it’s so saturated with drivers where I’m at

@@pnpstrz40? So you makin $8-$10k a week?

I just run for one of many intermodal carriers. We also only pull 53' containers. I'm not sure why that is because everyone else seems to pull 20s and 40s in addition to the 53s. Also, Dallas seems to be a side market for them as they're based in the northeast. There is one other guy I saw posting numbers out of VA. He claims he cleared $2400/week after deductions on 4 day work weeks. The company and the contract are the biggest things. I chose to return to this company because we previously had some great runs and a laid-back atmosphere. The only reason I left before was because of how slow intermodal got last year. When I returned, the great loads were gone and replaced with live loads and appointments instead of drop and hook 24 hours a day. The point is, it's possible to find solid work in the rails. The risk is getting tied to a company that might pay what I'm making. But it's the same way in dry van, flatbed, etc.

I almost agree with you about competition. Almost. There is such a thing as friendly competition. Not all trucks on the road are my enemy. Some people just want to know what real-world numbers would look like before making an expensive mistake by blindly trusting a recruiter's words. I'm helping them and using my channel to challenge myself. Internet famous? No. Atta-boy? No. I'm giving others real numbers without cherry-picking. Simple as that.

I have considered my own authority and will probably have it one day. I was doing local and short haul flatbed. At one point the locals got as high as $500 a load, but OTR carriers were booking them all as filler work while trying to find a good long haul. Brokers drove the rates down around $200/load. Between the costs of trailer rental, expensive insurance, and the company's percentage, I was making less than I am now. I know there are guys that managed to accomplish what you said, but they got in tight with good brokers or got a great contract with shippers/receivers. Right before I left the flatbed carrier, I found a decent contract. It was good but not great, and it was seasonal. At that point, steady won out over seasonal earning potential.

Tell me more about this

Your question is impeccably timed. I was just thinking about various ways to run the books yesterday. To answer your question: No, I don't do anything like that. If I wanted to scale and add trucks or i was making a bit more than I am, I would probably adopt payroll processing. But I would also change up the current business model too and change from sole proprietor to an llc.

@@CDLDave23 You should already be a LLC! As a self employed sole proprietorship, you are personally responsible for any liabilities. Meaning, you can be personally sued and lose your home, your savings, anything of value. If you create an LLC, you will still be self employed but significantly reduce your personal liabilities. Protect yourself. Stay safe.

@PickleFlopper but even with an llc, as the driver, everything you stated is still at stake. An llc is going to happen before long, it just hasn't happened yet

@@CDLDave23 Only if negligence can be proven that the negligence was beyond the scope of your role as a driver/owner (example: DUI). Only then can you be personally sued. Otherwise, the LLC is liable if an accident occurred within scope of role. Trust me, do this right now. Not later.

yeah, except tipping is getting out of control... people want tips for things they shouldnt be tipped for

Good question. In my operation around $250-300/week is sufficient and that comes out of my net revenue.

Your comment came at the perfect time. I spent 10 hours today sitting in docks. Not fun. I'm giving my company some grace because I ran for them up til intermodal went dead last year. I was making easy money with them but not pushing myself. Now that I want to push myself the right work isn't available. Thanks for the insight

I agree with a lot of what you said. I worry about a catastrophic breakdown. As for local company work, I'm making about the same or slightly more. But, the average that I'm reporting on here includes many partial weeks, which includes a short vacation, taking care of personal business, truck maintenance, and a handful of days with no work available. It also includes many days of only one short load, but business appears to be increasing on a daily basis. I believe my average should increase significantly over the next month or so as more long runs and two or more short loads in the day become the norm. If my prediction turns out to be untrue, then yes, I'll have to make a change.

@@CDLDave23 i wish you the best, i parked my paid off 2019 cascadia it wasn't worth it driving company 70cpm hazmat. Stress level went from 8 to 2

Dallas

Technically an hour east of Dallas in the Greenville and Sulphur springs area

Hi, yes I have thought about it. I have two primary reasons that I don't. The first is that I currently have a one vehicle household, so I leave my pickup so my girl can run errands or respond to emergencies with the kids. The other is when I ran local in 2015-16, the truck I was driving had 4 brand new batteries stolen off it while sitting on the company yard. There was supposed to be a guard on duty, but he clearly wasn't a deterrent. I'm trying to find a 2nd car, so if I can find a reasonably safe drop yard that will be my plan moving forward. Thanks for the comment, and have a great weekend.

@@CDLDave23That’s how the guard makes his bonus.

That is spectacular and pretty much what I was trying to achieve when I switched to flatbed. The downside for me was that the company I drove for was new and depended on load boards. Occasionally, the brokers paid ok for local, but mostly, it was pretty cheap. I ended up running into AR most days and picked up lumber loads going back to Dallas because that was the best rate I could find. I could gross $4000-5000, but each week I paid $200 trailer rent, $385 insurance, plus 15% for the company. There were quite a few times they made more money off my work than I did. I think my best week was a take home of about $1800, but my average for the whole time I was there was $1100. I must congratulate you. What you built for yourself is awesome! Keep kicking butt and taking names. And, thanks for sharing your numbers.

Sorry, I do tend to be a bit monotone when I'm talking. A little frustration is also building because every week I think "next week I'll work a full week." Then, something comes up, and I lose a day. Thanks for watching and commenting.

@@CDLDave23 I'm not concern about the tone of voice, presentation. I'm not looking for entertainment. I do care about the content, information & it's meaningful, this is what counts to me. Thanks again.

After expenses but before setting aside maintenance money.