Thanks for the ride Mike. Anybody who thinks driving is easy, should ride with you now. The Blue truck was comfy, but this one is Work. Stay safe, and Strong Mike. PEACE!
I am so thankful to view your videos; it’s uplifting for me to hear your stories. I am taking care of an ill family member here in Arizona. I enjoy listening to people who think like me. Positive energy, setting boundaries, work hard ethics! Good for you! Keep up the good work and never change your ethics!
I've been in the drivers seat. I'm a retired truck driver. I'm so glad I got out when I did. I loved my western trips when I got them. I really disliked the northeast runs in which I seem to always had. Truck drivers move America. Prove me wrong. Be safe.
Mike, no matter the company, no matter the truck, no matter the highway, we will be here! To sit shotgun with you as you discuss life is always enjoyable. Thank you.
Boy! Mike tells an interesting story of his daily life! I sure could not do OTR. I did enough in driving all over central Virginia doing computer repairs back in the 60's and 70's. I was only doing 1500 to 2000 miles a week in my own car.
@@blackpagan100 Yep! Batch processing mainframes using 80 column punch cards. Pretty dog gone primitive by today's standards. It was state of the art in the late sixties.
if you are haulin crude oil you better think twice.. i hauled i for 9 years in kansas. gotta remember when you are broke down you are loosing twice the money. and if you are loading off road you will be broke down a lot. and i wouldnt pull no pup
I did a spreadsheet for a year tracking every ex-expense the truck I was driving incurred including my pay. My truck, fuel, maintenance, insurance, etc ate up a little over 60%. I still had to put back money for breakdowns. first 3 years were really tight. Fuel went up to $5.25 A GALLON and I had to throw in the towel. It was possible to keep going if the work stayed steady, but nothing stays steady in the trucking business.
Glad to see you came out ok in the end of all that! Keep on keeping on my friend! I feel your entrepreneur instincts and experience will take you far, totally get not wanting to try and keep on top of all that paperwork. Hope everything blooms well! You have sewn a great field of opportunities! Ride safe brotha.
Mike, you know this yourself, but I'll say it anyway ..... trucking companies are failing all over. Guys are scrounging for work, to make payments. You won't be making $9K a week if you are an owner operator, you won't have an exclusive contract, so you'll be sitting on the roadside half the week, as new competitors keep absorbing some of the business. That "boom" will attract a lot of other trucks. Companies will play you against the other guys, and your rates will fall. Everybody loses ...... except the guys who just continue to drive for other companies. The grass is far from greener on the owner-operator side. My family was 3rd generation truckers, we had to shut down in 2011 after 73 years. Three turbos blew in rapid succession, at the time $15K just for the parts, labor was much extra to get us back on the road, and your truck is stuck in the garage for a week or more earning nothing. (I have no idea how much turbos are now, but I'd guess twice what they were in 2010.) You blow out tires, it's on YOU. And running off-road over rocks at the weight you're carrying, like I've already seen you do around hair-pin turns, flat tires will be a frequent expense. Your truck insurance cost will be astronomical in that oil business. As owner-operator, you'll be paying twice the FICA you've been having taken out of your paycheck as a driver. Quarterly diesel fuel excise taxes on the fuel you use will cut into your smaller and smaller margins as more competitors quickly arrive. (don't overlook the likelihood that excise taxes will increase significantly if electric vehicles are reducing taxes collected for road repairs --- governments will go after low hanging fruit like truckers) Etc etc etc. You say you only want to work another 7-8 years. Save yourself the headache of owning a truck. I have no reason to advise you this way other than I've been there, done that, and profits were impossible for 5 years in a row, and we weren't paying someone to do all or even much of our paperwork. We tried numerous different types of trucking business, like just providing power and pulling other companies' trailers, and even increasing the fleet to 10 trucks didn't help. One of those jobs was pulling a gasoline trailer for a distributor and delivering fuel to stations. None of it made much, and then someone hungrier would come along and offer to take the route for a lower rate than we got and you lose the work to them. De-regulation has been evil for owner-operators. You will be much better off just taking that paycheck, driving someone else's truck and never having to worry about how to pay back the bank loan (or lease) on your equipment.
In all the years I was driving trucks before retirement I reckoned the fun part was driving them, not owning them! I looked at a few jobs using my own truck and when I did the sums, I was better off driving someone else's without the hassle. However plenty of guys have made good money owning a truck, so good luck Mike with your new venture, hope it works out well for you. 👍 Seeya.
Hello Mike, its nice to see back. Thank you for the nice ride, while you driving talking away i ate all your snacks and looking for Bigfoot. Be sate and take care. see you next time :)
Para todos aquellos que no viajamos largas distancias, te agradecemos que compartas tu cabina con esta nueva forma de posicionar tu cámara de video, gracias
Self employment is the best. Been solo now for 34 years. Never look back. Should woulda coulda. Planet continues to rotate on it's axis whether working for someone or for yourself, and the IRS that is. Turning 66 next month. Happy as could be. Go for it, Mike. We will be watching.
Also if you buy a new truck and they give you temporary tags you won't be able to haul a load til you have permanent tags under the current federal law sometimes it can take awhile to get all the paper work done
sounds just like what my brother inlaw just went through even put a wet kit on his truck then was only getting one load a day not the 2-3 a day like promissed same haul your doing now
just found this site .......... very cool .......... Mike .... Where Abouts Are U here ......... Hauling From Where To Where ? Anyone Fill ME In ..... Thanks .....
I can't say how much I've missed you and videos Mike. They mean a lot to me. Thank you for taking the effort to share your life and work. You're in my prayers.
It would appear that God "heard the conversations you did not hear" and provided a way for you. Quality lost a good driver. Their loss is someone else's blessings. God is with you, Mountain Mike. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas.
The 96 Ford with the 7.3 is a great truck. We have one on the wheat farm. It was bought new in 96 and in 2000 we had to have a long block installed, 460k miles. When it turned 1,000,000 the front & rear axles were replaced. It is still in use as a fuel truck for the farm. The 2000 Alpenlite 5th wheel is a great trailer. Just keep watch on the caulking on the roof. You might also tighten town the ac. Around The foam gasket is a source of water leaking in. I would shut off the water to the trailer when you are not there. Thanks for letting us ride shotgun with you. Appreciate your efforts. Bill
if you get your own truck just make sure you get one that will handle the off road driving. ive done oil hauling before and ive seen guys go buy a new volvo truck that was a straight highway setup and in about 1 month and it was pretty much destroyed lol and dont drive over 15 mph on dirt roads
Even before all the years you drove automatics going back to manual 18 speed takes getting used to. Nope don't want to miss a gear going down. Then it really would be YEE HA. Kind of like " Wolf Creek Pass" LOL
One thing you need to understand when you own the company YOU WILL PAY TO MUCH IN TAXES...and that's the way it is...don't cheat but learn to use the power of the company Mike should not pay for a meal again...a drop of gas for the car...anything clothing...you will learn...somewhere arround 10-12% of your gross will go to "selling and promotion"...and don't feel bad about that 'cause you are gonna pay to much taxes but if you are making $$ be happy you can pay...but that's a terrible big number if you have never done that part B4...find out for sure how much pain is comming.....'cause taxes get paid first...like it or not...the Goverment WILL get their money I am 70 Y/O and started driving at 21 I can't count the # of O/O's I have seen go down because the didn't do their taxes right...
Hi I'm a native Alberta. We haul enormous amounts of oil by rail because we can't get a pipeline built here either. Just a word of warning, the oil industry is very sensitive to recession. Economy takes a dump, everything stops, including trucks. If you do this structure things do you don't lose your ass so close to retirement. Best of luck.
I never realized that we moved that much oil by truck alone. But with the terrain I can see why a pipeline isn't feasible. Stay safe out there and thanks for sharing with us all.
All of the oil coming out of the Uintah Basin is hauled out with heated tankers. The oil is very high in paraffin and has a high pour point temperature (90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit).
@@pwmvsi - plus it requires heated pipeline. As you said, insufficient volume to make it payout. There was a refinery up there in the Basin 100 years ago but it's been gone a long time. There is a move to build a 90-mile railroad to Helper and Wellington to haul oil. All it needs is funding.
Back in the saddle! Mike, thanks for all your thinking on life, you have made a big difference to how I deal with the world and with me. Best of everything to you and yours.
Hi Mike... I agree with you - everything's mapped out for us! I'm just so glad you are still here sharing your stories with us.. Love hearing yr voice and enjoying the scenery of places I'll never see in my lifetime! Thnx so much - take care...x🇬🇧
Do not buy a truck. After ALL your expenses you'll make a little more than you are making now. In a long term maybe even less. The job you are doing is quite hard on the trucks. There will be high maintenance cost. Also the new trucks are not very reliable with all those emissions systems.
Tanker yankin and colder than a well diggers ass.....hope ya stay safe Mike...have a good one....on the topic of ownership.....stop and think it out VERY Carefully before ya pull the trigger
Before you make the plunge check on trailer lease, hazmat insurance, CYA insurance, Maintenance cost and all the legal cost of doing business. That 1,000.00 a load Sounds good till you deduct cost of operation. As a company employee, if a trailer slides off the road the hazmat clean-up cost you nothing but a job.
Only a suggestion but before you go buy a new truck give it another year as a company driver there are a lot of expenses when only your own truck like all the Dot red tape Insurance taxes etc.
I enjoy your videos. I drove or for 20 yrs, much of it being out west. Defiantly prefer the western states. Thanks for bringing back the good memories Driver. Stay safe out there and good luck with becoming an O/O.
Love your return!!! Heard of your bad news...than thought you should hop in your vehicle and keep it going!!! Road trips are awesome! Here's to being "on the road again"!!!🥂🍻🍷🍺 I've always respected the semi drivers...their office is the road! Love your commentary and how to drive with truckers!
As always Mike, following you is a ride and a half. == Buying new by lease is full of small lettering.== Costs over profit. ==Yep roll the dice Mike????
You're a smart guy so I'm sure you'll look into your overall direct and indirect cost of owning. Fuel, tires, insurance, permits, taxes, repairs, own authority, licensing, accounting etc. all eat into your gross profits. In addition, the headaches of ownership, the gamble of continued good health, contingencies for time off for unexpected health issues, etc. Gambling on the good freight market etc. Good way to get ulcers too....my2cents
