For those of you that don’t know about Truckers Against Trafficking, be sure to check out their website. It is a 501(c)3 “that exists to educate, equip, empower and mobilize members of the trucking and travel plaza industry to combat domestic sex trafficking.”

Stop by the Lone Mountain Truck Leasing Facebook page, become a fan, and we will give a dollar to TAT.

One thing we know for sure is that trucks break down. What we don’t know is when, where, or to what extent. There are some things we can control and some we cannot. With proper procedures and policies we can, to some extent, minimize the number and severity of these break downs. There is no doubt that along with good sound management, we need some “luck”.

One of the most important procedures in the owner operator scenario is the pre-trip inspection. If you don’t open the hood, check fluid levels, look for leaks, check belts and hoses, check tires, brakes, suspension parts, steering parts, drain your air tanks, check gauges and generally inspect your truck, you are missing one of the most important steps in being an owner operator. If you do not take the time to look over your truck you could very easily end up with repairs that are far more costly than they should be. Being proactive, in respect to the condition of your truck, is a must if you truly want to succeed. This inspection is also about safety, you need to make sure your truck is always in compliance with DOT regulations.

Just as important as preventative maintenance is scheduled maintenance. Changing filters and fluids at, or before, the manufactures recommended mileage or time frame may be your single best deterrent to expensive repairs. Along with the manufactures recommendations, you need to consider the driving conditions you are experiencing. If you are in extreme heat, dust, lugging, or climbing you may want to change oil, filters, etc. more frequently.

These are just two areas of importance in the life of an owner operator. Hopefully if you address the preventative and scheduled maintenance issues, you can not only minimize the number and cost of repairs, but stay running. Many times the downtime for repairs can cost you more than the repairs. I hope this will reinforce what you already know, and help you to run longer and safer.

Tom Schnackenberg
Maintenance Director
Lone Mountain Truck Leasing

If you are driving a used truck, things are going to break and you will be visiting shops. The more miles your truck has, the more visits to a maintenance facility you will most likely have to make. My best advice would be to build a relationship with your local dealer. If they think there is a chance you will come back, they are less likely to take you to the cleaners everytime you show up. If they consider you an “out of towner” you can really get taken for a ride.

Whenever I deal with a shop I ask them to first get me an estimate with EVERY charge accounted for. Then I negotiate from there. My next step is to call my local dealer and ask them what they would charge me for the same repair. If you have a guide listing estimated times for each repair this would be the best negotiating tool, but your local expert should be able to give you a good idea. 90% of the time they will work with you on the price and/or the amount of labor they are charging you for.
Once you have come to an agreement make it clear that you agree on THAT PRICE, and you don’t expect there to be any changes after the job is done. Most of the time they will stick to that price if you make it totally clear and repeat yourself about ten times before they begin working. Tell them that you would like to be notified if there are going to be any modifications to the original estimate.

We sell quite a few Volvos at Lone Mountain and run a fleet of almost exclusively Volvo 670s at Hoovestol Inc. The biggest worry that most people have is that for some of the things that go wrong with these trucks, you need to take them to a Volvo shop. I would say this has gotten better in recent years with a lot of the major Fleets running volvos, however, it seems like a lot of these shops know that they are “the only show in town” and that you have no other alternatives. However, you can still use the techniques I described above to minimize the damage, and get back on the road for the lowest possible price. Hopefully, using the experience I’ve had will help a little.

Drive Safe.

Joe Hoovestol
General Manager
Lone Mountain Truck Leasing

When someone applies at Lone Mountain Truck Leasing we take a good look at their work history and where they are taking the truck once they leave our lot. Typically our best customers are the ones that have been with one company for a couple years and plan to stay there. These drivers have spent enough time in one place so that they know the right people and know how to succeed within that company’s structure.

Like any job, in trucking when you start somewhere new, you do not start at the top. If you went to work for a large corporation you would not expect to be paid and treated the same as people who have been with the company for many years and have more experience than you. The same holds true at a trucking company. The drivers who have the most experience, and have a long history with the company, as well as with the dispatchers, are usually going to get the easiest and highest paying loads. This occurs because every company wants to keep their loyal employees happy.

Even though a new driver might have the same skills as a veteran, the new driver is always going to have to “pay their dues” before they get any preferential treatment from anyone at their new place of employment.

It seems as though many drivers get caught up in “the grass is always greener” mentality. A fellow driver, or recruiter, tells them how well truckers at a certain company are doing. However, they fail to mention that those successes are being achieved by the veteran drivers. Someone might move to that company, not experience that kind of success right away, and move on to another company. This throws the driver into a downward spiral that doesn’t stop until they spend a significant amount of time in one place.

My advice would be to thoroughly investigate any company that you are considering working for. Talk to at least one veteran driver at the company, and talk to a newer driver to get a sense of how each group is treated. If you like what you hear from both, then make your move. Once you are at the new company I would do everything possible to stick it out for at least a year, even if things aren’t going quite as you planned right off the bat. This will give everyone a fair amount of time to get to know each other and will give you the best chance to succeed at that company. If it doesn’t work out, your next employer will at least be able to see that you made a decent go of it before you jumped ship.

Please keep these things in mind next time you are contemplating a move.

Joe Hoovestol
General Manager
Lone Mountain Truck Leasing

You might have a truck that has a million miles on it that runs like a Swiss watch, and you might have a brand new truck that never seems to get out of the shop. Sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw. However, like any machine that runs every day, eventually it WILL break. When it does break, it’s usually tough to get through the shop and back on the road for less than $1000. This is why you need to be prepared for these instances. If you’re ready, these repairs are a business setback instead of a business killer.

At Lone Mountain Truck Leasing we include a one year/100,000 mile engine warranty on all of the trucks we sell that are 2005 and newer. These warranties cover a lot of the major components that are going to result in what we call a “catastrophic failure.” Typically these repairs are going to be in the neighborhood of $5,000-$25,000. While these failures don’t happen very often, there will be other smaller things that will threaten to put your company underwater if you aren’t prepared for them.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to set aside at least five cents per mile for maintenance. This, of course, varies depending on how many miles are on your truck, how old it is, and how many miles you’re putting on the truck during a given year. Five cents per mile is definitely a good place to start though. If you don’t set anything aside, and hope to only change oil for a year, you probably aren’t going to make it very long as an owner operator. Like any business, you need to build up a cushion when times are good, and you need to diligently monitor all expenses and try to keep that cushion intact when times are bad. That way, when repairs come up (and they will come up) you will be ready for them. If you are financially prepared for these setbacks you will be able to get back on the road and rebound quickly.

Joe Hoovestol
General Manager
Lone Mountain Truck Leasing

There are also a number of people who have had their business fall apart during this time. Some of these people were first time owner operators and others were seasoned road warriors. The circumstances of these people vary, but there are some common factors that seem to have set this group up to fail. In this four article series I will discuss some of these common factors and the best ways to sidestep financial disaster.

The first thing I want to talk about is MOTIVATION. While going through school many of my teachers thought that I didn’t know what the word motivation meant. Some people get pumped up to do statistics homework. I’m just not one of them. I did well in the classes I liked but did just enough to squeak by in the classes I wasn’t interested in. The first thing you, as an owner operator, need to ask yourself is how motivated are you to run your own business. Many people find the idea of being their own boss appealing. However some don’t think it all the way through. If your reason for becoming an owner operator is to work less, be home every weekend, and only take loads when you feel like it, then the business isn’t for you.

Any successful owner operator can tell you that when you are running a truck, or a small fleet, it isn’t good enough to simply be a driver. When you become an owner operator you have now added the titles of President, CEO, Chief Negotiator, Accountant, and Mechanic to what used to just be “Driver.” Needless to say, you have to be a jack of all trades, and it takes a lot of work to be an owner operator. To keep a truck running and make sure that your business stays profitable you need to be on top of every one of these jobs.

Unlike my school example, you can’t just excel at the jobs you like, and let the others slide. You need to be motivated to constantly do what it takes to become the best you can be in every area. Trying to pick and choose loads based on when and where you like to go is another common mistake. You need to choose loads that are going to be the most profitable for YOUR company. Many times these won’t be the most fun or easiest trips to make. As a driver, you might not enjoy some trips as much as others. However, as the President of your company, you need to do what it takes to make your company successful.

Other articles in this series will include information on budgeting, maintenance, and job retention.

Joe Hoovestol
General Manager
Lone Mountain Truck Leasing