[BC] A Service Idea: Is there a need (and/or a market) for this?

[ChuxGarage at aol.com]

>Just a question before I end up with yet another "item of little to no use"
>that seemed like a good idea to start with...


Terry,

In my previous business, I owned and operated several large trucks ranging 
from 18' bobtails to 45' tractor trailers. At first things were OK and we were 
pretty much able to "fly under the radar."  That didn't last long.  Every time 
you cross a state line, you are at the mercy of the nice officer at the weigh 
station.  Almost every state has different rules and some of them come as 
quite a surprise.  Almost all of them cost money, and sometimes a lot of your 
time. For instance when exiting Mississippi, at least at one time, you had to show 
a receipt proving you purchased enough fuel in Mississippi to drive through 
the state.  That is pretty inconvenient if you don't know about it.

If the truck is licensed for over 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, then 
you must have a valid CDL to operate it.  You can fudge on that and license it 
at 24,000 pounds and hope you are not overweight at a weigh station. It is 
expensive if you are over.

USDOT rules require that a truck carries an identifying number (4" tall) if 
it goes beyond 50 miles from its base of operation.  Naturally, there are 
filing fees and paper work to fill out.  If you go from state to state you are 
supposed to get "apportioned" license plates where you are supposed to predict 
every quarter how many miles you will drive in each state and per-pay the road 
tax.  Good luck on that one.  At the end of the quarter, you then file an actual 
report with each state of mileage and pay the excess or request a refund.  
Meanwhile you file again for the next quarter. Don't forget your driver logs 
which must be kept up to date.  There is a lot of paperwork and it takes most of 
the fun out of it. A lot of the trucking rules make the FCC look downright 
helpful.  Also truck insurance is very expensive as is maintenance.  The first 
flat tire you have away from home leaves you at the mercy of "Honest Bob's Tire 
Service" who can be very expensive about 2:00 AM. 

There are services that handle most trip permits, etc., which might be a 
solution, but they are not all that cheap.  I finally decided that it was better 
to lease trucks that I needed all the time and rent the special ones for 
specific jobs. I doubt that it was cheaper, but it certainly was a lot less hassle.  
At least I had an identifiable number to attribute to transportation cost, 
which was passed on to the client.  If I had three flat tires along the way, it 
was not cash out of my pocket.  Since trucking was simply a "necessary evil" 
in my old business (concert and convention sound and lights) it was simply 
better to farm it out.

You might be able to do great with your service, but I'd caution you to go 
into it with your eyes wide open.  If the truck is much over 5 years old, you 
will start having trouble with it.  It happens.  The life of a trucker is not an 
easy one. You get to drive through a lot of places that are similar to 
Shamrock.  Use caution, because they see your truck as a "revenue enhancing 
project."  

All in all, trucking makes radio look pretty good. 

YMMV

Chuck Conrad
KZQX Radio
www.kzqx.com




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