Things change in 24 hours.

In the Drive-Away business there is nothing certain.  There is constant change.

Weather is one of the factors of this job.  Go from sun and high 50’s to low 60’s one day then the next be in the high 20’s low 30’s.  Rain, snow, snain – which is a term I coined.  A mixture of snow and rain.  Not sleet that is hard little bits of hail.  Snain is mostly rain with snow flakes.  The snow does accumulate but it is slush, or the snow flakes splat when they hit a surface.

Anyway, back on track.  Joe’s next two weeks of work were planned out to be going across country.  From the West Coast to the East Coast with a trip through the North in between.

Joe's original schedule for two weeks

Within a little over 24 hours it has all changed.  This is Joe’s schedule now.  Which could be revised within the next 24 hour period.

Joe's current route

There is a lot of work to be had doing Drive-Away.  This time of year is not for the faint of heart, which is ME.  Snow, and lots of it, has accumulated in the northern part of the US and even down in quite a bit of the Midwest area.  The West is having their share of the snow and some areas, North West have been really hit by the snow this winter.

Are  you up for a challenge?  Pack you bags for both winter and spring weather.  Head on over to Dependable Transport‘s website.  While you are checking things out head on over to Coldiron’s website.

I’m going to behave myself and only say that had my Joe not invented the Transport Trailer first in 1999.  Invented, designed, and built the very first Transport Trailer then Mr. Coldiron would not be able to say that he is so special.  Joe has 9 of his trailers on the road while Mr. Coldiron has many of his “knock off” trailers available if you want to get in Drive-Away.

Sign up and become an Independent Contractor with Dependable Transport.

Dependable Transport is looking for drivers.

Dependable  Transport is in need of Drive-Away drivers.  Contact their Recruiting Department to sign up.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

A Class “A” CDL.

A minimum of 2 years over the road experience in driving big trucks.

A good driving record.

A vehicle to get you around the country for deadheading.

A boom, transport trailer for Drive-Away, or saddle mounts for Deck Sets.

A cell phone to make and receive calls from the dispatch office.

YOU are responsible for all Federal and State income taxes.  None are deducted from your Settlement.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM DEPENDABLE?

Pay starts at $1.20 per loaded mile.  There is an additional amount for Deck Sets.

Once signed on you will be required to call in twice daily to let them know where you are and your ETA to pick up or deliver trucks.

Pay is weekly on Friday.  All advances and pay are loaded to a ComData Card, provided by Dependable.  The Settlement Pay can be transferred to your home town bank.  To set that up you will fill out the necessary forms in the packet you will be originally sent.

Dependable supplies all DOT documents, insurance, plates, and IFTA.  You have to show proof of insurance of your personal vehicle and have a valid CDL.

Dependable supplies all Inspection Sheets or “Bills of Lading” as well as log books, state mileage forms and any other document you will need to do your job.  This includes Dock Receipts necessary to deliver to shipping ports in the US when they apply.

Dependable supplies “Trip Pack” envelopes to send in all of your paperwork.  They reimburse for tolls and permits needed to make your delivery.

Dependable sends you a 1099 Form to report all income made during the tax year for you to file for income taxes.

Dependable will withhold a percentage of your Settlement weekly for Escrow until you reach $1,700.  This is for the tags, DOT documents, IFTA stickers, and all Legals you are given when signed on.  Once the Escrow amount has been reached you will no longer have deductions taken out of your Settlement toward Escrow.  All Escrow monies will be refunded to you within 90 days  upon terminating your Independent Contractor status with Dependable.

You DO NOT have to live in the Joplin, Missouri area to sign on with Dependable.  This is a job that can be accomplished from anywhere in the Continental United States.

No “Forced Dispatch”.  This means you are free to turn a load down if you choose not to take it.  Plus you will not have to fear losing your job with Dependable for turning the load down.  You can take time off and be  routed home for things that can only be handled from home.  Doctor appointments, children graduating from school, family vacations, weddings, and any other reason you  need the time off.  We are home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years every year.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE DRIVE-AWAY JOB:

This is the “Ultimate Slip Seat” job.  You will never drive the same truck twice.  Once it is delivered you will not be driving it again.

You will be driving trucks that are 2007 and newer of every variety on the road.  Kenworth, Peterbilt, Mack, Freightliner, Volvo, Western Star, International, Sterling to mention a few.  Every truck you drive will have something new for you.  Fully automatic transmission with no clutch, clutch driven automatic transmission, 10 speed, 18 speed, 9 speed.  In short, you will gain knowledge in everything except a 4 by 4.

Worried about driving so many different trucks?  Hey….I’m a girl and I’ve done this for going on 12 years now.   If a GIRL can do it you can also.

You will be working out doors in all temperatures and weather conditions during the pick up and delivery phases of moving the trucks.

Most of all you will NOT be a “Company Driver”.  You will be an Independent Contractor, therefore you will be running your very own business.  It is important you treat this as a “Business” and not just a job.

The benefits of being a Drive-Away Transporter are many.  You get to see the United States a bit slower than in a regular “Dock Bumping” job.  You will have a personal vehicle to be a tourist when you find yourself in an area you would like to explore with time permitting.  We have seen most all of Baltimore, Maryland including all of the Inner Harbor sites and Fort McHenry.  We have been to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and to Sea World, also in Florida.

Personally, I have been at the waters edge of the oceans surrounding the US.  Florida to Washington State, California to Maine, and the Gulf of Mexico in several locations in Texas and Louisiana.

Contact Dependable Transport today.

2011 Paperwork is nearly finished.

The dreaded mess is nearly done for 2011.  I’m waiting on Settlement Sheets from one company for December to have an accurate income figure.

My “anal” side is happy 😀  Everything in order and filed away.

Invoices, bank statements, household expenses

Loads for 2011 with all receipts

Just a couple files left over for 2011 that have no income documentation.  Since I’m totally crazy these won’t be filed away until they are REALLY finished.

Awaiting further documentation

Once I get the necessary documents I can then put these bins in the stack with the rest of the years I have on hand until I can shred them.

For now, I’m totally stoked that the bin under my desk is EMPTY.  It is ready for 2012….I’m not ready to dive into this mess once again.

Ready for 2012

I suppose you are wondering why I’m so fanatical about this paperwork.  Our son didn’t keep track of his expenses a few years back.  He learned the hard way when he was socked with a tax bill of $14,000.  He liked to have choked.  We will be paying taxes, as we do every year, about $3,000 for Federal and a little over $1,000 for State taxes.

The day to day operations of this business are pretty much the same as what you have in your daily life.  Except ours are sometimes on steroids 😀

Fuel for 2011 was $36,087.47.  That is the diesel fuel we put in the trucks to get them delivered plus the fuel in our deadhead expenses.

Lodging for 2011 was $11,795.56.  While we are on the road we stay in hotels every night.  Most of the trucks we deliver don’t have mattresses in them.  Those that do are covered in black grease or they are so filthy and stinky from sweaty bodies and my phobia of creepy crawlies gets the better of me.  I spend days scratching my head and am positive I have head lice.  This doesn’t count the numerous spider bites I get yearly just from driving.

Meals for 2011 was $11,665.39 with Tips that I can actually document are $1,301.02.  We put cash down most of the time and I forget to write it on the receipt 😦  Truck stop food is an everyday occurrence with a good restaurant from time to time when we are deadheading to the next load.

Equipment Repairs for 2011 was $5,649.38.  This includes my boom breaking and having to be repaired last May or early June.  There is always something in this business.

Repairs and Maintenance on the pickup in 2011 was $2,083.26.  We have a 2002 Ford F-250 with well over 350,000 miles on it.  Gladys is what we depend on to do this job and she has to be very well maintained.

Our total expenses for 2011 were $86,649.95.  This figure includes tolls, permits, medical, clothing, bank fees, faxes sent, photocopies made, FedEx postage fees, office supplies so I can keep track of this ungainly mess, vehicle insurance, oil testing to keep on top of the wear on our pickup engine, cell phones, and supplies like bolts and hydraulic hose replacement.

We put $15,484.43 back into our business last year.  Not all the income we made was kept for ourselves.

The income we made last year sure does look good.  Sitting at $95,250.93 while I wait for the remainder of the Settlement payments.  Take the expenses out of that income and we made a grand total of $24,085.41 that we will be paying taxes on for 2011.

I have about 300 hours of data entry over the course of last year keeping control of this massive job.  To say that I hate this task is an understatement.  It is something that HAS to be done.  Anyone that is in business for themselves must do this.  If you don’t keep track of all the little slips of paper you won’t know how good or bad your business is doing.

If you rely on an accountant or a bookkeeper to do this job for you….well you might as well pucker up and begin to whistle a tune.  Ain’t gonna happen.  They don’t have the time, nor the desire, to go through all the pieces of paper and pigeon hole each one.  Especially when they have numerous clients that are just as needy as I am in getting this crap filed.

I am awaiting bank statements to finish December 2011, the 1099 forms from the various companies we worked with last year, and the last of the Settlement sheets.

Until these things arrive I’m free to now spend my days in my craft room.  My housework is done.  Every room has been cleaned so now it is just the maintenance of dusting and vacuuming and a bit of laundry during the week.

Outta my way, I’m coming through 😀  Time to go play 😀

I’m taking an online class at my local community college again this year.  Last winter I took a class on Basic HTML to create my crafting website.  This year I’m taking the next class which is CSS and XHTML to give my website a kick in the pants 😀

If you want to know what I’m doing check on my other blog – Message In A Fold – to see the crafting things I’m doing.  Gotta have something to do to keep busy 😀

A whole lot of banging going on!

Do you remember my post way, way back in June?  About our home that had been riddled with holes from a hail storm in May?

Hail damage

We….wait, I don’t have a frog in my pocket…JOE has been dealing with the insurance company since June 23rd when we got home to see this mess.

Finally, work was begun on December 28th to get the damage fixed.

Starting the repairs

The roof is being repaired on one side.  The guys were up there scraping, pounding, walking, hefting heavy packs of shingles up there, and just being busy little beavers.

Repairing the roof

There were a couple places on the back of our home that had some holes.  While the guys were working back there with their pounding and banging there was some jingling and crashing going on inside.  That back wall is where the  master bathroom is.

Rear wall

The roof is finished on the one side with new shingles.  That is one of the sore points with Joe.  All the homes in this housing area have had their entire roofs replaced.  The insurance company has only given way to having one side repaired on our home.  Joe is fit to be tied.  At least it is finished.

Roof repaired

The siding on the front of our house has been replaced, finally.  I didn’t get photos of that and need to remedy it.

Front of house repaired

The last thing for the workers to do is to replace the skirting around our home and this work will be finished.  Joe has asked that we get rain gutters installed.  The contractor is looking into what he can do for us.  That will be done later, in February.  The most important part is getting all those holes taken care of before we get another storm and have damage inside.

I’m very thankful we live where there has not been a lot of moisture from rain or snow.  And now when I come home I don’t have to look at my home and think it has been used as military strafing practice 😀

There is always some kind of foolishness and mayhem going on around me 😀  Otherwise known as “Blog Fodder” 😀

A chuckle to start the new year off right

My daughter-in-law sends me funny emails from time to time.  This one will make you chuckle, or even snort with laughter 😀

These are classified ads, which were actually placed in U.K. Newspapers:

 

FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old,
Hateful little bastard.
Bites!

FREE PUPPIES
1/2Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbour’s dog.

FREE PUPPIES.
Mother is a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd.
Father is a Super Dog, able to leap tall fences in a single bound.


COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
Also 1 gay bull for sale.


JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer £100.


WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE .
Worn once by mistake.
Call Stephanie.



FOR SALE BY OWNER.
Complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 45 volumes.
Excellent condition, £200 or best offer. No longer needed, got married, wife knows everything.

Feel free to copy and paste this into your emails.  Send someone you know a chuckle for the day.

Happy New Year

2011 flew by!  I want to start the New Year off with a quote I found that sums up my wish for each of you, my friends.

Aisha Elderwyn
Every new year people make resolutions to change aspects of themselves they believe are negative. A majority of people revert back to how they were before and feel like failures. This year I challenge you to a new resolution. I challenge you to just be yourself.

A toast to Just Be Yourself

May this year, 2012, bring you health.   Those battling diseases and sickness, may you find this year one that gives you a better life free of last years ills.

May this year, 2012, bring you happiness.  Those going through troubling times in relationships, job worries, or housing issues.  May you find this year to begin a fresh new life that renews your spirit and uplifts your heart.

May this year, 2012, bring you wealth.  May the troubling times of 2011 be put behind you and this year turn the tide on your troubles to bring you peace and comfort.

My wish for you, my friends, is that you experience life to its fullest this year with the confidence of BEING YOURSELF.

Leslie