Watch this episode on YouTube: <a href= "https://youtu.be/vMtf0ZtSbbA">https://youtu.be/vMtf0ZtSbbA</a> Fleet maintenance isn't sexy — but it's one of the highest expenses in trucking, the most controllable, and by far the most ignored. Justin Brevik of Bosch FleetMe returns to the BulkLoads Podcast to break down exactly where fleets bleed money on maintenance and how to fix it, whether you run 3 trucks or 3,000. Host Jared Flinn and Justin cover the real cost of letting a truck sit at a dealership, the oil-change myth costing you thousands, why tires are your #1 maintenance expense (and the cheap fix almost nobody does), and how to move your operation from reactive to preventative to predictive maintenance. If you're an owner-operator, carrier, or fleet manager trying to protect your margins, this one pays for itself. Want to be featured on the BulkLoads Podcast? <a href= "https://www.bulkloadsmedia.com/">https://www.bulkloadsmedia.com/</a> ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 Joining Bosch's Fleet Maintenance Team 05:23 Fleet maintenance strategies 09:55 360-degree DVIR integration 11:18 Streamlining fleet breakdown response 14:40 Evaluating and training technicians 19:00 Dealership repair and staffing insights 22:11 Tire maintenance and oil changes 23:45 Fleet management tools overview

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vMtf0ZtSbbA Fleet maintenance isn't sexy — but it's one of the highest expenses in trucking, the most controllable, and by far the most ignored. Justin Brevik of Bosch FleetMe returns to the BulkLoads Podcast to break down exactly where fleets bleed money on maintenance and how to fix it, whether you run 3 trucks or 3,000. Host Jared Flinn and Justin cover the real cost of letting a truck sit at a dealership, the oil-change myth costing you thousands, why tires are your #1 maintenance expense (and the cheap fix almost nobody does), and how to move your operation from reactive to preventative to predictive maintenance. If you're an owner-operator, carrier, or fleet manager trying to protect your margins, this one pays for itself. Want to be featured on the BulkLoads Podcast? https://www.bulkloadsmedia.com/ ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 Joining Bosch's Fleet Maintenance Team 05:23 Fleet maintenance strategies 09:55 360-degree DVIR integration 11:18 Streamlining fleet breakdown response 14:40 Evaluating and training technicians 19:00 Dealership repair and staffing insights 22:11 Tire maintenance and oil changes 23:45 Fleet management tools overview

Watch this episode on YouTube: <a href="https://youtu.be/vMtf0ZtSbbA" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://youtu.be/vMtf0ZtSbbA</a> Fleet maintenance isn't sexy — but it's one of the highest expenses in trucking, the most controllable, and by far the most ignored. Justin Brevik of Bosch FleetMe returns to the BulkLoads Podcast to break down exactly where fleets bleed money on maintenance and how to fix it, whether you run 3 trucks or 3,000. Host Jared Flinn and Justin cover the real cost of letting a truck sit at a dealership, the oil-change myth costing you thousands, why tires are your #1 maintenance expense (and the cheap fix almost nobody does), and how to move your operation from reactive to preventative to predictive maintenance. If you're an owner-operator, carrier, or fleet manager trying to protect your margins, this one pays for itself. Want to be featured on the BulkLoads Podcast? <a href="https://www.bulkloadsmedia.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.bulkloadsmedia.com/</a> ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 Joining Bosch's Fleet Maintenance Team 05:23 Fleet maintenance strategies 09:55 360-degree DVIR integration 11:18 Streamlining fleet breakdown response 14:40 Evaluating and training technicians 19:00 Dealership repair and staffing insights 22:11 Tire maintenance and oil changes 23:45 Fleet management tools overview

BLP 366: $10,000 to Replace a $300 Part? The Dealership Trap Explained

Watch this episode on YouTube: <a href= "https://youtu.be/OUVacbL2k7g">https://youtu.be/OUVacbL2k7g</a> For Matt and Sharon Kill, the goal was never to have the biggest fleet. But it took growing to 21 trucks — and nearly losing what mattered — to figure that out. The family started with nothing: one truck, a borrowed belt trailer, and a 1950s pay loader that lost steering every time you let off the throttle. After Matt got let go from John Deere, they accidentally built a four-way ag operation — trucking, manure spreading, farming, and feed commodity trading out of Saint Mary's, Ohio. 🎙️ Brought to you by BulkLoads — the bulk freight marketplace built for carriers, brokers, and shippers. Matt and Sharon have been members since the very beginning. Find loads, grow your operation, and connect with the bulk trucking community at <a href= "https://bulkloads.com">https://bulkloads.com</a> ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ CHAPTERS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Meeting the Kill family 01:00 From John Deere to a borrowed belt trailer: how it started 04:10 Four businesses under one roof 04:32 The roller coaster: scaling from 8 to 21 trucks 06:42 Inside Ohio's massive ag country 07:08 The poultry litter business explained 09:20 "We started from nothing" — the old equipment days 11:07 Buying totaled belt trailers for pennies 11:49 The hardest part of the job 13:15 "Maybe we should just give this up" 15:31 Matt's learning disabilities and building it anyway 16:26 Who runs what: the team behind the operation 18:27 Where the business goes from here 20:25 Why no two farming operations are the same 22:28 Best advice for someone starting in trucking 26:33 Building it together from day one 28:42 What they pull from the BulkLoads podcast 29:13 Thank you

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OUVacbL2k7g For Matt and Sharon Kill, the goal was never to have the biggest fleet. But it took growing to 21 trucks — and nearly losing what mattered — to figure that out. The family started with nothing: one truck, a borrowed belt trailer, and a 1950s pay loader that lost steering every time you let off the throttle. After Matt got let go from John Deere, they accidentally built a four-way ag operation — trucking, manure spreading, farming, and feed commodity trading out of Saint Mary's, Ohio. 🎙️ Brought to you by BulkLoads — the bulk freight marketplace built for carriers, brokers, and shippers. Matt and Sharon have been members since the very beginning. Find loads, grow your operation, and connect with the bulk trucking community at https://bulkloads.com ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ CHAPTERS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Meeting the Kill family 01:00 From John Deere to a borrowed belt trailer: how it started 04:10 Four businesses under one roof 04:32 The roller coaster: scaling from 8 to 21 trucks 06:42 Inside Ohio's massive ag country 07:08 The poultry litter business explained 09:20 "We started from nothing" — the old equipment days 11:07 Buying totaled belt trailers for pennies 11:49 The hardest part of the job 13:15 "Maybe we should just give this up" 15:31 Matt's learning disabilities and building it anyway 16:26 Who runs what: the team behind the operation 18:27 Where the business goes from here 20:25 Why no two farming operations are the same 22:28 Best advice for someone starting in trucking 26:33 Building it together from day one 28:42 What they pull from the BulkLoads podcast 29:13 Thank you

Watch this episode on YouTube: <a href="https://youtu.be/OUVacbL2k7g" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://youtu.be/OUVacbL2k7g</a> For Matt and Sharon Kill, the goal was never to have the biggest fleet. But it took growing to 21 trucks — and nearly losing what mattered — to figure that out. The family started with nothing: one truck, a borrowed belt trailer, and a 1950s pay loader that lost steering every time you let off the throttle. After Matt got let go from John Deere, they accidentally built a four-way ag operation — trucking, manure spreading, farming, and feed commodity trading out of Saint Mary's, Ohio. 🎙️ Brought to you by BulkLoads — the bulk freight marketplace built for carriers, brokers, and shippers. Matt and Sharon have been members since the very beginning. Find loads, grow your operation, and connect with the bulk trucking community at <a href="https://bulkloads.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://bulkloads.com</a> ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ CHAPTERS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Meeting the Kill family 01:00 From John Deere to a borrowed belt trailer: how it started 04:10 Four businesses under one roof 04:32 The roller coaster: scaling from 8 to 21 trucks 06:42 Inside Ohio's massive ag country 07:08 The poultry litter business explained 09:20 "We started from nothing" — the old equipment days 11:07 Buying totaled belt trailers for pennies 11:49 The hardest part of the job 13:15 "Maybe we should just give this up" 15:31 Matt's learning disabilities and building it anyway 16:26 Who runs what: the team behind the operation 18:27 Where the business goes from here 20:25 Why no two farming operations are the same 22:28 Best advice for someone starting in trucking 26:33 Building it together from day one 28:42 What they pull from the BulkLoads podcast 29:13 Thank you

BLP 365: For This Business, Success isn't Measured in Trucks

Watch on YouTube: <a href= "https://youtu.be/n2-i0RKCoWs">https://youtu.be/n2-i0RKCoWs</a> Craig Broerman left a corporate mechanical engineering career, sold the money meant for his grandparents' farm, and bought a belt trailer in 2019. Six years later, he and his cousin Alan Lennartz are running 7–10 trucks across the Midwest hauling DDGs, soybean meal, cottonseed, and industrial products — and they did it before either of them turned 32. In this episode, Jared sits down with Craig and Alan on location in Portland, Indiana to talk about the BulkLoads find that changed everything, the phone call in a North Carolina cornfield that made Craig get out of the truck for good, the mistakes they made buying "shiny" equipment, and the insurance and scaling realities nobody warns young carriers about. If you're an owner-operator, small fleet, or thinking about getting into bulk trucking — this one's a roadmap. ⏱ TIMECODES 00:00 – On location in Portland, Indiana 00:43 – From mechanical engineer to belt trailer owner 02:25 – Finding BulkLoads and the first direct customer 03:25 – Retiring his wife from her corporate job 04:40 – Alan's path: asphalt, COVID, and "buy a truck" 06:00 – The conversation that split the businesses 06:30 – The cornfield phone call that changed everything 09:40 – How they funded the first truck (the farm gamble) 11:00 – Why posted loads = desperation (and opportunity) 13:30 – Reading the cottonseed market before it shifted 15:30 – Playing the long game on rates and relationships 17:15 – Why Craig thinks 5 years ahead, not 5 days 20:30 – What's actually moving in/out of Ohio–Indiana ag country 22:18 – Why they can't run hoppers in this region 24:40 – The real ROI of the BulkLoads Conference 27:30 – Trust, transparency, and family in business 28:00 – Biggest mistakes: overpriced trucks and hiring too soon 31:30 – How they decide when to scale (and when to wait) 36:50 – Spec'ing equipment: powertrains, trailers, and tonnage 39:00 – 48' vs 53' Conestoga — three months of research 42:30 – DDG market shifts and lane risk 44:00 – The insurance ceiling nobody talks about 47:20 – Advice for young people getting into trucking and logistics 51:30 – Why this part of the country looks the way it does 🚛 ABOUT BULKLOADS BulkLoads is the freight marketplace built for bulk carriers, brokers, and shippers. From the load board to Smart Freight Funding, Bulk Insurance, Permitting, and BulkTMS — we're the operating system for bulk trucking. 👉 Become a member: <a href= "https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=BNW+PODCAST"> https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=BNW+PODCAST</a> 🎙 Subscribe for more carrier stories every week 🎤 Join us at the next BulkLoads Conference

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n2-i0RKCoWs Craig Broerman left a corporate mechanical engineering career, sold the money meant for his grandparents' farm, and bought a belt trailer in 2019. Six years later, he and his cousin Alan Lennartz are running 7–10 trucks across the Midwest hauling DDGs, soybean meal, cottonseed, and industrial products — and they did it before either of them turned 32. In this episode, Jared sits down with Craig and Alan on location in Portland, Indiana to talk about the BulkLoads find that changed everything, the phone call in a North Carolina cornfield that made Craig get out of the truck for good, the mistakes they made buying "shiny" equipment, and the insurance and scaling realities nobody warns young carriers about. If you're an owner-operator, small fleet, or thinking about getting into bulk trucking — this one's a roadmap. ⏱ TIMECODES 00:00 – On location in Portland, Indiana 00:43 – From mechanical engineer to belt trailer owner 02:25 – Finding BulkLoads and the first direct customer 03:25 – Retiring his wife from her corporate job 04:40 – Alan's path: asphalt, COVID, and "buy a truck" 06:00 – The conversation that split the businesses 06:30 – The cornfield phone call that changed everything 09:40 – How they funded the first truck (the farm gamble) 11:00 – Why posted loads = desperation (and opportunity) 13:30 – Reading the cottonseed market before it shifted 15:30 – Playing the long game on rates and relationships 17:15 – Why Craig thinks 5 years ahead, not 5 days 20:30 – What's actually moving in/out of Ohio–Indiana ag country 22:18 – Why they can't run hoppers in this region 24:40 – The real ROI of the BulkLoads Conference 27:30 – Trust, transparency, and family in business 28:00 – Biggest mistakes: overpriced trucks and hiring too soon 31:30 – How they decide when to scale (and when to wait) 36:50 – Spec'ing equipment: powertrains, trailers, and tonnage 39:00 – 48' vs 53' Conestoga — three months of research 42:30 – DDG market shifts and lane risk 44:00 – The insurance ceiling nobody talks about 47:20 – Advice for young people getting into trucking and logistics 51:30 – Why this part of the country looks the way it does 🚛 ABOUT BULKLOADS BulkLoads is the freight marketplace built for bulk carriers, brokers, and shippers. From the load board to Smart Freight Funding, Bulk Insurance, Permitting, and BulkTMS — we're the operating system for bulk trucking. 👉 Become a member: https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=BNW+PODCAST 🎙 Subscribe for more carrier stories every week 🎤 Join us at the next BulkLoads Conference

Watch on YouTube: <a href="https://youtu.be/n2-i0RKCoWs" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://youtu.be/n2-i0RKCoWs</a> Craig Broerman left a corporate mechanical engineering career, sold the money meant for his grandparents' farm, and bought a belt trailer in 2019. Six years later, he and his cousin Alan Lennartz are running 7–10 trucks across the Midwest hauling DDGs, soybean meal, cottonseed, and industrial products — and they did it before either of them turned 32. In this episode, Jared sits down with Craig and Alan on location in Portland, Indiana to talk about the BulkLoads find that changed everything, the phone call in a North Carolina cornfield that made Craig get out of the truck for good, the mistakes they made buying "shiny" equipment, and the insurance and scaling realities nobody warns young carriers about. If you're an owner-operator, small fleet, or thinking about getting into bulk trucking — this one's a roadmap. ⏱ TIMECODES 00:00 – On location in Portland, Indiana 00:43 – From mechanical engineer to belt trailer owner 02:25 – Finding BulkLoads and the first direct customer 03:25 – Retiring his wife from her corporate job 04:40 – Alan's path: asphalt, COVID, and "buy a truck" 06:00 – The conversation that split the businesses 06:30 – The cornfield phone call that changed everything 09:40 – How they funded the first truck (the farm gamble) 11:00 – Why posted loads = desperation (and opportunity) 13:30 – Reading the cottonseed market before it shifted 15:30 – Playing the long game on rates and relationships 17:15 – Why Craig thinks 5 years ahead, not 5 days 20:30 – What's actually moving in/out of Ohio–Indiana ag country 22:18 – Why they can't run hoppers in this region 24:40 – The real ROI of the BulkLoads Conference 27:30 – Trust, transparency, and family in business 28:00 – Biggest mistakes: overpriced trucks and hiring too soon 31:30 – How they decide when to scale (and when to wait) 36:50 – Spec'ing equipment: powertrains, trailers, and tonnage 39:00 – 48' vs 53' Conestoga — three months of research 42:30 – DDG market shifts and lane risk 44:00 – The insurance ceiling nobody talks about 47:20 – Advice for young people getting into trucking and logistics 51:30 – Why this part of the country looks the way it does 🚛 ABOUT BULKLOADS BulkLoads is the freight marketplace built for bulk carriers, brokers, and shippers. From the load board to Smart Freight Funding, Bulk Insurance, Permitting, and BulkTMS — we're the operating system for bulk trucking. 👉 Become a member: <a href="https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&amp;utm_medium=Video&amp;utm_campaign=BNW+PODCAST" rel="noopener noreferrer"> https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&amp;utm_medium=Video&amp;utm_campaign=BNW+PODCAST</a> 🎙 Subscribe for more carrier stories every week 🎤 Join us at the next BulkLoads Conference

BLP 364: Why This 31-Year-Old Says Fancy Trucks Are Killing Owner-Operators

Watch it on YouTube: <a href= "https://youtu.be/xnLyii6krVg">https://youtu.be/xnLyii6krVg</a> What does it take to run a four-generation family business through cotton, cattle, pipeline restoration, AND a 7-truck hopper fleet — all at the same time? This week we sat down with Bob Blackwell and his son-in-law Jared Reaves at Blackwell Trucking in Wayne, Oklahoma. Three generations of Blackwells have worked this land. Bob started chasing pipeline restoration jobs 25 years ago when one came across his field — and built Blackwell Trucking on the side just to keep his own equipment moving. Then the last four years took a swing at them. Pipeline work went quiet. Solar customers walked off with over half a million dollars of unpaid work. Flatbed rates collapsed. And the family that had survived everything from boll weevils to a 1970s farm bankruptcy was looking for a way forward. Then Jared heard a podcast in his pig barn that changed everything. In this conversation we get into the full picture: how pipeline restoration actually works, why Bob won't buy stockers, the brutal economics of cattle and cotton, why he calls solar "a shell game," the wreck-truck rebuild, the engine that came apart in the shop, the role of faith in their business, and the very human moments behind the family's "GIG, GAP" philosophy — God Is Good, God Always Provides. If you're a carrier wondering whether there's a more consistent path than flatbed, a shipper looking for hard-working family operators, or a farm-and-ranch family trying to figure out the next chapter — this episode is for you. ▶ Find consistent hopper and bulk freight: <a href= "https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast"> https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast</a> ▶ Are you a shipper looking for family carriers like the Blackwells? <a href= "https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast"> https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast</a> ▶ Subscribe wherever you listen: Apple, Spotify, YouTube CHAPTERS 00:00 — Meet the Blackwells: 3 Generations on the Same Land 00:55 — How a Pipeline Across Bob's Field Started Everything 02:30 — Why They Started Blackwell Trucking 03:00 — Today: 7 Trucks, Goal of 10 04:34 — The Podcast in the Pig Barn That Changed Everything 05:30 — Why Hoppers Are More Consistent Than Flatbed 06:00 — Working with Chris & Michael at RFG 06:50 — The End Game: Cutting Out the Middleman 07:30 — "It's a Turtle Race" 08:00 — Cattle, Wildfires, and What Bad Land Management Looks Like 09:30 — The Engine That Came Apart in the Shop 10:00 — What Pipeline Restoration Actually Is 12:53 — Inside a 100-Mile Pipeline Project 13:30 — The $500,000 Solar Disaster 14:30 — "Solar is a Shell Game" 17:30 — Three Generations of Blackwells 18:00 — Why Bob Won't Buy Stockers 20:40 — The 8-Cent Brangus Lesson That Changed His Cattle Operation 22:00 — When Bob Got Into Rodeo Stock 23:30 — Where He Markets His Cattle Today 25:40 — Cattle Prices: Then vs. Now 28:20 — Cotton Country: How an Entire Region Dried Up 29:30 — Milo, Sorghum, and Fallow-Ground Decisions 31:42 — "The Only Difference Between Farming and Vegas..." 32:30 — Why Weather Is 95% of the Business 33:30 — What They Do for Fun: Lake Murray 34:30 — How Jared Got Here: Saint Louis → Mizzou → Bartlett → Springfield 37:00 — Why Joplin Stockyards Surpassed Oklahoma City 38:30 — "The Wealthiest Companies Got Wealthy off the Backs of Farmers" 39:50 — Why Cotton Doesn't Pencil Anymore 41:00 — The Peanut Program and Government Subsidies 43:00 — The Soybean Crop That Paid for His Son's Birth 45:30 — Why Equipment Payments Don't Work Anymore 46:30 — Converting Cropland to Bermuda Grass 47:04 — How Faith Holds the Whole Operation Together 48:30 — "GIG. GAP. God Is Good. God Always Provides." 48:50 — The Check-in-the-Mail Moments CONNECT WITH BLACKWELL TRUCKING Wayne, Oklahoma CONNECT WITH BULKLOADS Website: https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast #BulkLoads #FamilyTrucking #HopperFreight #AgTrucking #PipelineRestoration #CattleBusiness #SmallBusinessAmerica #TruckingPodcast

Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xnLyii6krVg What does it take to run a four-generation family business through cotton, cattle, pipeline restoration, AND a 7-truck hopper fleet — all at the same time? This week we sat down with Bob Blackwell and his son-in-law Jared Reaves at Blackwell Trucking in Wayne, Oklahoma. Three generations of Blackwells have worked this land. Bob started chasing pipeline restoration jobs 25 years ago when one came across his field — and built Blackwell Trucking on the side just to keep his own equipment moving. Then the last four years took a swing at them. Pipeline work went quiet. Solar customers walked off with over half a million dollars of unpaid work. Flatbed rates collapsed. And the family that had survived everything from boll weevils to a 1970s farm bankruptcy was looking for a way forward. Then Jared heard a podcast in his pig barn that changed everything. In this conversation we get into the full picture: how pipeline restoration actually works, why Bob won't buy stockers, the brutal economics of cattle and cotton, why he calls solar "a shell game," the wreck-truck rebuild, the engine that came apart in the shop, the role of faith in their business, and the very human moments behind the family's "GIG, GAP" philosophy — God Is Good, God Always Provides. If you're a carrier wondering whether there's a more consistent path than flatbed, a shipper looking for hard-working family operators, or a farm-and-ranch family trying to figure out the next chapter — this episode is for you. ▶ Find consistent hopper and bulk freight: https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast ▶ Are you a shipper looking for family carriers like the Blackwells? https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast ▶ Subscribe wherever you listen: Apple, Spotify, YouTube CHAPTERS 00:00 — Meet the Blackwells: 3 Generations on the Same Land 00:55 — How a Pipeline Across Bob's Field Started Everything 02:30 — Why They Started Blackwell Trucking 03:00 — Today: 7 Trucks, Goal of 10 04:34 — The Podcast in the Pig Barn That Changed Everything 05:30 — Why Hoppers Are More Consistent Than Flatbed 06:00 — Working with Chris & Michael at RFG 06:50 — The End Game: Cutting Out the Middleman 07:30 — "It's a Turtle Race" 08:00 — Cattle, Wildfires, and What Bad Land Management Looks Like 09:30 — The Engine That Came Apart in the Shop 10:00 — What Pipeline Restoration Actually Is 12:53 — Inside a 100-Mile Pipeline Project 13:30 — The $500,000 Solar Disaster 14:30 — "Solar is a Shell Game" 17:30 — Three Generations of Blackwells 18:00 — Why Bob Won't Buy Stockers 20:40 — The 8-Cent Brangus Lesson That Changed His Cattle Operation 22:00 — When Bob Got Into Rodeo Stock 23:30 — Where He Markets His Cattle Today 25:40 — Cattle Prices: Then vs. Now 28:20 — Cotton Country: How an Entire Region Dried Up 29:30 — Milo, Sorghum, and Fallow-Ground Decisions 31:42 — "The Only Difference Between Farming and Vegas..." 32:30 — Why Weather Is 95% of the Business 33:30 — What They Do for Fun: Lake Murray 34:30 — How Jared Got Here: Saint Louis → Mizzou → Bartlett → Springfield 37:00 — Why Joplin Stockyards Surpassed Oklahoma City 38:30 — "The Wealthiest Companies Got Wealthy off the Backs of Farmers" 39:50 — Why Cotton Doesn't Pencil Anymore 41:00 — The Peanut Program and Government Subsidies 43:00 — The Soybean Crop That Paid for His Son's Birth 45:30 — Why Equipment Payments Don't Work Anymore 46:30 — Converting Cropland to Bermuda Grass 47:04 — How Faith Holds the Whole Operation Together 48:30 — "GIG. GAP. God Is Good. God Always Provides." 48:50 — The Check-in-the-Mail Moments CONNECT WITH BLACKWELL TRUCKING Wayne, Oklahoma CONNECT WITH BULKLOADS Website: https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast #BulkLoads #FamilyTrucking #HopperFreight #AgTrucking #PipelineRestoration #CattleBusiness #SmallBusinessAmerica #TruckingPodcast

Watch it on YouTube: <a href="https://youtu.be/xnLyii6krVg" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://youtu.be/xnLyii6krVg</a> What does it take to run a four-generation family business through cotton, cattle, pipeline restoration, AND a 7-truck hopper fleet — all at the same time? This week we sat down with Bob Blackwell and his son-in-law Jared Reaves at Blackwell Trucking in Wayne, Oklahoma. Three generations of Blackwells have worked this land. Bob started chasing pipeline restoration jobs 25 years ago when one came across his field — and built Blackwell Trucking on the side just to keep his own equipment moving. Then the last four years took a swing at them. Pipeline work went quiet. Solar customers walked off with over half a million dollars of unpaid work. Flatbed rates collapsed. And the family that had survived everything from boll weevils to a 1970s farm bankruptcy was looking for a way forward. Then Jared heard a podcast in his pig barn that changed everything. In this conversation we get into the full picture: how pipeline restoration actually works, why Bob won't buy stockers, the brutal economics of cattle and cotton, why he calls solar "a shell game," the wreck-truck rebuild, the engine that came apart in the shop, the role of faith in their business, and the very human moments behind the family's "GIG, GAP" philosophy — God Is Good, God Always Provides. If you're a carrier wondering whether there's a more consistent path than flatbed, a shipper looking for hard-working family operators, or a farm-and-ranch family trying to figure out the next chapter — this episode is for you. ▶ Find consistent hopper and bulk freight: <a href="https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&amp;utm_medium=Video&amp;utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer"> https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&amp;utm_medium=Video&amp;utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast</a> ▶ Are you a shipper looking for family carriers like the Blackwells? <a href="https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&amp;utm_medium=Video&amp;utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer"> https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&amp;utm_medium=Video&amp;utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast</a> ▶ Subscribe wherever you listen: Apple, Spotify, YouTube CHAPTERS 00:00 — Meet the Blackwells: 3 Generations on the Same Land 00:55 — How a Pipeline Across Bob's Field Started Everything 02:30 — Why They Started Blackwell Trucking 03:00 — Today: 7 Trucks, Goal of 10 04:34 — The Podcast in the Pig Barn That Changed Everything 05:30 — Why Hoppers Are More Consistent Than Flatbed 06:00 — Working with Chris &amp; Michael at RFG 06:50 — The End Game: Cutting Out the Middleman 07:30 — "It's a Turtle Race" 08:00 — Cattle, Wildfires, and What Bad Land Management Looks Like 09:30 — The Engine That Came Apart in the Shop 10:00 — What Pipeline Restoration Actually Is 12:53 — Inside a 100-Mile Pipeline Project 13:30 — The $500,000 Solar Disaster 14:30 — "Solar is a Shell Game" 17:30 — Three Generations of Blackwells 18:00 — Why Bob Won't Buy Stockers 20:40 — The 8-Cent Brangus Lesson That Changed His Cattle Operation 22:00 — When Bob Got Into Rodeo Stock 23:30 — Where He Markets His Cattle Today 25:40 — Cattle Prices: Then vs. Now 28:20 — Cotton Country: How an Entire Region Dried Up 29:30 — Milo, Sorghum, and Fallow-Ground Decisions 31:42 — "The Only Difference Between Farming and Vegas..." 32:30 — Why Weather Is 95% of the Business 33:30 — What They Do for Fun: Lake Murray 34:30 — How Jared Got Here: Saint Louis → Mizzou → Bartlett → Springfield 37:00 — Why Joplin Stockyards Surpassed Oklahoma City 38:30 — "The Wealthiest Companies Got Wealthy off the Backs of Farmers" 39:50 — Why Cotton Doesn't Pencil Anymore 41:00 — The Peanut Program and Government Subsidies 43:00 — The Soybean Crop That Paid for His Son's Birth 45:30 — Why Equipment Payments Don't Work Anymore 46:30 — Converting Cropland to Bermuda Grass 47:04 — How Faith Holds the Whole Operation Together 48:30 — "GIG. GAP. God Is Good. God Always Provides." 48:50 — The Check-in-the-Mail Moments CONNECT WITH BLACKWELL TRUCKING Wayne, Oklahoma CONNECT WITH BULKLOADS Website: https://bulkloads.com?utm_source=YouTube&amp;utm_medium=Video&amp;utm_campaign=Blackwell+Podcast #BulkLoads #FamilyTrucking #HopperFreight #AgTrucking #PipelineRestoration #CattleBusiness #SmallBusinessAmerica #TruckingPodcast

BLP 363: The $500K Lesson: Inside Blackwell Trucking's Pivot to Hopper Freight

Ever wonder how fuel cards work and what the benefits are to you?  Find out today in our interview with Brian Huber.

Ever wonder how fuel cards work and what the benefits are to you? Find out today in our interview with Brian Huber.

Ever wonder how fuel cards work and what the benefits are to you? &nbsp;Find out today in our interview with Brian Huber.

BLP 004: How Fuel Cards Work And Can Benefit You With Brian Huber

What are the current challenges you are facing, and how will you diversify?

BLP 003: The Current Challenges In Bulk Trucking With Curt Visser

What are the current challenges you are facing, and how will you diversify?

How is the wheat harvest going impact your business and the bulk freight industry?

BLP 002: Wheat Harvest And Trucking With Fred Schweer

How is the wheat harvest going impact your business and the bulk freight industry?

How are drought conditions in the Mid-West going to impact your bottom line when it comes to hauling commodities?

BLP 001: How Drought Conditions Will Affect Trucking In The Midwest With Chad Villwok

How are drought conditions in the Mid-West going to impact your bottom line when it comes to hauling commodities?

A trucking podcast that covers all aspects of bulk freight trucking. Hosted by Jared Flinn, owner of multiple trucking-related businesses. 

Jared brings on a new guest weekly to discuss technology, innovation, safety & compliance, insurance, trucking success stories, and much more related to the bulk freight trucking industry.

This podcast hits on all aspects of the industry, our audience includes bulk haulers, shippers, brokers, merchandisers, farmers, and more.

Check out our related businesses for bulk freight:

BulkLoads - www.bulkloads.com

Bulk Insurance Group - www.bulkinsurancegroup.com

Smart Freight Funding - www.smartfreightfunding.com

Transportation Management (TMS) - https://www.bulktms.com/

Permitting- https://www.bulkloads.com/tools/permitting/

Business

Careers

A trucking podcast that covers all aspects of bulk freight trucking. Hosted by Jared Flinn, owner of multiple trucking-related businesses. Jared brings on a new guest weekly to discuss technology, innovation, safety & compliance, insurance, trucking success stories, and much more related to the bulk freight trucking industry. This podcast hits on all aspects of the industry, our audience includes bulk haulers, shippers, brokers, merchandisers, farmers, and more. Check out our related businesses for bulk freight: BulkLoads - www.bulkloads.com Bulk Insurance Group - www.bulkinsurancegroup.com Smart Freight Funding - www.smartfreightfunding.com Transportation Management (TMS) - https://www.bulktms.com/ Permitting- https://www.bulkloads.com/tools/permitting/

A trucking podcast that covers all aspects of bulk freight trucking. Hosted by Jared Flinn, owner of multiple trucking-related businesses. 

Jared brings on a new guest weekly to discuss technology, innovation, safety &amp; compliance, insurance, trucking success stories, and much more related to the bulk freight trucking industry.

This podcast hits on all aspects of the industry, our audience includes bulk haulers, shippers, brokers, merchandisers, farmers, and more.

Check out our related businesses for bulk freight:

BulkLoads - www.bulkloads.com

Bulk Insurance Group - www.bulkinsurancegroup.com

Smart Freight Funding - www.smartfreightfunding.com

Transportation Management (TMS) - https://www.bulktms.com/

Permitting- https://www.bulkloads.com/tools/permitting/

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