Overdrive Radio

In this week's edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast, we get a clear window onto the fist Make-A-Wish convoy from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with former trucker George Ruelens. He was hauling for Ned Bard & Son at the time, with no idea what he and the 41 other truckers were doing that day would go on to become a veritable institution in the region around Lancaster County -- the annual Mother’s Day convoy benefiting the Make-a-Wish foundation. This year, the convoy featured 650 trucks in its 30th year, a huge amount of growth over the course of three decades from the first one. Ruelens narrates his experience of that first one, and looks back fondly on the day and subsequent editions of the convoy, which have created so many memories for children involved --  truckers, too, no doubt, and members of the community in that area. Also in the podcast: With highway-funding measures being introduced in the House, President Trump pledges not to work w/ Dems on it, objecting to ongoing investigations; OOIDA's infrastructure outreach discussed with OOIDA board member and small fleet owner Monte Wiederhold.

South Carolina-based owner-operator Lee Epling echoes retired veteran hauler Gordon Alkire's perspective in the previous edition of Overdrive Radio, in which Alkire spoke on the tragic Colorado crash several weeks back. Epling, in turn, likewise urged caution pointing the finger before all the facts are known. Along the way, Epling shares his own brake-failure story on Sandstone Mountain in W.Va./Va. on I-64. Further, we talk with OOIDA board member Monte Wiederhold about what turned out to be a quite accurate prediction when it comes to spot market rates and the ELD mandate. While his small fleet's mostly shipper-direct freight benefited directly with gains that he hasn't lost in his contracts, the same cannot be said about the spot market, which adjusting for the rise in fuel in April was give or take some pennies per mile was more or less right back where it was in April of 2017. Wiederhold offers some perspective how to maintain in such an environment.

South Carolina-based owner-operator Lee Epling echoes retired veteran hauler Gordon Alkire's perspective in the previous edition of Overdrive Radio, in which Alkire spoke on the tragic Colorado crash several weeks back. Epling, in turn, likewise urged caution pointing the finger before all the facts are known. Along the way, Epling shares his own brake-failure story on Sandstone Mountain in W.Va./Va. on I-64. Further, we talk with OOIDA board member Monte Wiederhold about what turned out to be a quite accurate prediction when it comes to spot market rates and the ELD mandate. While his small fleet's mostly shipper-direct freight benefited directly with gains that he hasn't lost in his contracts, the same cannot be said about the spot market, which adjusting for the rise in fuel in April was give or take some pennies per mile was more or less right back where it was in April of 2017. Wiederhold offers some perspective how to maintain in such an environment.

A week ago Thursday began no doubt no shortage of investigation into the fiery Lakewood, Colorado, crash of Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, who lost control of his truck on a downhill grade and, ultimately, crashed, killing multiple people and sending multiple others to the hospital. In the wake of the tragedy for all involved, including the driver, who was charged with vehicular homicide among other counts, there’s been no small amount of finger-pointing to this or that cause. Gordon Alkire, retired owner-operator of Riley, Kan., reached out with a considered piece about such finger-pointing that you can read in full via the Channel 19 blog post for May 3 via http://OverdriveOnline.com/channel19. Alkire has little patience for such finger-pointing, and asks his fellow drivers to check their condemnation and take a close look at themselves. “Ask yourself if that could have been you?” he wrote. “A downgrade, a loaded trailer, no brakes. Confusion, fear, and panic.” He's been there, and he tells that story here -- a harrowing 1970s run down Monteagle Mountain.

A week ago Thursday began no doubt no shortage of investigation into the fiery Lakewood, Colorado, crash of Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, who lost control of his truck on a downhill grade and, ultimately, crashed, killing multiple people and sending multiple others to the hospital. In the wake of the tragedy for all involved, including the driver, who was charged with vehicular homicide among other counts, there’s been no small amount of finger-pointing to this or that cause. Gordon Alkire, retired owner-operator of Riley, Kan., reached out with a considered piece about such finger-pointing that you can read in full via the Channel 19 blog post for May 3 via http://OverdriveOnline.com/channel19. Alkire has little patience for such finger-pointing, and asks his fellow drivers to check their condemnation and take a close look at themselves. “Ask yourself if that could have been you?” he wrote. “A downgrade, a loaded trailer, no brakes. Confusion, fear, and panic.” He's been there, and he tells that story here -- a harrowing 1970s run down Monteagle Mountain.

If regular listeners don’t recognize the first voice you hear in this podcast, that of Daniel Snow, he and his wife and business partner Phyllis' rig you're certain you'll remember. Christened “The Goose,” it’s a 1996 Freightliner Classic with 140 inches’ worth of a custom-redesigned ICT sleeper the Snows located and outfitted themselves for the comforts of home on the road about 7 years ago. Another project undertaken around the same time is a four-foot storage compartment they built into the front of their dry-van trailer, accessible from the tractor’s deck catwalk via a door assembly, to house tools and other supplies. From the first time we saw it last year, it certainly seemed like a modification with scads of potential for emulation by any single-trailer owner out there with mechanical expertise and, like the Snows, plenty of time spent on the road away from the comfort of home and established relationships with diesel shops you know well. Later in the podcast, too, a couple conversations with liquid-bulk tank owner-ops Mike Landis and J.D. Howard, both of whom will be featured in more detail in the May issue of Overdrive.

If regular listeners don’t recognize the first voice you hear in this podcast, that of Daniel Snow, he and his wife and business partner Phyllis' rig you're certain you'll remember. Christened “The Goose,” it’s a 1996 Freightliner Classic with 140 inches’ worth of a custom-redesigned ICT sleeper the Snows located and outfitted themselves for the comforts of home on the road about 7 years ago. Another project undertaken around the same time is a four-foot storage compartment they built into the front of their dry-van trailer, accessible from the tractor’s deck catwalk via a door assembly, to house tools and other supplies. From the first time we saw it last year, it certainly seemed like a modification with scads of potential for emulation by any single-trailer owner out there with mechanical expertise and, like the Snows, plenty of time spent on the road away from the comfort of home and established relationships with diesel shops you know well. Later in the podcast, too, a couple conversations with liquid-bulk tank owner-ops Mike Landis and J.D. Howard, both of whom will be featured in more detail in the May issue of Overdrive.

Learn from the mistakes of others, because you can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself. Bill Ater’s words to live by. in this edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast we drop into the scene at the Junction truckstop in Blunt, S.D., round about mid-week last week, with the Landstar-leased owner-operator and a fellow hauler on a run from Midland, Texas, up to the Williston, N.D., oil fields. The two found themselves just ahead of the early-Spring blizzard that hammered the area and surrounding states last week. They spent a good deal longer at The Junction than they’d initially expected –- nearly three days, all told –- and owner-operator Ater came out of the experience with a new appreciation for the dedication and generosity of Colleen Pool, manager of the Junction stop there. Take a listen.

Learn from the mistakes of others, because you can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself. Bill Ater’s words to live by. in this edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast we drop into the scene at the Junction truckstop in Blunt, S.D., round about mid-week last week, with the Landstar-leased owner-operator and a fellow hauler on a run from Midland, Texas, up to the Williston, N.D., oil fields. The two found themselves just ahead of the early-Spring blizzard that hammered the area and surrounding states last week. They spent a good deal longer at The Junction than they’d initially expected –- nearly three days, all told –- and owner-operator Ater came out of the experience with a new appreciation for the dedication and generosity of Colleen Pool, manager of the Junction stop there. Take a listen.

An unfortunate reality in the 2018 year-end income averages from ATBS showed independent owner-operators with their authority earning on average less than some leased owner-op segments. In Kevin Rutherford's view, that just shouldn’t be the case for any full-time independent given the old greater risk equals greater reward truism. If you’re not beating the leased averages and are working full-time or more, something is terribly wrong. Find more on the numbers that explains those averages via OverdriveOnline.com, search ATBS.