Introduction
This episode, The Urban Trucker Lynn Barksdale is about Lynn Barksdale discussing her experiences in the trucking industry and her insights on hauling container loads. This leads to the discussion using the provided group discussion questions. Emphasize the importance of maintenance in the trucking industry and the potential for the industry to benefit communities.
Lesson Plan
Introduce the topic of the trucking industry and its importance to the economy. Ask students to share any experience or knowledge they have about the industry. Explain that the video they will watch features Lynn Barksdale, a trucker who specializes in hauling container loads.
Objectives:
- To gain insight into the trucking industry
- To understand the process of hauling container loads
- To learn about the importance of maintenance in trucking
- To explore different career opportunities in the trucking industry
Group Discussion Questions:
- What did you learn about the trucking industry from the video?
- How does Lynn Barksdale suggest maximizing profits in hauling container loads?
- Why is maintenance important in the trucking industry, according to Lynn Barksdale?
- What are some different career opportunities in the trucking industry that were mentioned in the video?
- How might the trucking industry benefit communities, especially those that are underserved or underrepresented?
Challenge Questions
What is the name of the podcast?
[ ] The Trucking Business
[ ] The Urban League
[ ] The Urban Trucker Podcast
[ ] The Trucking Facelift
What is Lynn Barksdale's specialty in the trucking industry?
[ ] Hauling dry vans
[ ] Driving semi-cargo vans
[ ] Hauling container loads
[ ] Driving local routes
What is the importance of maintenance in the trucking industry, according to Lynn Barksdale?
[ ] It ensures maximum profits
[ ] It helps drivers stay awake on long hauls
[ ] It ensures safety and prevents breakdowns
[ ] It minimizes fuel consumption
What is the objective of the lesson plan for this episode?
[ ] To gain insight into the trucking industry and understand the process of hauling container loads, learn about the importance of maintenance in trucking, and explore different career opportunities in the trucking industry
[ ] To learn about the history of the trucking industry
[ ] To understand the impact of trucking on the environment
[ ] To learn about the logistics of shipping containers overseas
How might the trucking industry benefit communities, especially those that are underserved or underrepresented?
[ ] By increasing traffic congestion and air pollution
[ ] By providing a means for illegal activity
[ ] By creating job opportunities and contributing to the economy
[ ] By increasing shipping costs for consumers
Resources:
Website: https://www.escapingtheodds.com/
Feature Video - The Urban Trucker Lynn Barksdale
Transcripts - The Urban Trucker Lynn Barksdale
*Transcribed by AI, please excuse any errors.
(00:19)
Once again, it is the Urban Trucker Podcast, and I'm your host, Ed Hennings. On this podcast, we try to show you the new face of Trucking. Over the last decade, Trucking has overgone a huge facelift.
(00:35)
We've seen single moms. We've seen people from our own communities become very successful and make an honest living in this trucking space. So today we are meeting with our guest by the name of Lynn Barksdale from United Elves Trucking.
(00:51)
How are you doing today, brother? I'm all right. How about yourself? All right. Good to have me. Jan, we're going to jump in here, man, and do what we do on these podcasts, and we just get right to it, man.
(01:02)
What do you do in the trucking space? What do you drive? Semi cargo vans. I drive semi trucks. I'm own operator for my own truck. Okay, awesome. What are you hauling? Containers from overseas. So it'd be just about anything you can name.
(01:16)
Okay. Literally. So explain to us, like, a lot of people I know probably watching this right now. If my mama is watching this, she don't have a clue what a container is. Okay. The easiest way I can say it is when you're watching a movie and you see the green, orange, red, whatever color containers that be on the ship, and they say they sitting out in the ocean and we can't get them in.
(01:38)
No doubt those are all containers. So those are all different than, let's say, a dry van. A dry van is something like you may see a Walmart truck go past for whatever reason. You know what I'm saying?
(01:47)
And it's like a grayish looking color, and it's shaking in the middle. Those are thin, dry vans. The container is super hard. It's steel all around. Okay. Is that's? Basically. So what's in the container?
(02:00)
You never know. You just never know me. Depending on who you get into, what company you're going through, you'll know, if it's, like, steel or tires or, you know, me, because sometimes I get to a place and they do a live unload, then you'll find out, oh, there was tires on there.
(02:14)
What was it? MP3 S or, you know, PlayStations or something? You never know. No, you know, I'm saying no doubt. How long you been in the trucking business? Let's say I got my CDL in 2020. Okay. And I've been going ever since I got it in February of 2020.
The Urban Trucker Lynn Barksdale
(02:35)
Okay. So a couple of years you've been in the game. Two and a half years. Yes, sir. What did you do before you got in the truck? Well, I was formally incarcerated. I did 13 years straight. I came home, and I wanted a job.
(02:57)
I wanted a job that can actually do something for me. Like me, actually. The benefit living wage. Yes. So I was like I went for a lot of different jobs. I quit probably ten jobs. My first job in my life was Burger King in 2019.
(03:14)
2019? Yes. Do you mind me asking, how old are you? I'm 48. 48? Yes, sir. And that was your first job until that was my first job, yeah. Okay. And I quit after six days. Once again, the urban trucker.
(03:27)
This is the new look. This is not 2025 years ago. The trucking industry has brought in a lot of us that come from humble beginnings, that come from so many different walks of life in situations. This trucking game has really changed the game for us, and that's what this podcast is all about.
The Urban Trucker Lynn Barksdale
(03:46)
Man keep telling us more about it. Okay, well, when I came home, I went looking for a job. So I was like, I found several different jobs, and it just didn't suit me. It was like, you know, this ain't for me.
(03:57)
This ain't for me. I kept winding up quitting. And I'm like, I'm not a quitter, so what am I gonna do? I thought about it, you know. In 2010, I was like, they had a CDL class in a joint. And I was like, man, I do that.
(04:10)
You know, saying but I didn't take it there. So I was like, let me do it while I'm at home. Then I'm like, I couldn't find nowhere that wasn't charging four or $5,000 for you to take the class. So I'm like, man, I'm not doing that.
(04:21)
Don't got no four or 5000. I just got out, right? So I ended up going to the Urban League looking for a job. And I was in Ohio at the time. So I'm like, I'm searching for a job. They get me a job like that.
(04:33)
I'm like, okay, I got a job making money. They telling me they won't give me another job to make more money. Then they told me about what was called Building Futures. Building Futures is a program they ran where you can be a carpenter, electrician, they going to put you in there and you'll have an apprenticeship course.
(04:51)
So I was like, oh, man, that's slick. I might try that. And then they just said, oh, we got one called Driving Futures too. I was like, driving futures. Oh, yeah, we pay for your CDL and pay you to go to school.
(05:02) - The Urban Trucker Lynn Barksdale
And pay me to go to school, right? No doubt. Oh, man, let's do that. You know what I mean? And I went they paid us $200 a week to go. They even bought us boots. It was the wintertime. It was freezing, dead cold out there.
(05:16)
And they threw us in the truck the first day. A stick. Shit, I don't know nothing about it. What is this? Before you know it, I'm whipping that thing and I'm oh, this is what I'm going to be doing. You know what I mean?
(05:27)
Yes, sir. I got my first job with US express, okay? US Express. After I got my CDL, I got my first job with US express. I'm going to say, like, it was terrible, the pay they pay you and you're like, man, they only paying me like this because I just got in, right?
(05:45)
I'm like, man. So I'm riding with the trainer. We going from Dallas to El Paso. And then the next day coming back and I'm doing the driving. He just chilling. I'm like, oh, my God. Well, first, let me say this.
(05:57)
I got in. I got in with two three different trainers. Two trainers, you know, unfortunately were white guys. I say unfortunately because they smoked me out. They was trying to get rid of me. I felt like, you know, they didn't want me in there.
(06:12)
And I'm like, man, what am I gonna do? Well, the third white guy they put me in there with as a trainer was the coolest dude on earth. But he ain't doing none. He just sitting back, chilling. You're going to do all the driving, for real.
(06:22)
So it's a learning experience when you don't know. No doubt. So I'm like, man, now imagine going around these curves at 70 miles and he got you going 65, 70 miles, because he's like, you got to know how to go around it at this speed because he's giving you his way of thinking.
(06:38) - The Urban Trucker Lynn Barksdale
And I'm like, man, but it say the speed limit for trucks is this much. He like, Just do it. And I'm like, oh, my God, I'm about to kill myself. You know what I'm saying? So it's a different look. No doubt.
(06:48)
You know what I mean? And then as I'm going, I asked him one day, like, man, will I be able to make, like, $1,000 a week? He said, you'll never make that. I had to take that back and think about it on my two days off.
(06:59)
And I'm like, I never make $1,000 a week, right? I got on the bus and went home. I quit. I ain't know what to do. No doubt. One of my guys called me up. He said, Man, I got a job with this company, Smart Logistics.
(07:15)
They based out of St. Louis. Okay. I jump in, they doing drive van, you know what I mean? So I'm going to places like DHL and things, getting loaded up, taking it down there to Bloomington. I'm thinking, I'm doing good.
(07:29)
There's none 2500 a week, right? Okay. I mean, no, every other week. Every yes. So I'm like, okay, I'm making 5000 at least. I said I wanted to make 1000. That's right. Well, when you pay your bills and you catch up with things and life start catching up with you, you like, this ain't no money, right?
(07:49)
I start looking into being an owner operator. My little brother sending me his check stubs. He owned operator. He got his own company, right? Oh, man, I made 9000. I made this many thousand. I'm sitting there like, this can't be true, you know what I'm saying?
(08:04)
Like, I ain't making nothing. And he's saying this. So I say, you know what? I and I'm gonna do it. I'ma do it. So I talked to my sister, you know, and I'm like, Look, I need a loan, you know I'm saying?
(08:15)
She gave me a loan. And I'm like, I give it right back, you know, immediately. Cause this truck making this much. And she helped me out, gave me the loan. I went and bought my own truck. And I went out and bought a semi truck.
(08:27)
Yeah. I didn't know that it was this easy. Like, we got it. I think our community has it confused. The process is a little difficult, just a little. But the pay is super simple. I paid them like $8,000 8000 down, like 4000 to the company that I got the truck through and 4000 to the finance company.
(08:52) - The Urban Trucker Lynn Barksdale
No doubt. And they put me in the truck, a 2016 automatic. No doubt. I jump out first week, I worked three days. Only reason I worked three days, because the radiator gave out. So you had just got the truck?
(09:08)
Yes, just got on the road for three days. Three days. I mean, I know your emotions was high. You was ready to get out there, get on the grind. And three days later it's down. And this is local. I'm in Chicago, so I'm not going nowhere.
(09:22)
I'm close. I'm 150 miles in and out, nowhere far, right? Oh, man, it broke down in Jollier. I'm sick. Oh, man, how am I do this? I ain't got no money to pay for it, right? Called my brother, man, it broke down on me.
(09:37)
He right behind me, coming to the same place. Oh, don't worry about it. You got a warranty, don't you? I do got a warranty. I didn't even know do that. Cover this. He like, yeah, you got the comfort package, right?
(09:48)
The Comfort package is, like the best package for two years. So you got almost everything covered, right? Almost. Almost radiator cover. Oh, my God. They fix it. But guess what? I've been out of commission for a few days, right?
(10:02)
But how much did I make those three days? I had no clue. 4343 hundred. This almost better than what I made in the whole month. In three days, I was sick. Okay? So check this out. Yes, sir. You you go three days.
(10:18)
Okay? You you distraught because the truck is down. So now you get a $4,300 check settlement. Get your funds in. Because when you start talking about money like that, they don't call it money no more.
(10:30)
They call it fund settlement funds. Yeah, get the funds. Well, as I changed my name to Bands. Bands. Bands. Right. I'm like, oh, 4300. Three days. I'm good. Look, man's in the house. That's what the trucking game do for you.
(10:50)
It changed my life, but I'm going to be honest. It didn't happen just because of trucking. It happened because of the Urban League. No doubt. Those people really pushed us. They pushed a bunch of us and they put us in a community.
(11:01)
I go back to this for 1 second. They put us in a room with I call it a community because it was people from different walks of earth. And we was in there and we sitting there and they said we got to go through a class for one week where it's a doctor, a brother, a good brother.
(11:15)
He actually made us speak about ourself and get to know each other. No doubt. So we had to speak out and learn each other a little bit about each other in one week. It's difficult because we protective of ourselves.
(11:27)
We ain't trying to get you this, but it worked out, you know what I'm saying? A bunch of us still talk to this day. We still communicate. And we are still in trucking. A few of us have our own truck, and a few still work for companies.
(11:39)
And those that work for companies, those with trucks are trying to get them to come work for them. No doubt. You know what I'm saying? Like, come work with me, man. You don't have to work with them. We can come get more money over here.
(11:48)
That's right. And then by me going to the rail yard, which is completely different than driving. Okay, I got to learn more and make more. So now it's not I immediately was like, how am I going to do this?
(11:59)
So I wanted to break the $10,000 check in one week. I wanted to do that, right? Yeah, I wanted to do that. So that was my goal, because my brother was, like, sending me all these different amounts that he make, and, you know, yeah, a lot of people not going to like that.
(12:14)
You can make this money this fast. They don't think it's some craziness, but it's not. It's really legitimate. You can really do this, like, real I worked every day, though, you know what I'm saying?
(12:24)
You only can work 11 hours a day. You get 70 hours a week. So I would minimize it to, like, try to do nine to 10 hours so that I can get every day in. So by getting every day in, I was able to bust it.
(12:34)
I went to 11,300, and I was like, wait a minute, I'm going for 15. You know what I'm saying? But I was overworking the truck. I had a used truck already. It had a lot of miles. Now, don't get me wrong making this money, but I'm using it to fix this truck.
(12:52)
That's right. You know what I'm saying? Because even though you have a warranty, you have to have a maintenance account, saying if you don't have at least 20 in your maintenance account, you may as well give up the game, right?
(13:01)
You know what I'm saying? Because you need that to even push you further. Now, are you driving over the road, or are you local? Well, I did over the road when I worked for US Express. Okay. What are you doing with your own now?
(13:10)
I do local. You do local? Yeah, but I'm actually switching companies, so I'm leaving the rail yard. Well, I'm leaving a company that's with this particular rail yard. But you were able to make $10,000 or more local?
(13:22)
Yes, easily. Easily. And don't forget, I'm expelling. So I couldn't believe that, looking at it, I'm like, wait a minute. It if I could do this and I was just going 13 years, imagine how many people could do it who've been here all this time?
(13:39)
And then it's the trucking industry. There are several different ways you can make money in trucking. So you can go never have a CDL. You can go purchase a truck by putting down on it and let the truck pay for itself.
(13:52)
Sign it on to a company. Let's say I sign my truck on to your company, right? You charge me 30% of what I make off the truck. So you always make 30% every week. Every week, right. And you ain't drove?
(14:05)
I ain't drove nothing. I'm paying the worker, whoever the driver is. Excuse me, not say worker. I'm paying the driver. So I pay the drive out my cut, the 70% I get, and I pay I think it's 1.8% to the Factoring company.
(14:21)
That's who makes sure you get paid in between your company and mine. No doubt. So I get this every week, so I'm not missing no money if I make 2000, $3,000 and I'm at home. That's right. I won. You know what I'm saying?
(14:33)
So I do that same thing, but I don't tell people to just come work for me. I tell them I'm going to teach you everything I know so that you can get your own truck as fast as possible. No doubt. So my flip rate be faster.
(14:44)
Like, oh, you come work for me, you're going to be in a truck in six months. You're going to be in a truck in six months. I'm going to get the next man each time. No doubt. In the truck in six months.
(14:52)
I teach you the game. So that it's. What is it? An $8 billion industry? 800. 800 B. See, look, I was real low with that, right? We almost had a trillion dollars. So how come we can't all get a small piece of that?
(07:49)
I start looking into being an owner operator. My little brother sending me his check stubs. He owned operator. He got his own company, right? Oh, man, I made 9000. I made this many thousand. I'm sitting there like, this can't be true, you know what I'm saying?
(08:04)
Like, I ain't making nothing. And he's saying this. So I say, you know what? I and I'm gonna do it. I'ma do it. So I talked to my sister, you know, and I'm like, Look, I need a loan, you know I'm saying?
(08:15)
She gave me a loan. And I'm like, I give it right back, you know, immediately. Cause this truck making this much. And she helped me out, gave me the loan. I went and bought my own truck. And I went out and bought a semi truck.
(08:27)
Yeah. I didn't know that it was this easy. Like, we got it. I think our community has it confused. The process is a little difficult, just a little. But the pay is super simple. I paid them like $8,000 8000 down, like 4000 to the company that I got the truck through and 4000 to the finance company.
(08:52)
No doubt. And they put me in the truck, a 2016 automatic. No doubt. I jump out first week, I worked three days. Only reason I worked three days, because the radiator gave out. So you had just got the truck?
(09:08)
Yes, just got on the road for three days. Three days. I mean, I know your emotions was high. You was ready to get out there, get on the grind. And three days later it's down. And this is local. I'm in Chicago, so I'm not going nowhere.
(09:22)
I'm close. I'm 150 miles in and out, nowhere far, right? Oh, man, it broke down in Jollier. I'm sick. Oh, man, how am I do this? I ain't got no money to pay for it, right? Called my brother, man, it broke down on me.
(09:37)
He right behind me, coming to the same place. Oh, don't worry about it. You got a warranty, don't you? I do got a warranty. I didn't even know do that. Cover this. He like, yeah, you got the comfort package, right?
(09:48)
The Comfort package is, like the best package for two years. So you got almost everything covered, right? Almost. Almost radiator cover. Oh, my God. They fix it. But guess what? I've been out of commission for a few days, right?
(10:02)
But how much did I make those three days? I had no clue. 4343 hundred. This almost better than what I made in the whole month. In three days, I was sick. Okay? So check this out. Yes, sir. You you go three days.
(10:18)
Okay? You you distraught because the truck is down. So now you get a $4,300 check settlement. Get your funds in. Because when you start talking about money like that, they don't call it money no more.
(10:30)
They call it fund settlement funds. Yeah, get the funds. Well, as I changed my name to Bands. Bands. Bands. Right. I'm like, oh, 4300. Three days. I'm good. Look, man's in the house. That's what the trucking game do for you.
(10:50)
It changed my life, but I'm going to be honest. It didn't happen just because of trucking. It happened because of the Urban League. No doubt. Those people really pushed us. They pushed a bunch of us and they put us in a community.
(11:01)
I go back to this for 1 second. They put us in a room with I call it a community because it was people from different walks of earth. And we was in there and we sitting there and they said we got to go through a class for one week where it's a doctor, a brother, a good brother.
(11:15)
He actually made us speak about ourself and get to know each other. No doubt. So we had to speak out and learn each other a little bit about each other in one week. It's difficult because we protective of ourselves.
(11:27)
We ain't trying to get you this, but it worked out, you know what I'm saying? A bunch of us still talk to this day. We still communicate. And we are still in trucking. A few of us have our own truck, and a few still work for companies.
(11:39)
And those that work for companies, those with trucks are trying to get them to come work for them. No doubt. You know what I'm saying? Like, come work with me, man. You don't have to work with them. We can come get more money over here.
(11:48)
That's right. And then by me going to the rail yard, which is completely different than driving. Okay, I got to learn more and make more. So now it's not I immediately was like, how am I going to do this?
(11:59)
So I wanted to break the $10,000 check in one week. I wanted to do that, right? Yeah, I wanted to do that. So that was my goal, because my brother was, like, sending me all these different amounts that he make, and, you know, yeah, a lot of people not going to like that.
(12:14)
You can make this money this fast. They don't think it's some craziness, but it's not. It's really legitimate. You can really do this, like, real I worked every day, though, you know what I'm saying?
(12:24)
You only can work 11 hours a day. You get 70 hours a week. So I would minimize it to, like, try to do nine to 10 hours so that I can get every day in. So by getting every day in, I was able to bust it.
(12:34)
I went to 11,300, and I was like, wait a minute, I'm going for 15. You know what I'm saying? But I was overworking the truck. I had a used truck already. It had a lot of miles. Now, don't get me wrong making this money, but I'm using it to fix this truck.
(12:52)
That's right. You know what I'm saying? Because even though you have a warranty, you have to have a maintenance account, saying if you don't have at least 20 in your maintenance account, you may as well give up the game, right?
(13:01)
You know what I'm saying? Because you need that to even push you further. Now, are you driving over the road, or are you local? Well, I did over the road when I worked for US Express. Okay. What are you doing with your own now?
(13:10)
I do local. You do local? Yeah, but I'm actually switching companies, so I'm leaving the rail yard. Well, I'm leaving a company that's with this particular rail yard. But you were able to make $10,000 or more local?
(13:22)
Yes, easily. Easily. And don't forget, I'm expelling. So I couldn't believe that, looking at it, I'm like, wait a minute. It if I could do this and I was just going 13 years, imagine how many people could do it who've been here all this time?
(13:39)
And then it's the trucking industry. There are several different ways you can make money in trucking. So you can go never have a CDL. You can go purchase a truck by putting down on it and let the truck pay for itself.
(13:52)
Sign it on to a company. Let's say I sign my truck on to your company, right? You charge me 30% of what I make off the truck. So you always make 30% every week. Every week, right. And you ain't drove?
(14:05)
I ain't drove nothing. I'm paying the worker, whoever the driver is. Excuse me, not say worker. I'm paying the driver. So I pay the drive out my cut, the 70% I get, and I pay I think it's 1.8% to the Factoring company.
(14:21)
That's who makes sure you get paid in between your company and mine. No doubt. So I get this every week, so I'm not missing no money if I make 2000, $3,000 and I'm at home. That's right. I won. You know what I'm saying?
(14:33)
So I do that same thing, but I don't tell people to just come work for me. I tell them I'm going to teach you everything I know so that you can get your own truck as fast as possible. No doubt. So my flip rate be faster.
(14:44)
Like, oh, you come work for me, you're going to be in a truck in six months. You're going to be in a truck in six months. I'm going to get the next man each time. No doubt. In the truck in six months.
(14:52)
I teach you the game. So that it's. What is it? An $8 billion industry? 800. 800 B. See, look, I was real low with that, right? We almost had a trillion dollars. So how come we can't all get a small piece of that?
(07:49)
I start looking into being an owner operator. My little brother sending me his check stubs. He owned operator. He got his own company, right? Oh, man, I made 9000. I made this many thousand. I'm sitting there like, this can't be true, you know what I'm saying?
(08:04)
Like, I ain't making nothing. And he's saying this. So I say, you know what? I and I'm gonna do it. I'ma do it. So I talked to my sister, you know, and I'm like, Look, I need a loan, you know I'm saying?
(08:15)
She gave me a loan. And I'm like, I give it right back, you know, immediately. Cause this truck making this much. And she helped me out, gave me the loan. I went and bought my own truck. And I went out and bought a semi truck.
(08:27)
Yeah. I didn't know that it was this easy. Like, we got it. I think our community has it confused. The process is a little difficult, just a little. But the pay is super simple. I paid them like $8,000 8000 down, like 4000 to the company that I got the truck through and 4000 to the finance company.
(08:52)
No doubt. And they put me in the truck, a 2016 automatic. No doubt. I jump out first week, I worked three days. Only reason I worked three days, because the radiator gave out. So you had just got the truck?
(09:08)
Yes, just got on the road for three days. Three days. I mean, I know your emotions was high. You was ready to get out there, get on the grind. And three days later it's down. And this is local. I'm in Chicago, so I'm not going nowhere.
(09:22)
I'm close. I'm 150 miles in and out, nowhere far, right? Oh, man, it broke down in Jollier. I'm sick. Oh, man, how am I do this? I ain't got no money to pay for it, right? Called my brother, man, it broke down on me.
(09:37)
He right behind me, coming to the same place. Oh, don't worry about it. You got a warranty, don't you? I do got a warranty. I didn't even know do that. Cover this. He like, yeah, you got the comfort package, right?
(09:48)
The Comfort package is, like the best package for two years. So you got almost everything covered, right? Almost. Almost radiator cover. Oh, my God. They fix it. But guess what? I've been out of commission for a few days, right?
(10:02)
But how much did I make those three days? I had no clue. 4343 hundred. This almost better than what I made in the whole month. In three days, I was sick. Okay? So check this out. Yes, sir. You you go three days.
(10:18)
Okay? You you distraught because the truck is down. So now you get a $4,300 check settlement. Get your funds in. Because when you start talking about money like that, they don't call it money no more.
(10:30)
They call it fund settlement funds. Yeah, get the funds. Well, as I changed my name to Bands. Bands. Bands. Right. I'm like, oh, 4300. Three days. I'm good. Look, man's in the house. That's what the trucking game do for you.
(10:50)
It changed my life, but I'm going to be honest. It didn't happen just because of trucking. It happened because of the Urban League. No doubt. Those people really pushed us. They pushed a bunch of us and they put us in a community.
(11:01)
I go back to this for 1 second. They put us in a room with I call it a community because it was people from different walks of earth. And we was in there and we sitting there and they said we got to go through a class for one week where it's a doctor, a brother, a good brother.
(11:15)
He actually made us speak about ourself and get to know each other. No doubt. So we had to speak out and learn each other a little bit about each other in one week. It's difficult because we protective of ourselves.
(11:27)
We ain't trying to get you this, but it worked out, you know what I'm saying? A bunch of us still talk to this day. We still communicate. And we are still in trucking. A few of us have our own truck, and a few still work for companies.
(11:39)
And those that work for companies, those with trucks are trying to get them to come work for them. No doubt. You know what I'm saying? Like, come work with me, man. You don't have to work with them. We can come get more money over here.
(11:48)
That's right. And then by me going to the rail yard, which is completely different than driving. Okay, I got to learn more and make more. So now it's not I immediately was like, how am I going to do this?
(11:59)
So I wanted to break the $10,000 check in one week. I wanted to do that, right? Yeah, I wanted to do that. So that was my goal, because my brother was, like, sending me all these different amounts that he make, and, you know, yeah, a lot of people not going to like that.
(12:14)
You can make this money this fast. They don't think it's some craziness, but it's not. It's really legitimate. You can really do this, like, real I worked every day, though, you know what I'm saying?
(12:24)
You only can work 11 hours a day. You get 70 hours a week. So I would minimize it to, like, try to do nine to 10 hours so that I can get every day in. So by getting every day in, I was able to bust it.
(12:34)
I went to 11,300, and I was like, wait a minute, I'm going for 15. You know what I'm saying? But I was overworking the truck. I had a used truck already. It had a lot of miles. Now, don't get me wrong making this money, but I'm using it to fix this truck.
(12:52)
That's right. You know what I'm saying? Because even though you have a warranty, you have to have a maintenance account, saying if you don't have at least 20 in your maintenance account, you may as well give up the game, right?
(13:01)
You know what I'm saying? Because you need that to even push you further. Now, are you driving over the road, or are you local? Well, I did over the road when I worked for US Express. Okay. What are you doing with your own now?
(13:10)
I do local. You do local? Yeah, but I'm actually switching companies, so I'm leaving the rail yard. Well, I'm leaving a company that's with this particular rail yard. But you were able to make $10,000 or more local?
(13:22)
Yes, easily. Easily. And don't forget, I'm expelling. So I couldn't believe that, looking at it, I'm like, wait a minute. It if I could do this and I was just going 13 years, imagine how many people could do it who've been here all this time?
(13:39)
And then it's the trucking industry. There are several different ways you can make money in trucking. So you can go never have a CDL. You can go purchase a truck by putting down on it and let the truck pay for itself.
(13:52)
Sign it on to a company. Let's say I sign my truck on to your company, right? You charge me 30% of what I make off the truck. So you always make 30% every week. Every week, right. And you ain't drove?
(14:05)
I ain't drove nothing. I'm paying the worker, whoever the driver is. Excuse me, not say worker. I'm paying the driver. So I pay the drive out my cut, the 70% I get, and I pay I think it's 1.8% to the Factoring company.
(14:21)
That's who makes sure you get paid in between your company and mine. No doubt. So I get this every week, so I'm not missing no money if I make 2000, $3,000 and I'm at home. That's right. I won. You know what I'm saying?
(14:33)
So I do that same thing, but I don't tell people to just come work for me. I tell them I'm going to teach you everything I know so that you can get your own truck as fast as possible. No doubt. So my flip rate be faster.
(14:44)
Like, oh, you come work for me, you're going to be in a truck in six months. You're going to be in a truck in six months. I'm going to get the next man each time. No doubt. In the truck in six months.
(14:52)
I teach you the game. So that it's. What is it? An $8 billion industry? 800. 800 B. See, look, I was real low with that, right? We almost had a trillion dollars. So how come we can't all get a small piece of that?
(15:04)
That's right. That small piece could be you being a millionaire. In that much time. In that much time, you know what I'm saying? The rail yard is probably the best I could ever say for anybody. Yeah.
(15:16)
People want to do flatbed and do all the other that's all good. I'm not knocking none of it. Trucking period is great. No doubt. It could change your whole life, and it's changed mine. Mine is what and I'm not saying, like, oh, I got a gang of money.
(15:28)
No, because like I said, if you don't have maintenance money oh, my God. And the reason I left the company was and I advise people to be careful, because you can get in a situation where they're not paying you and it can cost you.
(15:42)
I went through this experience. No doubt. To find out around Thanksgiving was the worst. I'm hating on this eight $9000 check. I'm like, oh, man, I did good, right? Pay your taxes, too, though. Remember, you paying your own taxes, so don't think just because you're making good money that you just got good money.
(15:59)
You have to pay a nice percentage of that. So I advise people to pay quarterly so that you can't see some money, you know? I mean, and you don't have to pay this big tab at the end of the year, right?
(16:09)
This particular company I was with, I'm not even saying they name because I just can't stand them that much, you know what I mean? Around Thanksgiving, well, they have a thing. I found out through my brother that on any holiday, they only give you a particular part of your paycheck.
(16:27)
They don't give you your whole paycheck, and then they tell you, get the rest next week. So in this particular time, it's Thanksgiving. My daughter birthday coming up in a couple of days. From there, I'm like, oh, this ain't going to work.
(16:38)
I'm going to miss my daughter birthday. Ain't going to be able to give her nothing. I've been going all this time. I'm flipping out, right? I look at the check and my brother say, remember to go back and check your check all the time to make sure they gave you all your pay from each load you did.
(16:52)
Now, I hadn't been doing that the past couple of months, right? I went on ahead and did it. I was missing 15 loads. Can you imagine? 15 loads that paying anywhere from $400 to $1,000 per load. Wow. I bring it up.
(17:06)
Biggest mistake I could have did. I should have went to a business person lawyer or something that knew better before I did it. I brought it to them, but they run the system, so even I haven't printed it out yet.
(17:17)
So they went in there and did what they do and they made it, whereas, oh, well, you was missing all these load or your dispatcher paid you for loads that you not you weren't supposed to get paid for, right?
(17:28)
So they managed to flip the script on me and changed it where I owed them. And while I'm fighting them for several weeks, like six weeks straight, I was paying them back. I wasn't even making no money, so I was like, Wait a minute.
(17:42)
And then I wasn't working hard because they saying I owe them. So I'll be honest. I go to two days, and y'all can have that. I can't understand how y'all not paying me for my 15 loads. So I was mad. I was angry.
(17:54)
Turn around. I'm like, man, you know what? After a while, I took off for about a month or two. Man, everything was bad. I said, man, let me go back, and I'm just gonna use them to get where I'm trying to go.
(18:07)
That's right, because you have to you have to be in the business at least with one company for one year before you even have any real credibility. No doubt. So I said, let me go with this company and just work it out.
(18:18)
Just work it out. I immediately started back making money again, and I was like, man, you know what? I'm not even going to look at these what I'm missing, because if I do, then it's starting another battle.
(18:27)
I know some people may think that's wrong, but I didn't want to get Din in that's right. You made some sacrifices. Yes. So once I did that, I told my brother, I'm going to come to your company. You know what I mean?
(18:36)
And he like, cool, come to me, because he do the rail yards, too. Okay. Oh, my God. It's beautiful. Right? When I say the rail yards, what I need hold on. You are making plans now going forward. Now you're going to make a move from the rail, right?
(18:51)
No, I'm going from this company and their dealings with the rail yards to deal with my own brother and his dealings with the rail. Okay, so that's your next move? Yes. And your company is still aligned with your brother, and he has a company called map one.
(19:04)
Okay. So he Map One and literally, like, I mean, I know it's good because I know the rail yard, you know what I mean? And the funny part is, he what are you hauling? You never know. Is it containers or is containers?
(19:19)
All containers. You show containers at the rail yard as well, right. So what you do? All the rail yards got containers. Okay. Now, they have a small amount of drive van, but that's really, like, some connected to the rail yard.
(19:33)
It's not the rail yard. Okay? The rail yard is always containers. Right. Okay. And you have to get this thing called a chassis. That's the bottom of it with the eight wheels in the back, you get the chassis, and that's the hardest part of the rail yard business.
(19:45)
Okay. Every day you got to get up extra early and go search for a chassis. Every day? Yes. Because you don't have your unless you have no way. If you get a private chassis, you have to only take certain loads that you don't have to leave nowhere, because then you got to leave the whole chassis.
(19:59)
Yeah. So that's the hard part, you know what I mean? So you get a chassis and from any rail yard, and then they load the chassis, they put the container on there, drive, off you go. You knock that out.
(20:12)
Most times, you're just dropping it off. Okay. You get lucky when you get to another place and they got it already on the chassis, and you take that and go drop it off, and you're like, man, I hit a lick.
(20:22)
So, okay, when you say hit a lick, how much are you getting paid for each container that you drop off? So you're saying you get there in the morning, you got your chassis, font, one, you got the container on it, you're going to go drop it off.
(20:36)
And you're doing this locally? Locally. So how many hours normally from your pickup to your first stop? Is it okay when you go to the rail yard? This is a bad part, too, because sometimes they get you in and out in less than ten minutes.
(20:50)
Okay. But sometimes you're in there four and 5 hours. Wow. Now that can hurt your money. Yeah, for sure. But the best thing I can suggest to you is have a rail yard. I'm not a rail yard. Have a yard where you keep your truck, where you rent multiple spaces.
(21:05)
Okay. So multiple spaces may be $250, $150 per space. So you get you about five spaces. Okay. And you try to keep those five spaces where you're taking it from the rail yard to your yard, and you drop it off because you got a particular town.
(21:21)
Like, say I mess with a company that's 24 hours. So when I'm going the 24, I could take all mine to my own yard, right? Just picking them off, dropping them off. So that way I'm waiting in the rail yard, hopefully the minimum amount of time.
(21:35)
So if I only got three or four loads from the company, I take those three or four loads to my yard and then I start taking them straight to the place where I got to go. Okay. So once again. How much each one of these containers I got around there, right?
(21:51)
One of these containers, okay, let me. Get to you like this. The smallest amount would be probably $430 per container. That's minimum. Right. And only way you get less than that is let's say it's already in the company rail yard.
(22:10)
I mean, freight yard, not a rail yard. And they already got it where they keep your trucks at. So if they got it there, you probably only make $150 taking it to the place it's going if it's not too far.
(22:20)
Okay, but I try to stay away from that, right? You know what I mean? Right. I'm going for the 400 plus. That's right? So if you can get $430 and the next time you're getting $570. Okay, so on average, how many of these containers are you doing per day?
(22:38)
Three. Three. So that's at least one $200.01, $290, yeah. Every day, give or take. Yeah. So is this seven days a week? I work seven days a week. You work seven yeah, I got some fingers over here. I do seven days a week, and then you have to do your mandatory 34 hours, you know what I mean?
(23:04)
Okay, so when I do my 34 hours reset, I come right back and get on it. So I do this 70, because you only do 70 hours a week. So you got to do a minimum of 34. You have to do for your reset. Okay. You have to do that.
(23:17)
Okay, for my resets? Per week? Per week, you have to rest your truck and your body, right. Just like you have a ten hour reset every time you get off work. Right. So you have a 34 hours reset before you can get back in your truck again.
(23:30)
Even like that. For local routes, yes. Wow. And then the crazy part is, though, even though we have to have the ELD on, you know what I'm saying? Technically, because you're local, you got 150 air miles, so.
(23:45)
You don't unless the company makes you use you don't have to use it, but, I mean, if you stick to it, it's an easier thing for you, like me knowing I don't want to be out there. 1112, 13 hours, even though you only supposed to do 11 hours.
(23:58)
Technically driving, I minimize mine to nine to 10 hours. That way I get the whole thing, and I'm able to do it if it if it had to go past that and I have to use my personal conveyance. No, I'm saying that's like a two hour window, but you don't want to do that when you're going from a customer to a customer.
(24:14)
When I'm leaving the last customer and I'm going home. That's different than I cut it on then probably shouldn't be in. I probably shouldn't cut it on until I actually get to the rest spot. How much is maintenance cutting into everything?
(24:29)
Because I own box trucks, okay? And I know how maintenance killing you. Listen, I'm going to say in 108 days, I use this for an example, because it was my first time seeing this on my taxes, right? Because I never really had taxes, because I never had a job.
(24:45)
So I had, like, petty taxes from working here and there, right? So when I seen this one, it was like I worked 108 days, and I made 72.72 five, let's just say 72,500. And they didn't count the last part, so it was over 75.
(25:03)
But that's what's on the taxes, 72,000 some in 108 days. And I'm sitting there saying I can do 108 days two more times. So you're saying I'm going to make 200,000 plus, right. I hit a leak. That's what I'm thinking.
(25:18)
Right? Well, maintenance tells you that you did not hit a leak. That's right, because one tire are a very expensive thing. You always running through tires, and you don't want to get the cheap tires.
(25:30)
They tell you to get the 360, get the ones cost six something, so they last. You know what I'm saying? So you're doing the tires, you're doing everything with maintenance is what money you save. Like in my maintenance account, in my escrow account.
(25:43)
So the escrow account, they put up $50 so you can cover their stuff. Right. But in my maintenance account, I take out a week. So until it's at 20,000, once it's at 20,000, then I stop. Then how I did was I took that, the money from that and went paid off my truck and then started my maintenance account over again.
(26:00)
No doubt. So every time the truck went down, I had the money to pay for it. That's right. Let's get it done. That's right. That's right. If at any time get a relationship with with the real mechanics, not know the side guy, get a real relationship.
(26:12)
So that let's say it went down and it cost 15,000 to get fixed. Well, I don't have the 15,000. What can we do? They'll fix it for something down. Right. If it's $2,000, we're going to start, we're going to fix it.
(26:27)
And then you go out there and make some money and get us paid. That's right. And they will take 2000 a week until it's done. That's right. So it's one hand washed the other type thing, you know what I mean?
(26:35)
And it's a beautiful thing, I believe that everybody can make it in trucking, but it's the week, it's the way you go. That's right. You can do like I said, you can buy the truck and let somebody else work for you.
(26:46)
You can go get your CDL and work on a truck. Buy a truck on your own. Like I said, you don't need much down to start it with a used truck. Then you can say you want to be a broker. I don't like the brokerage part because you have to call so many people and try to get it.
(26:59)
But I like the dispatching part, that goes a whole nother field for you. So it's just so many ways. And then on dispatching, you make 10% of whatever the truck make. So if you got ten people with ten trucks, I should say, signed on to you for you as a dispatcher.
(27:16)
No doubt. And you can get them 5000 apiece, you make $5,000. That's right. So you can stay at home and do this, or you can be at a hotel in New Mexico. Some it no doubt. The trucking industry is like, don't say no.
(27:28)
Or how could you say no business? Exactly. You know what I mean? Everybody can make it and it ain't cutting no corners, which I agree 100%, man. I definitely know, and I say this a lot, I came. Into business as an entrepreneur with a dream, owning my own barber, shopping, beauty salon, which I accomplished.
(27:50)
But while I was cutting the client's hair, he told me about the trucking business. Right. I've been in the trucking business ever since. Yes, the trucking business changed the whole game for me. I bought home.
(28:00)
I bought a home from the trucking business. Cars, travel. I do motivational speaking while I travel the country. And lot of times, I don't get paid. I use my own money to go speak to some kids or mentor some kids.
(28:13)
So it's definitely been a game changer for me. And it's a lot of naysayers out there that don't believe in the trucking business. But it's too many examples like yourself. It's too many examples like me, the ladies that's jumping into trucks, driving dispatching, brokering, getting real grimy with it, right?
(28:35)
Yeah. So, man, I'm seeing it every day, all day, how this industry is really helping some of us from humble beginnings, some of us from urban communities, from ghettos on down to suburban communities, man.
(28:48)
And it's always a pleasure to hear everybody's story, because I get to tell my story in so many different ways. But I know from my story when I'm driving in a truck, that now, when I drive past another truck excuse me.
(29:04)
I know it's a story in that truck for sure. And that's what this podcast is about. It's about getting those stories out there out of each and every truck. Because now you see it Hispanic, yes, african American women all in that truck.
(29:17)
And you know, that woman right there got some kids at home, and she had to go out and get them CDLs, and she had to change herself. Now she out here making moves, and she got her crew, and, man, it's a beautiful thing to see, man.
(29:32)
And it's good to see you doing the same thing, blazing at yourself, man. And people like you are appreciated. Who actually put it out here on the platform. Let us know that we got a voice. Because everybody is Internet based.
(29:44)
Everybody wanted to be on showing, oh, I'm the man, I'm doing this, I'm doing that. But to have somebody let you come and sit down, I'm saying, and talk to him and get a story, you know, and and I only gave part of my story, and I definitely don't want anybody to think, oh, he rich.
(29:59)
You're not rich yet, you know I'm saying? But you pushing towards it. No, I'm saying, and soon you will be. So your mouth is a powerful thing. Make sure you speak it into existence. I'm rich in thought, so I know I'm going to be rich in life, you know what I mean?
(30:11)
So when people sit out here and do it, I try to tell a lot of people all the steps of how to do it, how to buy a truck. But a lot of people get scared because they don't want to risk their money, you know what I'm saying?
(30:22)
But you got to have it in your heart to know that you don't want to be hungry again, you know what I'm saying? That's my whole motivation. I never want to be hungry again. No doubt. So I work until I just came, hey, it is what it is.
(30:32)
That's right. I'm going to go out here and get this money however it takes. And then when you find a way to get out the way and let somebody else do it that's right. And you just watching it and maintaining it, for sure now, you're like, oh, this is the game.
(30:44)
That's right. This is better than anything I could ever think of, you know what I mean? Literally, I have no desire for the street life or that mentality no more. I'm literally like, look, I can't give you everything thing.
(30:57)
I can't save you, but I can help you, get you a truck. I can help you by teaching you what I know. That's right. If you want to get on my truck and drive, we'll go get to a big parking lot and I'll show you how to bag up and drive and do whatever you got to do, and maybe you can find something like I did, you know what I mean?
(31:13)
I really believe with all my heart I see a lot of ladies out there who doing it. And I'll be shocked, like, little bitty short ladies and people, little bitty skinny guys, man, how are you doing this?
(31:24)
But you know what I'm saying? When you start driving, you notice that, oh, wait a minute, they just letting this down, letting this up and driving off. And they run in the truck, and you make sure the back don't swing back and forth.
(31:33)
You good, right? It's like the simplest way in the world that other people been making money and making a living for their family. That's right. And we've been sitting back doing all this dumb stuff that's right.
(31:44)
When we could have been doing this. That's right. It hurt my heart. So I truly believe that everybody got a chance in this game and they need to jump in. That's right. The the minorities, we we killing it right now.
(31:56)
Every time. It's it's funny that when I first and I only been in a couple years, I wasn't seeing a lot of black people here. Now. I was. Yeah. Latinos. No. Yeah. Now every time I get in, I blow the horn or say, what's up?
(32:10)
On GP. That's right. But I say it to everybody because I don't like the way certain people look at us when we in the truck. So I try to make it where I'm spreading the love to anybody. Like, man, look, man, we in this together.
(32:20)
That's right. If somebody doing you wrong and I'm right there, I'm going to try to help you. That's right. So I hope you do the same for me. If my truck break down, I hope you can help, you know what I'm saying?
(32:27)
Or vice versa. I don't really know mechanics, but I can just get out there, try to help you. What you need me to do, hold a flashlight? Yeah. You know what I mean? So it's a game, man. But I suggest everybody find the rail yard.
(32:40)
It's the best. It's the best. Especially local. It's the best. It's the best. You all hear that? The rail yard in your city, in your area, you got a semi truck. You're willing to pull the containers.
(32:53)
Find that rail yard, man, tap in. My man said that's where the bag at. You all need to listen. Take these notes. Get after it, man. It's available to all of us. It's not monopolized. It's available to you.
(33:08)
Reach out. Go for it, man. You've seen a lot of dreams come true right here on the Urban Trucker podcast, man. I'm glad to have you, man. Thank you. Glad you came. Blessed with that knowledge. Appreciate that.
(33:20)
It's very much appreciated. Shout out to my man, little warrior. I had to say that. And anybody else that's really doing what they're doing and want to do it, this is the thing. Get out there, take the first step.
(33:31)
It's not hard. And to buy a truck, you need a letter of recommendation or a hiring letter. Basically, somebody saying they're going to hire. That's all you. That's the main thing you need over everything.
(33:45)
This the once again, we gonna keep trying to bring this heat like that. Just the Urban trucker podcast. I'm your host, Ed Hennings. Follow me at Ed Hennings. One for more motivation, more trucking game.
(33:57)
It's all free. Let's go. Yeah. Hit that. No question. That was good. Appreciate that. No doubt.
