Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of May 2025, Craig and I talk about the crazy weekend we just had. Literally every truck had some kind of significant issue over the weekend. Everything from problems cause by getting loaded more than 24 hours late to breakdowns and blown tires. It is crazy how you can go from one weekend that is quiet with almost no activity to one like last weekend where all hell breaks loose. I also ask for your opinions on how much of an impact hot weather has on tire f...
Jun 25, 2025•26 min•Ep. 182
What are the odds that two clutches go out within 24 hours of each other? Can't be high, but we had it happen. Does that mean I should take a trip to Vegas and start placing bets? Our experience with two different shops was night and day. One of them had our truck in and out quickly, the other one was ridiculous. Check out the episode to hear all the fun details. What to Expect in Episode 179 In this episode I am going to cover 3 things I think every business owner, whether you are an owner oper...
Jun 11, 2025•39 min•Ep. 181
Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com See the profit and loss statement at haulinassetsllc.com Before Craig and I dive into the April 2025 financials, we talk about a fun little adventure I had. It had been a while, but I finally got to jump back into a truck for the first time in several months. This adventure included a Mother's Day departure, several Uber rides, a flight and "breaking" the truck out of a lot at 02:00 in the morning and then "breaking" into t...
May 21, 2025•25 min•Ep. 180
March 2025 was a good financial month, but before we get into that, Craig and I talk about one of our trailers being rejected. It was because of some minor damage that had happened a while ago and hadn't been an issue, so why the rejection all of the sudden? Who knows. I'm also back in the dispatching saddle again. It has been while since I have done that job full time and let's just say, I'm a little rusty. What To Expect From Episode 177 Last month I said February was a pleasant surprise, Marc...
Apr 23, 2025•22 min•Ep. 179
Trucking Insurance is tricky! It is also typically in the top 5 expenses for a trucking company. For Haulin Assets it is the 4th biggest expense. There are a lot of factors that go into getting the best policy and the best pricing. In this episode we go over what you need to know as an Owner Operator or a Fleet Owner to make sure you are keeping that insurance expense as low as possible. What to Expect in Episode 174 We just completed our insurance renewal so insurance is fresh on my mind and no...
Apr 09, 2025•45 min•Ep. 178
February 2025 was a pretty eventful and interesting month. We had a truck get in a little skirmish with a BMW. No one was hurt and the vehicles weren't too bad off either, but it was one of those incidents that really make you scratch your head. We'll share some video on social media, I'd love to hear your opinions. I'll just ask the questions, when merging onto the freeway, how many vehicles can squeeze in front of a truck? What To Expect From Episode 175 February was a pleasant surprise. I rea...
Mar 26, 2025•24 min•Ep. 177
Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com Before we get into talking about truck driver pay, I talk about a recent incident where one of our trucks had its hood damaged by a driver who decided to make a left hand turn where he shouldn't have. His trailer didn't even come close to making the corner and caused some pretty good damage to the front of our parked truck. There is always something exciting going on in a truck...
Mar 12, 2025•34 min•Ep. 176
Rinse and repeat is a good thing when times are good, not so much when you're in a freight market like we are in right now. January seems almost like a carbon copy of December. Most of the numbers are very similar. Before Craig and I dive into the numbers I talk about a couple of recent instances that happened to a couple of our trucks over the last week. Hopefully you find them entertaining. What To Expect From Episode 173 Let's take a look at the numbers: Total miles ran– 119,570 Deadhead mile...
Feb 26, 2025•30 min•Ep. 175
This is a super important episode. If you own a truck, are a truck driver or run a trucking company, chances are you are going to deal with an accident at some point in your career. When it happens, you want things to go as well as possible. During this episode, Craig and I are going to help you know how you can be prepared and we will help arm you with some tips to protect you against those who want to take advantage of the situation. What To Expect From Episode 172 We have all been driving dow...
Feb 12, 2025•32 min•Ep. 174
Before we get into the December 2024 financials, I go on a bit of a rant about truck parking. It is such a HUGE Problem! It causes drivers frustration and costs everyone time and money. I talk about an incident that recently happened to us that cost us a lot of money because of the parking problem. And it is a completely ridiculous situation that happened just north of Charlotte, NC at a Shell truck stop called Charlotte Travel Plaza. Beware of this place. You have to check in to park, if you do...
Jan 29, 2025•24 min•Ep. 173
As I mentioned recently, Brad, our operations manager left us the end of last year and Nate and I have had to divvy out his responsibilities. One of them that I have taken on is safety and compliance, so those topics have been pretty heavy on my mind lately. I feel like as a company, we have a pretty good safety culture, but we aren't perfect, and I want to step it up a notch. Improving safety within Haulin Assets is one of my personal goals for 2025. In this episode we cover some of the things ...
Jan 15, 2025•34 min•Ep. 172
It's the end of 2024, in fact, this episode with the November 2024 Financials is getting recorded on the last day of the year, but will post on the first day of the new year. 2024 was a tough year, proceeded by another tough year, that honestly was preceded by the start of the drop in the freight market. With three tough years in a row, we deserve some relief. With dropping interest rates, an economy that appears to be decently healthy, and what is likely to be a more trucking friendly presidenc...
Jan 01, 2025•27 min•Ep. 171
Happy Thanksgiving! Some of you will be home for Thanksgiving, some of you won’t, I know what that is like. I want you all to know I am thankful for you. Both that you are listeners and fans of the podcast and that you keep America moving. I am thankful that there is food on my table and a roof over my family's head, both of which would not be possible without what you do everyday. THANK YOU. What To Expect From Episode 168 Revenue dropped a bit last month. I wish I know what caused it. I think ...
Nov 27, 2024•19 min•Ep. 170
Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com The end of the year is a crazy busy time with the Holidays and everything else going on so taxes typically are not at the forefront of your mind, but they need to be. There are certain things you can do to improve your tax situation before December 31st that you can't do after January 1st, so you need to have a plan. I usually try to have a general idea about what I want to do ...
Nov 13, 2024•47 min•Ep. 169
Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com It's Halloween, which is a fun time of year. I love driving down the road and seeing how drivers deck out their trucks. It's fun to see their personalities come through. What To Expect From Episode 166 We are still slugging through this unprecedented freight market. I wish I knew when things would turn around, I keep thinking it has to be right around the corner, but I have tho...
Oct 30, 2024•21 min•Ep. 168
Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com In this episode we are going to step out of the truck and away from the business and focus on you and your health. This can be a sensitive topic and it's something I have struggled with most of my adult life. I have found something that is working for me better than anything else I have done and want to share it. I'm no health expert, but want to share my story. It a change is ...
Oct 16, 2024•51 min•Ep. 167
Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com Holy cow, Hurricane Helene has caused some serious problems. It seems like it has been a while since we have had a hurricane that was this bad. Ashville, NC received over 2 feet of rain and is a zone of devastation. It's not an area we deliver to often, but guess what, we have a load trying to deliver there now. The receiver's parking lot is full of mud and can't take trucks. I...
Oct 02, 2024•25 min•Ep. 166
In episode 160, we talked about CSA scores and how they work and some best practices. Managing the safety program for a trucking company is not an easy job, whether you are an O/O or have a fleet. There is a lot to know and do. So, what happens if you didn’t do a good job with those things and you are under the FMCSA’s microscope? In these two episodes, Craig and Chris are joined by Alex from Motor Carrier HQ to pick her brain about her experience with the FMCSA, maintaining good ISS scores, and...
Sep 18, 2024•31 min•Ep. 165
In the last episode on safety, we talked about CSA scores and how they work and some best practices. Managing the safety program for a trucking company is not an easy job, whether you are an O/O or have a fleet. There is a lot to know and do. So, what happens if you didn’t do a good job with those things and you are under the FMCSA’s microscope? In these two episodes, Craig and Chris are joined by Alex from Motor Carrier HQ to pick her brain about her experience with the FMCSA, maintaining good ...
Sep 04, 2024•31 min•Ep. 164
Haulin Assets Academy Full Show Notes Haulin Assets T-shirts and More This year has been better than last year, but we are still not where we want to be. Hopefully, things continue to gradually improve as the year goes on. Here is what July looked like. Total miles ran– 118,563 Deadhead miles– 9,649 Total revenue- $243,804.91 All-in rate-per-mile- $2.06 Haulin Assets realized another small profit of $10,342.41. That continues our profitability streak of 10 months, but cashflow is still negative ...
Aug 21, 2024•33 min•Ep. 163
What do peaches and the FMCSA Safety program have in common. You'll have to listen to find out, but I will tell you, understanding the low hanging fruit principle can help you stay out of hot water with the FMCSA. We cover a lot in this first episode of a two part series on the FMCSA Safety program. It can be tempting to neglect safety, especially when you are struggling to survive in a tough market. However, failing to manage your safety and your FMCSA scores can sink your company faster than l...
Aug 07, 2024•37 min•Ep. 162
Haulin Assets Academy: https://www.haulinassetsacademy.com/ Motor Carrier HQ: https://www.motorcarrierhq.com/ This is a topic I wish I did not have to cover, but fraud in the trucking industry is going crazy right now and it is affecting all of us. Being dishonest is very short sided and will catch up with you in the long run. There is no place for dishonesty in the business world. In my opinion, fraud is one of the worst forms of dishonesty. What To Expect From Episode 159 Why is fraud so rampa...
Jul 24, 2024•33 min•Ep. 161
Haulin Assets Academy: https://www.haulinassetsacademy.com/ I start off this episode ranting a bit about a couple of challenges I faced recently. One involved being dropped from a load that I think was completely unwarranted. The second situation was because of a strong oder in a trailer that wouldn't go away, even after a washout. What To Expect From Episode 158 We are not where we want to be, but if you look at June of last year verse June of this year, we are in a much better spot. All the tr...
Jul 10, 2024•25 min•Ep. 160
Haulin Assets Academy: https://www.haulinassetsacademy.com/ Throughout my military, business ownership and corporate careers I have held many different types of leadership positions. I have lead groups with just a few people to groups with hundreds of people. I am a much better leader today than I was 20 years ago. I hope this episode will give you some things to think about so you have a leg up to becoming a better leader. Keep in mind that a great leader positively impacts an organization in w...
Jun 26, 2024•40 min•Ep. 159
This month is a really good indicator of what happens when you have a truck sitting for too long. We had a truck sit the entire month and the impact on the bottom line is pretty easy to calculate. Craig and I spend a few minutes of this episode showing the impact that a sitting truck has on your net income. It's a pretty interesting case study. Be sure to listen in. What To Expect From Episode 156 We took a step back this month. Largely because of the truck without a driver. Here are the numbers...
Jun 12, 2024•27 min•Ep. 158
We just completed our 2024 insurance renewal last month, so I thought this world be a good time to revisit the subject of insurance. It's been several years since we have taken a serious swing at the topic and high time we do it again. Especially since insurance is in the top 5 expenses for most trucking companies and a little savings on your insurance bill can go a long way towards improving your bottom line. What To Expect From Episode 155 Buying truck insurance is a pretty complicated and sop...
May 29, 2024•49 min•Ep. 157
We keep moving in the right direction, April 2024 Financials were better than March. If you remember I mentioned I would be happy if we can keep doubling our net income for 4-5 months. April is the third month in a row we have been able to do that. We start off the episode talking about the importance of being agile. If you aren't agile in this kind of a market, you are going to be hurting. What To Expect From Episode 154 Even though we keep moving in the right direction, there is still a decent...
May 15, 2024•24 min•Ep. 156
Independent Owner Operator verses Leased Owner Operator is a bit of a controversial topic because you get strong opinions on both sides of the argument. I think that is because being an independent Owner Operator is the right thing for some people, while leasing on to another company can be the right thing for someone else. In this Episode of Haulin Assets the Podcast, I want to talk about the pros and cons of both, along with the things you need to keep in mind and watch out for to help you mak...
May 02, 2024•42 min•Ep. 155
Although we saw a slight improvement, the March 2024 financials turned out to be more like February than I would have liked. Considering the extra payroll, it really could have been worse. Hopefully we continue to see improvement as the year goes on. What To Expect From Episode 152 Our trucks ran harder in March than they ever have, setting a new record for the most miles ran in a month. The high miles, however, weren't enough to give us a meaningful profit. Here is how things looked: Total mile...
Apr 17, 2024•25 min•Ep. 154
Who didn't like marshmallows when they were a kid and how do they relate to trucking? We'll try to answer that. Before we do, I want to rant a bit. I can't wait until I'm like Walmart and companies just have to do what I say, whether they like it or not. We talk about a new decision Walmart has made that affects us. To be honest, I can't argue with their logic, but I don't have to be happy about it. What To Expect From Episode 151 In 1972 psychologist Walter Michel of Stanford conducted a study ...
Apr 03, 2024•30 min•Ep. 153
