Learn To Save On Enormous Trucking Expenses

Driving a rig comes with major trucking expenses, which is why new owner-operators can fail before they even get started. You have to plan before starting your trucking career because it’s not something you can fake until you make it.

New drivers don’t have instant, overnight success, but by taking the time to create a business plan that accurately reflects your expenses you can make it as a successful road warrior. Check out major trucking expenses your business can save on.

Learn To Save On Enormous Trucking Expenses 

Lodging and Meals

Life on the road is expensive. Buying fast food and sleeping in motels can quickly add up. Instantly save on lodging costs by options to sleep in your rig. With comfortable bedding, you’ll sleep like a baby.

Then make the healthy, cost-effective choice to cook in your rig. By having a few groceries to cook your own dinners you’ll quickly save tons of money. You can also purchase your snacks in bulk and take them with you on the road. This way you don’t have to buy expensive options every time you get hungry.

Don’t forget to accurately calculate your Per Diem, the daily deduction for life on the road. This will give you a lot of money back at the end of the year when you file your personal tax return, or you can use the TAP app to handle it all for you.

Fuel

Fuel is your number one expense, so it’s pretty beneficial to learn how to save. Sure, you can get paid more to travel more miles, but you will also cut the major expense of fuel by simply slowing down a little. You will save about 27% of fuel by going 65 mph instead of 75.

Also, it’s good to gradually speed up and come to slow stops instead of mashing the pedal and slamming on your breaks. Reduce idling time as much as you can at truck stops, but still, make sure your truck warms up.

Plus, it’s good to avoid rush hour traffic and heavily congested areas that will have you stuck in stop and go traffic for hours. Try to drive at night or plan routes that avoid downtown areas.

Maintenance

You can’t truck without your beloved truck! You need to take care of it now to prevent expensive problems from popping up later. Trust us, by taking the time to take care of your truck now, you’ll save time, money, and hassle.

Don’t skip out on the little things such as checking your fluid levels, looking at your belts and tubes for signs of wear and cracks, get your tires rotated, change your oil, and more. If your truck breaks down, you won’t know how long you’ll be without it and your income will be put on hold until you can make deliveries again.

Take Care of Yourself

You need to be able to drive your truck to make loads. You can’t do that if you’re injured or sick. Be sure to get the proper nutrition to fight off colds and get the proper exercise to prevent yourself from developing health conditions.

Trucking can lead to an extremely unhealthy lifestyle if you let it, and you don’t want to foot the insurance bills due to developing conditions like sleep apnea, heart diseases, cancer, and more. Take every opportunity to move around and make healthy eating decisions whenever you can.

Happy Truckin’

Trucking is one of the most rewarding careers out there, even though it’s expensive and can take a while to get your business off the ground. With the right preparation and persistent hard work, you’ll make it up there with the top road veterans!

Share your tips for sharing on trucking expenses in the comment section below and visit TSNAmerica or more trucking blogs.

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Trucking Is The Most Dangerous Industry

It’s no secret that the road is an incredibly dangerous place. Not only for truckers but for all drivers. We’re tired of hearing about our nation’s truckers making early trips to the golden highway, but unfortunately, truck driving to the most dangerous profession in the nation.

The government’s workplace fatality census reported that truck driving is the most dangerous job, so we’re hoping to help improve conditions by spreading information on the dangers included with the trucking occupation.

The Dangers Of Trucking

Driving Distracted

You know what’s pretty entraining? Our Smartphones. In fact, they’re so much fun that some drivers can’t resist playing on them while on the road. When they are tweeting, taking pictures, posting updates, and more behind the wheel their eyes aren’t on the road, creating extremely dangerous situations.

Be sure to put your phone down or keep it in your pocket until you’re safely parked. To make or answer calls while driving, use a hands-free device. Also, other causes of distracted driving include reading, applying makeup, fixing your hair, eating, rubbernecking, messing with your radio or navigation system, and more.

Driving While Exhausted

Trucking can really tire people out, so make sure you get enough rest. Driving tired is the equivalent of driving drunk. Your reaction time, judgment and vision become impaired. Driving tired can also decrease performance and vigilance while increasing aggression. Be sure to sleep 7 to 8 hours a night and take naps if you get tired.

Sometimes drivers have sleep apnea, the silent killer, without even knowing it. If you wake up with headaches, feeling exhausted, confused, or out of breath considered getting screened for sleep apnea. Correcting this issue could greatly improve your quality of life. You can actually take a quick, free, sleep apnea test online with Aeroflow.

Having An Unhealthy Lifestyle

Truck stops can have some strange sites sometimes. Including drivers who look like they’re popping out of their jeans like a can of biscuits. This is because you can gain weight so rapidly in the trucking industry that you quickly grow out of your clothes before you notice. Having a poor diet and lack of exercise can really put your health at risk.

Obesity leads to conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, heart disease, sleep apnea, and more. However, you don’t have to give into an unhealthy trucking lifestyle.

For example, you can find healthier food options on the road by opting for grilled chicken salads or salmon with nutritious snacks like boiled eggs or nuts. Fast food options even have all sorts of fresh wraps and fruit. Also, get rid of soda for green tea options and black coffee.

Then don’t let sitting too much become the death of you. Try to move around whenever you can. Take extra laps around your truck or around the truck. You can also take a few free weights and resistant bans in your rig to squeeze in a few calorie-burning workouts here and there.

Stay Safe!

We wish we were reporting on happier news, but trucker safety is incredibly important. The best way to educate people is by spreading awareness. However, we’re happy to announce that the rate of trucker fatalities is decreasing annually.

By teaming up in the trucking industry to practice safer driving and healthier habits the mortality rate will decrease even more! Please visit TSNAmerica for more trucking blogs and share your safety tips in the comment section below.

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