Are you truck show ready?

Today kicks off the first day of the beloved Mid-America Truck Show! There are ample benefits to attending a truck show whether you’re a driver, aspiring owner operator, single truck owner, fleet owner, or just a fan of big rigs! From the networking, the deals, the freebies, or the polished chrome, there are festivities for everyone and anyone who attends!

Make sure you dress to impress… – YOUR FEET. The Mid-America Truck show is seemingly never ending and will have you covering at least a few miles of stomping ground in a single day. MATS boasts a whopping 1,000,000 square feet, over 800 vendors, and 40 different events over their 3-day schedule.

Have you been holding off for a specific headset to go on sale or a piece of chrome that you want a guaranteed fit on? Most vendors will have some serious deals going on that they’ll call a “truck show special” – sometimes the pricing is the same, and they’re selling their stuff off to unsuspecting customers, but if you’ve done your research, then you’ll know when you’ve struck a deal!

This also includes vendors for more complex trucking equipment that would need to be installed at a shop. You can meet with the vendor at the show and negotiate a price for parts and labor with their approved third-party providers. We've been able to save hundreds of dollars with this one tip on things like truck body accessories and automatic tire chains.

Say you’re having an issues with your tools, parts, chrome, or trucking tech, you can also meet with the supplier in person and most companies are prepared to handle any warranty or claim issues at the show. If they can’t handle it for you there in person, you can expect to leave with either an open claim or direct contact for your issue.

Of course, you can’t forget the freebies and the big rigs! Walking down a single isle at the show will leave you with more free stuff than you can hold with both hands. Most booths will have giveaways that can include tools, cleaning supplies, vendor samples, and branded goodies to give to your friends and family. Trucks will cover the showroom floor, but the annual truck show contest will be at Lot N in front of the West and South Wing.

If you do plan to attend, make sure to stop by and say hi to some of our partners in our small world of expediting!

Fedex Custom Critical  - 67057 (West Wing)

Panther 32405 - (South Wing)

Landstar - 16148 (North Wing)

Show Information:

The Mid-America Trucking Show is from Thursday, March 20th – Saturday, March 23rd and is held at the Kentucky Expo Center (KEC) in Louisville, KY. Parking is available on the KEC lot for rates ranging from $12-$80. They also offer free offsite overnight truck parking across from the KEC, with free shuttles to and from the show during show hours. The paid truck show parking lot is at 937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, KY 40209. The free parking lot is across from Gate 1 at 1032 Phillips Lane, KY 40209.

To register for the show, click here.

For a breakdown of the events, click here.

For an interactive map of the show room floor and list of exhibitors, click here.

We're planning to attend the Mid-America Truck Show this weekend, so if you’re out there and would like to meet us, give us a shout!

Feel free to send us any shots of yourself, or anything you think should be highlighted, along with your thoughts on this years show, and we’ll feature you on our next article!

Run Hard - Dream Big,

M.I.T.

Finding Your Fleet (Part I)

A recent post shared by a fellow expediter made some great points when it came to finding a small fleet to work for. We’ve decided to highlight her post and add to it from a former driver and now owner’s, perspective. We're going to work through her post, point by point.

“When looking for a driving job - look at the different fleets (there are more than 3 or 4) and see what they each offer. Don’t just look at the one that has shower trucks… Look at how reliable they are; Do they pay every week? Do they give bonuses? Do they allow pets? Are there pet deposits or escrows? Do they have target amounts per month, per mile, etc.? Do they want you to only get maintenance at certain locations or can you get it done immediately?”

Choosing your fleet because they have eye catching ads or shower trucks might not make them the jewel out here – there are a lot of things to consider. Inquiring about pay and bonuses is important because newer fleets might not have bonuses whereas older fleets might have all of their equipment paid off and therefore might be able to afford larger pay percentages and/or bonuses. So not every fleet offers bonuses, just like not every fleet has an escrow or security deposits just because you have a pet. Some fleets require escrows without pets. There are also fleets who run equipment with very strict rules; using very specific shops because the equipment lacks service centers. Now, sometimes this isn’t intentional – dealers and/or fleets are constantly testing new equipment and the newer the equipment, the smaller the service center coverage you may have. Other times, it could be a smaller fleet who prefer to use small shops because they don’t have fleet accounts with the larger service centers to be able to get price breaks. See where your values are best met.

“When looking at the fleets you find that interest you; talk on the phone with a list of your questions you want to ask. Ask to talk to some of their drivers. Ask to see their contract. Write down what they tell you.”

Before we joined expediting, we spoke to the owner multiple times – sometimes just to clarify everything we asked, and we asked a LOT of questions. Writing down your questions so you don’t forget anything once you get on the phone with an owner can be a huge help, especially when you’re a team. Majority of fleets have a contract in place – asking to see it before qualifying with a carrier and moving too far forward can save you both a lot of time. Now, speaking to current drivers is great, but speaking to former drivers is even more important. Verify what you were told with current drivers, see why the former drivers left the fleet, and take both with a grain of salt, because at the end of the day - no fleet, nor driver, is perfect. Lastly, ask the owner to text or email a summary of your discussion with what their fleet offers, and follow your gut.

“Ad’s for drivers - if a fleet advertises a set amount you will earn a week, I would only believe that if it’s a dedicated run. Just because an ad says ‘shower trucks available’ doesn’t mean you will get one. Some fleets offer shower units as something you work up to. Non force dispatch is exactly that, but that doesn’t mean you can take a month off and not expect the owner to call and ask you whats up? If a fleet has 5% of their fleet doing YouTube, Tik Tok, etc. saying ‘Come see us and join our fleet’ it doesn’t mean that just because they have a presence on social media, they are the best. It means that is what they do to get the word out that they have openings for teams.”

Some job listings can be very misleading, especially in our industry. Units fitted with bathrooms are some of the most expensive upgrades our sleepers can get, so they are usually given to top earning teams, or the teams with the most seniority. Now if a job listing is guaranteeing you a certain pay weekly, they should either have a minimum weekly guarantee or you will be running a dedicated route. So, she’s right. Outside of those two circumstances, there is no guarantee of pay out here, because you are in control of your fate. How much money you make will depend on how you work, the loads you do or don’t take, the qualifications you have, and/or the kind of equipment the fleet operates. Not all fleets have refrigerated units or newer units that can even qualify to run controlled freight. Not all fleets will mentor you or give you the resources and knowledge to help make you successful, and these basic needs can make or break you in expedite. Every fleet advertises differently so again, don’t look for the most expensive or most eye-catching ads - stick with your gut.

“Every trucking company has their good and bad qualities... you talk to any one of their drivers, you will hear ‘they are great’ and ‘they are horrible’. It’s like that with any job, in any industry. It’s the individuals experience; how they act, how they treat others, and how well they do their job - that is the difference between “we love this company” or “we hate it.”

When speaking to drivers and/or owners, take everything with a grain of salt. Your experience can be very different. The driver you speak with might have trashed a truck but they only told you the owner deducted a cleaning fee out of their last settlement. On the flip side, the owner might tell you they offer bonuses, but when you speak to one of their drivers, you might find that the owner will find any reason not to pay it out, or they have to chase after it with multiple phone calls and emails. You will likely find a driver that has been disqualified from driving for a specific expedite company, but they won’t tell you that they were reported countless times for not wearing their uniforms at customers, or have multiple OOS violations. Sometimes, we can work and live with integrity and don’t receive it back. However, don’t let the bad owners ruin your outlook on the industry and if you find yourself in a rotten egg of a fleet, start asking around and find a fleet that will value you, and show you integrity still exists.

Don't forget that you can reach out to us with any questions, or if there's something we've covered that you would like us to expand on, let us know. You can even stay anonymous.

Run Hard - Dream Big,

- M.I.T.