Prove yourself as a quality, hard-working, safe, reliable truck driver and get to know as many people in the chain of command as you can. You don’t have to be a kissy-ass, but just get to know them, show them respect, and make sure you do an exceptional job for them.

When you do your job well it makes them look good and makes their lives much easier. But the opposite is also true and don’t forget it. Being a truck driver doesn’t carry any prestige with it I’m sorry to say, not even inside a trucking company. But being a great worker and a good person does. Make those your priorities and life will be much easier on you most of the time than it would have been otherwise I can assure you.

For Example……

I was always an excellent truck driver. I ALWAYS ran hard and ALWAYS on time, ran the lousy loads when they needed me to; I was a given….if you gave me a job to do, you could consider it done.

I was outside of Bristol, TN on a Wednesday morning. I had just gotten done delivering my load about an hour ago and went up the road to the nearest truck stop to get some breakfast while I waited for my next assignment.

Arriving, I noticed that there were a number of NASCAR tractor trailers in the parking lot. Being a huge racing fan I realized that the only two tracks they could be on their way to was Bristol,TN or Fort Worth,TX.

I asked somebody and sure enough they were going to Bristol, about an hour up the road.

Well, I was running in a regional fleet and was going to keep running the rest of the week until I got back home on Friday or Saturday.

But JEEEZ, would I love to take the rest of the week off and stay in Bristol for the NASCAR races! I had been with my company for a few years already and had proven myself as a great driver so I asked my dispatcher what he thought about letting me stay in Bristol for the races.

He told me he didn’t have the authority to approve that, which I knew already but I always ran everything by him first (he was the best dispatcher I had ever had).

He told me to talk to his Boss, whom I also knew very, very well, and I begged and pleaded with the Boss. He said, “what are you going to do with the truck?” I told him I was going to be sleeping in it every night, of course, and it would be safe.

My rationale: “Come on man, you know I kick ass out here. Let me stay in Bristol this weekend. You know I’ll take care of the truck and make it up to you.” Of course he knew I was right, and he let me stay.

There are VERY few drivers that would have been able to pull that one off, but I had proven myself and had gotten to know the right people and that was all it took. I rocked the weekend at the races and had a blast.

Everything went perfectly and Monday morning I called back in, they gave me my next load, and I was off and rolling again. Another great adventure on the road as a truck driver.

As the economy has weakened and defaults have occurred at all levels, lenders Have put themselves into a very difficult position how to do business. On one hand, the lender has taken back tremendous amounts of repossessions due to default of payments or non-compliance of terms with the lease. The lessee can’t afford to make payments when the revenue base isn’t there and the costs of doing business has sky rocketed. The lessee has either walked away from his obligation to pay the lender or the lender has taken back the acquisition. Either way, everybody is a loser and the future looks no brighter.The lender must recondition these repossessed items and either re-lease them or auction them off at a discount. This isn’t a good scenario because the lender is losing time and dollars on every repossession. As this problem has leveraged itself, it has put some lenders into financial crisis. At the present time, some lenders have had to reevaluate their financial models and make dramatic changes. Their normal lending requirements have become more stringent and fewer prospects will now qualify for commercial trucks and construction equipment than one year ago. Many lenders will not lend on new acquisitions unless your personal credit score is above 650, 680 or higher. This has caused a problem on buyer acquisitions but also limited the lenders’ growth which might be his survival. Additionally, financially strapped lenders require time in business of at least two, possible three years. This additional requirement has eliminated a big pool of potential buyers of heavy equipment and trucks.As the lenders normal credit models have changed, this has caused potential buyers to be cautious and/or nervous of lender’s intentions. Every week, information is in the news pertaining to a bank/lender and for the most part this information is damaging to the lending industry. In some instances, some lenders have transformed itself overnight into a different type of lender.For the startup business, this has caused them to be almost locked out the trucking and construction industry entirely unless they have a personal credit score of 700 or higher. Additionally, the risk/reward factor that is presented at this level has required the lender to require a 15-20% down payment to consider a startup transaction.One of the solutions that is available to the start up or the seasoned business without stellar credit is repos offered by these strapped lenders. These trucks and heavy equipment can be attractive to potential buyers because the front money may be minimal and the lender may be more flexible in its financing and credit requirements. This expanding market should be examined by all potential buyers because unique opportunities can exist for all different levels of the customer wants and needs. Seasoned businesses with stellar credit and time in business could be rewarded handsomely in the price, financing or both. .This following types of work trucks and construction equipment is described in this article:Dump trucks, bucket trucks, day cabs, concrete and cement trucks, boom trucks, water and vacuum trucks, articulated trucks, garbage trucks, tow trucks, excavators, bulldozers, forklifts, concrete equipment, concrete pumps, forestry equipment, backhoes, etcIn conclusion, when shopping for financing on commercial trucks and construction equipment, it is important that you acquire as much information pertaining to your lender. Times have changed and your contract that you signed must be carefully read and understood. These lenders that exist today may be completely change its lending model in a year or so and/or possibility Be out of business. Boy, times have changed..Happy hunting for your acquisition and related financing…