Blog - Page 8 of 8 - Bulldog Truck Sales | Truck Sales, Lease & Financing

A Natural Oil Both You And Your Truck Will Enjoy

No, we’re not talking about an oil for your truck engine, we’re talking about an oil for you while you are in the cab of your truck. Have you heard of essential oils? They’ve been used for thousands of years to for both medicinal and emotional reasons. Recently, there’s been a surge of people using them because they are looking for an alternative to filling their bodies with things not derived from nature.

Here are some essential oils you might consider using in the cab your truck to help you as you are on the road.

Peppermint

Peppermint is known to stimulate the consciousness of your mind. It may aid with memory and mental performance. If you’re feeling foggy, tired or sluggish on the road, peppermint may be the trick for you to help awaken you for the long haul.

Lavender

Lavender is known for its ability to promote consciousness, health, love, peace and a sense of calm. If you’re feeling the stress of life on the road, lavender might be a good choice for you.

Wild Orange

Wild orange is known for its punch against bacteria, fungus, depression, and germs. It’s a power disinfectant and really helps fight against your colds and flu. If you’re feeling sick, or about to be sick wild orange might be the choice for you.

You may either buy a car diffuser to diffuse the oils into the air to cleanse, calm, or awaken your nose, truck’s scent and your entire body! Or, you can put a few drops of the essential oil to any of your reflexive areas of your body, or the back of your neck.

At Bulldog Truck Sales we care about keeping you healthy and happy for your work and life.

Posted on behalf of Bulldog Truck Sales

Tips For Saving Money On Your Fuel Expenses

When your work involves driving many miles, you want to maximize every mile traveled to get the most bang for your buck. There are many ways you can squeeze the most out of every mile traveled. One such way to save money is by being a wise driver who knows how to save money on fuel expenses for your trips.

If you’re traveling in a regular vehicle, you can do things such as making fewer trips out and strategizing your travel. Avoid driving in rush hour. Keep your windows up and excess weight and wind resistant items off and out of your car. Be sure to accelerate smoothly, avoiding sudden spurts of gas guzzling accelerations.

If you’re in for the long haul in your 18-wheeler, fueling for your trip is expensive. There are ways to help you be a more economical driver. You can start by managing your speed well in your truck. You may be temped to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible to potentially earn more money, but there is a downside to that- you will spend more money on diesel. It’s also important to monitor your tire pressure carefully because improperly inflated tires decrease your fuel economy. Try to minimize your idling by turning your truck off at rest stops and long breaks on the road.

At Bulldog Truck Sales, we want to help you maximize your earning potential with your truck purchases and your on-the-road business adventures. Contact our office today to discover how we can help you save and make money!

Posted on behalf of Bulldog Truck Sales

What An ELD Mandate Could Mean For You

Atlanta is honored to host a variety of great sports empires. The Atlanta Falcons made our city proud this year making it to the Super Bowl. The Braves are moving to a new stadium. The reasons to celebrate living in Atlanta are numerous. Changes are always happening in our city, and around the country. Often changes are seen as positive, but some come with skepticism and questions. One such change in the trucking industry is the ELD Mandate, which is to go in effect in December 2017.

The ELD (electronic logging device) rule is intended to help create a safer work environment for drivers by managing, tracking and sharing driving records. For carriers using AOBRDS (automatic onboard recording devices) before the rule compliance date, the rule will replace AOBRDs with ELDs over a four-year implementation period.

An ELD synchronizes with a vehicle engine to automatically record driving time, for easier, more accurate hours of service (HOS) recording.

The ELD rule impacts carrier and drivers who are subject to the rule must transition to ELDs no later than December 18, 2017. Carriers and drivers who use AOBRDS prior to the compliance date must transition ELDs no later than December 16, 2019.

Once the ELD mandate goes into effect it will require some changes to drivers all over the United States. Changes are hard and sometimes hard to understand. A few lawsuits are underway, challenging the mandate’s authority (challenging the violation of the driver’s privacy), but the outcome of these cases is unclear. At Bulldog Truck Sales, we can help you understand and navigate the new rules that will affect your driving career.

Posted on behalf of Bulldog Truck Sales

Top Ten Reasons To Travel With “Man’s Best Friend”

If you’re on the fence about whether to travel with your pet here are some reasons to consider taking the plunge and letting your dog or other pet hop in your truck with you.

Your pet can reduce your stress on the road.
You won’t lose all sense of responsibility on the road because you have a VIP (Very Important Passenger) on board with you.
You pet can force you to get out and get exercise after a long day on the road.
Your pet is usually easily adaptable to any new environment or place. As long as they are by your side, they are happy.
Sharing your job and your passion with you pet can be rewarding.
One of the best ways to meet people in general is to have a puppy or a baby with you. If you want to make more friends on the road, have your furry friend hop out of your truck and they become a friend magnet.
You’ll end up doing more. It’s proven that with someone by your side you’re more likely to explore more and be braver, in general.
Your dog can help motivate you when you’re feeling lazy.
You’ll never be lonely!

At Bulldog Truck Sales, we want you to be happy with your truck purchase or lease. Finding the perfect truck for you is important to us. It’s also important to us that you’re happy while driving your truck. You may want to consider taking your furry friend with you.

Posted on behalf of Bulldog Truck Sales

Best Rest Stops

As you’re considering purchasing or leasing your truck there are many factors that go into your decision. Trucking is an exciting way to provide financially for you and your family. It’s also a way to explore the great United States all while working at the same time. Many businesses, such a rest stops have been created just for you as your journey through your career as a truck driver. There are many reasons why a rest stop can be called “The Best.” Here are some characteristics of the best rest stops and where you can find them along the road.

Some truck stops have thought of everything. The Iowa 80 Truck stop offers you plenty of food options, movie theaters, church services, trucking museum, laundromat, showers and so much more.

The South of the Border stop in Dillon, South Carolina makes you feel like a tourist on vacation. Here you’ll find a reptile exhibit, which is open every day. There’s a Pedroland, which is an amusement park with a ferris wheel, carousel, bumper cars, mini gold and an arcade. There’s also an inn and a campground if you need to stay the night.

When in Texas, visit a Buc-ee’s. This chain is a Texas staple. It has 22 locations in Texas that feature convenience stores with huge restrooms, tons of gas pumps, and delis. The New Braunfels location won Cintas’ 2012 America’s Best Restroom Award. The store is 68,000 square feet with 80 soda fountains and conveniently contains a total of 83 bathroom stalls!

At Bulldog Truck Sales we want to help get you on the road!

Posted on behalf of Bulldog Truck Sales

Leasing Versus Owning-Which Is Right For You?

If you are deciding whether to pay for a new truck or just get a loaner, check out some of the differences between buying and leasing.

When Buying

You own the truck and you get to keep it as long as you want. Loan payments are usually higher than lease payments because you’re paying off the entire purchase price, plus interest and other finance charges, taxes and fees. When you own a truck, you can sell or trade it at any time, but you will need to deal with selling or trading in of your truck when you want a different one. Your truck will depreciate, but its cash value is yours to use, as you like. When you own your own truck you are welcome to drive it as many miles as you’d like, but you will need to take into consideration that higher mileage lowers the vehicle’s trade-in or resale value. You are also free to customize your truck in whatever way you’d like.

When Leasing

You don’t own the vehicle. You get to use it, but you must return it at the end of the lease, unless you decide to purchase it. When considering up-front costs, first month’s payment, a refundable security deposit, a down payment, taxes, registration and other fees may be included. Lease payments are almost always lower than loan payments because you’re paying only for the vehicle’s depreciation during the lease term, plus interest charges, taxes, and fees. If you decide to end a lease early it can be costly. At the end of your lease you can return the truck, pay any end-of-lease costs, and walk away. Most leases limit the number of miles you may drive, or you may be charged with exceeding your miles.

When considering buying or leasing, consider consulting with our experts at Bulldog Truck sales where we have options for financing your next purchase, and leasing programs for your next truck.

Posted on behalf of Bulldog Truck Sales

Trucking Outlook

Today’s trucking market is filled with contradictory information in the short term. However, the long term health of the industry is not in question as the trucking sector dominates the commercial transportation industry with over 80% of the revenues.

Economists with American Trucking Association (ATA) predict that truck tonnage will fluctuate over the short term. Much of this change is seen as normal as consumer demand for products ebbs and flows due to seasonal changes. The ATA Forecast report expects that though the trucking industry will continue to dominant shipping, its share of tonnage will drop slightly. By 2026, that will equate to a 64.6 percent share compared to a 68.8 percent share in 2014.

According to the ATA, 81 percent of the total revenue seen in the shipping sector was the result of activity by trucking companies. In order to meet the continued demands of the recovering economy, experts within the trucking industry expect the number of truckloads moved by carriers around the country to increase in 2016 with revenues increasing 66 percent by 2022.

Bulldog Truck Sales (http://bulldogtrucksales.com/) offers semi truck leasing at affordable prices with attractive, short-term leases. We are the home of flexible financing and our friendly and knowledgeable staff is here to help you get into a lease that will help you succeed as an owner operator.

Diesel Fuel Projections

According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), a new government forecast is calling for double-digit gains in diesel prices next year, while gasoline is expected increase by only half as much. The Energy Department’s latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook calls for trucking’s main fuel to average $2.71 per gallon in 2017, a 15.1% hike from this year’s forecast average of $2.36 per gallon.

If this happens it would return diesel to the average level seen in 2015. However, that’s still far less than the $3.83 per gallon average in 2014 reached before fuel prices dropped due to falling crude oil prices stemming from overproduction and decreased worldwide demand.

Bulldog Truck Sales (http://bulldogtrucksales.com) offers semi truck leasing at affordable prices with attractive, short-term leases. We are the home of flexible financing and our friendly and knowledgeable staff is here to help you get into a lease that will help you succeed as an owner operator.

Driver Shortage

The driver shortage that has been a constant issue within the industry is expected to continue to worsen during 2016 as well as for the foreseeable future. The two primary reasons for this shortage — retiring personnel and growth within the trucking industry — are not expected to abate soon. According to the ATA, a deficit of 48,000 drivers is expect as 2017 approaches. If the current trend continues, the organization predicts that the shortage will surge to almost 175,000 by 2024.

While retiring truck drivers — the average age of a truck driver is 49 — are the factor behind nearly 45 percent of all new hires, Bill Graves, ATA President and CEO, noted this shortage is also related to the quality of applicants not being up to par with minimum industry standards.

Bulldog Truck Sales ( http://bulldogtrucksales.com ) offers semi truck leasing at affordable prices with attractive, short-term leases. We are the home of flexible financing and our friendly and knowledgeable staff is here to help you get into a lease that will help you succeed as an owner operator.