Year 2025 was a rollercoaster mostly downhill for Overdrive March Trucker of the Month Greg Labosky, headquartered in Connecticut.
Coming off gains made during a relatively steady 2024 in his 2017 Freightliner purchased used several years prior, and coming off a semi-finalist nod in that year's Trucker of the Year competition, mechanical breakdowns yielded tens of thousands' worth in repairs. Copious downtime, too, of course.
As he neared the end of payments on his nonetheless manageable note on the unit, he made a carefully calculated decision to build history afresh for 2026 with a brand-new unit you’ll hear about in this week's episode of Overdrive Radio.
Overdrive Senior Editor Matt Cole told parts of the tale of Labosky’s fortuitous investment in the International LT in the feature last month, and you’ll hear Cole throughout the podcast in conversation with the owner just a couple weeks into the huge fuel spike that followed immediately on the heels of U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran.
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Freight in the system's kept him moving of late, he said last month, though fuel prices where Labosky buys, away from the big truck stop chains, had already added $1.50/gal. to cross $5. That was a far sight better than what he was seeing at bigger fuel stops in the region, some advertising north of $7/gal., even, maybe the biggest reason to call that recent truck purchase fortuitous.
Labosky’s improved fuel mileage considerably, by well more than a mile per gallon already, not even past break-in.
[Related: 80 ways to boost your diesel's MPG]
"Using the Motive system, which I use habitually to keep track of my fuel purchases, I've been averaging 7.9-8.8 miles per gallon," he said, between 16% to near 20% better than the Cascadia.
Gains couldn't come at a better time. Dive into Cole’s full conversation here with an owner who’s truly on top of his trucking game -- minding Ps and Qs, learning more about the intricacies of his diesel, of contracting in the Amazon system, and so much more -- with close attention to all the nitty gritty details that make a one-truck business truly hum.
The podcast ends with something between pep talk and warning for both himself and other owners, particularly younger owners early in their careers and overwhelmed by the day-to-day grind, which he knows all too well.
He referenced a conversation with his significant other, who (as significant others are prone to) routinely hammers home the need to keep building retirement savings. Labosky, 55, knows he's not getting any younger.
Sticking to regular retirement savings as a truck owner-operator is hard for myriad reasons, not least that "everyone's so used to working and grinding all the time," Labosky said. But "we all have to face the realization that we can't just work continuously. We have to start looking at the long-term end game ... putting money aside for that."
Social Security alone won't "make anyone a good living," he well knows. Start building that retirement nest egg now. Odds are you're going to need it.
If you know your costs backward and forward like owner-operator Labosky, know that Overdrive’s Load Profit Analyzer calculator tool can be a quick way to assess a rate offer’s potential profit level -- not only per-mile or lump sum but per unit of time, too.
Get your own business -- or nominate another owner to compete -- in the Trucker of the Year competition for 2026 here. Hope to see your name there.
[Related: Minding the Ps and Qs of costs, rates: Trucker of the Month Greg Labosky]
