Owner/Operator leased to a for-hire carrier

Overdrive Extra
LED lamps: In Canada, 25% of diodes dark can in fact net a violation
Standards specific to LEDs' individual diodes in the U.S. may not be available today, but CVSA inspection specialist John Sova makes it clear that "if 25% or more of the diodes are inoperative, the light would fail inspection" in the nation to our North.
August 5, 2025
Night Truck On Highway Lights Blurred
Trucker of the Year
Owner-op holy grail: Decades of direct freight in a custom '81 359
Owner-operator Ron Kelsey has been hauling for the same two shipper customers since he got his authority as an independent in 1994. Managing those relationships, and his award-winning 1981 Peterbilt 359, keep his business running strong.
July 31, 2025
Ron Kelsey, pictured here with his 'Sunrise Express' 1981 Peterbilt 359, is Overdrive's Trucker of the Month for July, putting him in the running for the 2025 Trucker of the Year award.
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March 24, 2025
Overdrive's Partners in Business - The leading business training program for owner-operators.
Custom Rigs
23-year-old Cameron Bagley's 1999 Pete 379 carries on father's legacy
Sometimes a family's legacy takes the form of a chromed-out, reefer-hauling 1999 Peterbilt 379 with a brother, sister, and mother owner-operator team.
July 31, 2025
Cameron Bagely's 1999 Peterbilt 379 parked at the Gear Jammer Magazine Truck Show in Epping, New Hampshire.
Overdrive Radio
OOIDA, ATA, Teamsters scrum in Senate hearing: 'Driver shortage,' ELP, CDL fraud, driverless trucks, more
In this Overdrive Radio, Track back through last week’s trucking-issues Senate hearing ahead of the 2026 highway bill. From cargo theft to fraud to driverless truck regs, hours of service and non-domiciled CDLs, a lot of ground was covered.
July 28, 2025
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Custom Rigs
Gear Jammer Magazine Truck Show: Winners, drag racing tips and tricks, history
Gear Jammer's 8th-annual truck show has come and gone, but the glory and burnt rubber on the drag strip remain. Also remaining $120,000 for charity.
July 25, 2025
Gear Jammer Truck Show Recap Drag Racing Thumb
Voices
Driverless-truck tech: Owner-ops worry over cyberattacks, crashes, competition
Nearly a fourth of respondents to a recent survey felt driverless trucks were "one big accident away from being banned" from public roads. But current small-business truckers didn't have their heads in sand about the tech's progress. Most saw driverless competition less than a decade away.
July 25, 2025
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Overdrive Extra
Weigh in: How far do you extend your oil drain interval?
A 100,000-mile change interval is possible -- our 2023 Trucker of the Year proved it. Yet conservative approaches to engine-oil drains have long been the rule of the day for most owners. What's your approach? Weigh in via this brief survey.
July 24, 2025
Install Oil Plug Filter
Custom Rigs
'Black Widow' '86 GMC General: 'Poor man's Peterbilt' for owner
Indiana-based Stuart Geltmaker bought the truck mostly for its two-stroke V8 Detroit engine and has since built it into a chromed-out showpiece.
July 24, 2025
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Custom Rigs
Heavy machinery-hauling 2023 Peterbilt 589 shows strong at Gear Jammer
With a few custom touches, this Pete 589 really shines hauling big machines on low boys up and down the East Coast.
July 22, 2025
T-Quip's Peterbilt 589 works hauling heavy equipment around the East Coast.
Regulations
Automation tech's trucking role divides industry interests in Senate hearing
The Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation convened a hearing Tuesday where trucking interests clashed over tech-automation and its roles with respect to safety, recruiting and retention, and bedrock work opportunity behind the wheel.
July 22, 2025
Testifying at Tuesday's hearing, from top left: OOIDA Executive VP Lewie Pugh, ATA chief Chris Spear, Teamsters leader Sean O'Brien. At bottom, Senate subcommitee chair Todd Young (left) and ranking member Gary Peters.
Business
What Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' legislation means for owner-operator taxes
A new guide from business services provider ATBS offers details about how Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" will impact owner-operators at tax time. Also: Lane reductions on I-5 bridge in Seattle; latest Highway Angel.
July 21, 2025
Flatbed Truck Highway Adobe Stock 459185791
Hours of Service
ELD tampering: CVSA drafts new inspections bulletin to combat 'dangerous trend'
ELD "editing" companies have gone on the offense marketing clearly out-of-bounds services with cold calls. See what authorities are hearing and want to do about it.
July 21, 2025
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Overdrive Radio
Truck-ownership traditions staying alive: Owner-operators Lucas Zach, Harlan Martin
These two Wisconsin truck owners in their early-mid 20s talk custom adds and operations for their 2017 and 2023 modified Peterbilt 389s, in this week's Overdrive Radio edition. Said owner-operator Zach: "Hard to keep something nice if you're in the hopper world." Yet, he does.
July 21, 2025
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Custom Rigs
Built for the hammer lane: Retired boat hauler's one-of-a-kind Frankenstein 'One Piece at a Time'
From a 1953 Ford C-500 base, Wayne Trent built his boat-haul truck out of parts from other trucks, cars, vans -- even boats. See the video here for a detailed look at the various parts and pieces that brought the whole rig together.
July 17, 2025
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Overdrive Extra
Could 'driverless' tech be coming for trucking sooner than we think?
Drivers said for years trucking would never see mandated ELDs, but Clifford Petersen was rightly skeptical. Today, the trucker's skepticism extends to those who think truly driverless trucks remain decades away. Here, he explores implications for the business and our society.
July 17, 2025
Speed Motion Blur Night Truck On Highway
Regulations
FMCSA Administrator nominee Derek Barrs makes first Congressional appearance
In his first step toward confirmation to lead FMCSA, Derek Barrs testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Wednesday to answer questions related to his views on Congressional priorities for the agency.
July 16, 2025
FMCSA Administrator nominee Derek Barrs fielded questions from members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Wednesday in the first step toward his potential confirmation.
Custom Rigs
Custom-rigs winners crowned at annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree: Full results
More than 45,600 people attended the three-day event at the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, Iowa. The Super Truck Beauty Contest featured 87 trucks from 23 states, many of which you can see up close here.
July 16, 2025
Dozens of trucks competed in the Super Truck Beauty Contest at the 2025 Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop.
Overdrive Radio
One owner-op's secret weapons for trucking biz bookkeeping, analysis
Overdrive's June Trucker of the Month Scott Smith's adopted an innovative approach to bookkeeping and week-to-week profitability tracking. Learn about his custom spreadsheet and more -- including how his wife Stephanie's accounting expertise helps keep the business on track -- in this week's podcast.
July 15, 2025
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Cummins X15 Fuel Agnostic
Equipment
Cummins delays new X15 diesel amid regulatory and demand uncertainty
With the proposed rollback of EPA's Greenhouse Gas emissions regulations, among other uncertainties, Cummins announced it will delay the debut of the diesel-powered engine in its X15 fuel-agnostic engine platform until late 2026.
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Custom Rigs
Wisconsin fleet owner's 1998 Freightliner cabover 'Never Finished'
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Regulations
Truck aftertreatment systems are here to stay
Screenshot 2025 08 06 At 3 52 40 Pm
Regulations
Non-English speaking carriers more dangerous than drug, speeding violators: Study
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