124: Owner-Operator Highlight: Bruce Marks

During this week’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by Bruce Marks to discuss some things that played a key role in his success in becoming a truck driver. From personal action to people who played a role in his journey, here’s the story of how he became an owner-operator. 

Key topics in today’s conversation include:

  • Oakley Update: anniversary gift (4:51)
  • A little about Bruce (6:59)
  • The process of becoming an owner-operator (11:43)
  • What’s it’s like pulling a pneumatic tank (19:12)
  • How the customers treat owner-operators (25:27)
  • The worst thing about Oakley Trucking (29:46)
  • The future for Bruce Marks (33:43)

Oakley Trucking is a family-owned and operated trucking company headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. For more information, check out our show website: podcast.bruceoakley.com.

Transcription

Bruce Marks  0:12  

I’m leased on to Oakley and Oakley is my customer. The way I treat Oakley every day makes a big difference in how I’m delegated loads and responsibilities. The people I go see, that I unload and load at, are Oakley’s customers. So a customer that I’m out taking care of is Oakley’s customer and Oakley is my customer. So if I’m at a place and I unload or I load and they call Oakley back on the phone and say, “Could you send that guy back?” Let’s me know that I’ll have business in the long run and that Oakley will also have business. The left hand feeds right hand. I have thought about this a lot about— when I get to a place and I’m not too clear on what needs to happen— is to keep smiling at face and be positive and keep moving forward.

Jeremy Kellett  1:08  

Welcome to the Oakley podcast, trucking, business, and family. This show is brought to you by Oakley Trucking, headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The purpose of this podcast is to communicate with Oakley owner-operators and their families by giving them up-to-date information concerning Oakley Trucking and the trucking industry. From business advice to safety updates to success stories. Also to give an inside to outside truck drivers that might be interested in joining the Oakley family.

This is Jeremy Kellett, Director of Recruiting here at Oakley Trucking and I’m your host for this podcast. This is the Oakley podcast: trucking, business, and family and this is episode 124. So on today’s episode we’re going to talk to one of Oakley is independent contractors. His name is Bruce Marks. He’s from Niebo, Kentucky and we’re going to talk about his success story as a truck driver and he’s gonna tell us some things that played a key role in his success is becoming a truck driver and also talk about some people that played in successful role in his journey to becoming an owner operator. So stay with it’s gonna be a great episode but the first thing I want to tell you about is the Oakley podcast.

I was thinking about this morning and while we do this podcast and today you’re gonna find out Bruce is one of the examples of why we do this podcast but is to be able to communicate with people out there either potential owner operators Oakley owner operators that are here their families that are here it’s just an insight to what goes on here and how we think whether we’re having dispatchers on the podcast owner operators safety guests of some sort in a trucking business but what you’re not gonna find here is probably the news we’re not going to do much headline news that you hear everywhere else anyway why do I need to repeat it? This podcast is something that we work hard at getting you good information out there. We want to arm around players to be informed of good information and also see success stories of other people that are working here and how they did it and we always think it’s good so this is just another testament to our idea of a podcast.

But first before we get started talking to Bruce, let’s hear from Arrow Truck Sales and our Oakley update. Let’s listen to one of Oakley is owner operator experience with Arrow Truck Sales

Unknown Speaker  3:32  

I called Kenworth offer for 40 called Peterbilt called Freightliner. None of them wanted to work with me. So, Jeremy Kellett got me and got me over to Trey. Trey visor, me and him had a conversation. He sent me to Keith Wilson and never looked back from that point. I was upside down 29,000 and change they paid off all but $5,000 of my loans on a blown trust that right there said a lot to me. They’re were willing to step outside of their comfort zone to get my deal done. I never felt like a customer. It was more like a family feeling. He took care of every aspect of the deal. He was completely transparent. There was no hidden, no hidden nothing.

Jeremy Kellett  4:42  

So if you’re in the market for a used truck, you owe it to yourself to call Keith Wilson at Arrow Truck Sales in Springfield, Missouri. Tell him you heard it on the Oakley podcast.

Okay Oakley update today. Really a short one. I got to just a couple things. Last year we started, on your anniversary date, we send you out a years of service details. So the shop lady was Kristin, she does a great job, she makes up the years of service details, a co she has your color of stickers, it’s on your truck. And she goes on to the recruiting department, and then somebody in the recruiting department, Miss Buendia, thank and mail them to your house. And we mail the years of service and we want you to stick them on your truck. And then not only stick them on your truck to be proud of your years of service, at Oakley, but also take a picture of it so and send it to Miles Mason. So we can post it on social media for everybody. Or you can do it yourself, of course. But we love to see that kind of stuff. And also when you’re signing up, this is another thing when you’re signing your lease at the end of the lease, there’s a page for you to fill out to pick a shirt, we provide you a free shirt, I believe it’s either two free T-shirts or one button-down shirt, and you pick it out your size. And then we send it to a company and they mail it to your house because we want everybody that renews their lease to get a free shirt. So I need to know if you’re not getting that. If you get it ordered. When you sign your lease and you’re not receiving it, let us know. So we can fix that problem. If there is and if you’re getting it then let us know that too. So we only know the jobs getting done.

That’s it for the Oakley update. We appreciate it. Now I want to talk to Mr. Bruce Marks. Hey, Bruce, what’s going on today?

Bruce Marks  6:32  

Hello, Mr. Kellett.

Jeremy Kellett  6:33  

I trapped Bruce. We actually talked a month or two ago on the telephone. Just visiting we talking about doing a podcast together and he said yeah, I’d love to hear me great. So I kinda he was in the shop today and kind of corralled him up in here to talk a little bit about history. First to get started, I guess Bruce, give our listeners an idea of who you are. Maybe a little bit, your family and where you’re from?

Bruce Marks  6:59  

I’m from Hopkins County, Kentucky and my father was a manager for Kroger there. And my mother was a housewife. And I was raised in a family where we had a lot of motorsports action going on with my dad like to drag racing, round motors and my uncle’s all forum. So I learned the trucking business through them and started driving hate trucks at such a young age that I had to stand up down the stairwell to drive them. And I have two brothers and a sister. And we all were just one big family growing up. So that’s where I’m from is Madisonville, Kentucky. Live in Neibo, Kentucky now.

Jeremy Kellett  7:42  

Good family? Your brothers and sisters and everybody’s still alive and well?

Bruce Marks  7:46  

I’ve lost one brother. Okay. And I’ve got two sisters still alive. And then mother and father was taken by cancer from me. And my father, he raised me that if you’ll drive a truck, you’ll always have a job. Yeah. So with that being said, I was a meat cutter for several years and involved in construction for several years and had my own business and construction and then I went home to help take care of my family and started into driving a truck from my brother law, Holland timber. And so that one thing led into another.

Jeremy Kellett  8:24  

So that was your first truck driving job?

Bruce Marks  8:27  

Yes, yes, I’d had a international cab overnight in Spain for under Cummins spring truck, no air conditioner. It was a truck that we use to haul timber to the meal with I did a few road trips with it, but it was what worked out for the most part.

Jeremy Kellett  8:46  

That’s probably why a lot of guys get started back in the day. So how long have you been driving total?

Bruce Marks  8:53  

I started driving in ’96 and I have hauled steel to run flatbeds hauled vans done pneumatics and dumps container open tops powerloom done several aspects. One of the biggest adventures in trucking that I did was hauling crushed cars for a fella and crush car hauling this really true truck driver challenge because it was well you going out and getting the truck colors out of a junkyard so backing into a junkyard with a trailer and not flattening the tower tires and going around to get back to the crusher wherever they may put it sometimes put you in a situation learn how to back up how to handle the truck in a junkyard so you’re skilled to that and there is there truly is and so it’s secure in them and that type thing you learn a lot about secure.

Jeremy Kellett  9:49  

So you’ve been at Oakley how long?

Bruce Marks  9:51  

One year.

Jeremy Kellett  9:52  

Okay, and new pneumatic division.

Bruce Marks  9:55  

Pneumatic.

Jeremy Kellett  9:57  

But you had done pneumatics before you got here.

Bruce Marks  9:59  

That’s correct.

Jeremy Kellett  10:00  

Who for what was it?

Bruce Marks  10:01  

I had hauled for Boyd grain hauled plastic for them and we did pre-loaded trailers in the beginning. And then we did that plastic out of Evansville, Indiana, and then started to travel over the road and do different locations to load with the vac. Prior to that, where I learned to haul pneumatic was going to the coal mine with what’s called rotten dust. And rock dust is what you applied to the walls and underground coal mine and it makes it fireproof. And so they use a tremendous amount of that. And I worked for Hutchinson, Jim Hutchinson, a it was not a real large company, but they had nice equipment. And I work six days a week, three in the afternoon till three in the morning in silos, had a man named Kurt his very first time to show me how to operate the tank. And so when I worked for Boyd, I had a guy named Kirk and he was a real instrument, an older fellow He’s older than I am, and he’s very intelligent about handling plastic and taught me a lot about it.

Jeremy Kellett  11:12  

What kind of truck you own now?

Bruce Marks  11:14  

It’s a 2022 389 Peterbilt Viper 290-inch wheelbase and 7080 and sleep nah, stand up.

Jeremy Kellett  11:22  

You bought it to come over here?

Bruce Marks  11:24  

Yes, sir.

Jeremy Kellett  11:24  

How was that process of going through— I was talking to Harrison earlier the recruiter about figuring out you wanted to become an owner-operator, then going through the process of ordering a truck and getting on leased on Oakley Trucking?

Bruce Marks  11:43  

Oakley trucking has been very instrumental from the beginning dealing with Harrison, about the steps of owner operatorship and buying a truck. So, that being said, once we started the process, the dealerships last year, were very hard to get the trucks in. And we went through a very long process to receive the truck to the dealership and have it finished up for delivery and took about three months from the time it was rolled out the back door for it to get completed. And so that was a very rigorous, frustrating, yes, a very, very hard endeavor to get all that done. And so it is a true challenge now to buy a new truck just because of the availabilities. And I have to say that dealership where I dealt with there in Nashville at Rush, Peterbilt, Denise Gilbert, my salesperson was very instrumental in completing tasks because there were times it was extremely frustrating to say the least that no FF is gonna get done or not. I didn’t know if it would or not. Actually, in the end, I called din Peterbilt and spoke with the main office and let them know I would call back each day until they finally told me that it was done. And the lady said, Well, let me let you talk to someone and the man that got on the phone was the plant manager. And they said, What’s your problem? And I say, well, I need sensors. And so he said, I’ve got some coming in. And he said, Well, I’ll go get them. And I’ll text you Saturday morning, let you know if your trucks done. I was like, okay, so Saturday morning, I’m cooking eggs in the kitchen. And here’s some text come in on the phone, and it says your trucks ready. So it was basically one of the happiest days of my life, being a new owner operator, and finally completing that part of the task and called Harrison immediately and started just being delighted that that was done. It was a long, rigorous process.

Jeremy Kellett  13:41  

Yeah, it sounds like it. I think a lot of people’s had that long process of getting trucks, but it just has been taken a while. I don’t know. Maybe it’s getting a little bit better now. But you got your brand new Peterbilt. So when you started and you’ve been here a year yet? Or almost a year?

Bruce Marks  13:59  

It’s a year. Day after tomorrow will be one year.

Jeremy Kellett  14:02  

Well, congratulations.

Bruce Marks  14:03  

Thanks.

Jeremy Kellett  14:03  

You survived the first year at Oakley.

Bruce Marks  14:05  

That’s right.

Jeremy Kellett  14:06  

Not everybody can do that, Bruce.

Bruce Marks  14:07  

Right. Right.

Jeremy Kellett  14:09  

It can be a challenge. So this is your first owner-operator job?

Bruce Marks  14:13  

Yes, it is. I was I’d never been an owner operator before and Oakley has several people in the departments of the paperwork and everything that’s got to be done that they were very instrumental in helping me be able to do things I didn’t know how to do. And Blackwork. Well, Mrs. Peek she communicated with my bank. And Harrison my recruiter communicated with my bank. So with those two people working with my bank, created a situation for me to be able to get the loan for my vehicle because my bank typically doesn’t loan money. Commercial drugs. Okay. So with that being said, they were very, very instrumental in getting this task accomplished. And I couldn’t ask for any better.

Jeremy Kellett  15:02  

It takes a team to get the need, say, you would think it’d be as simple as I’ve got the money, I’m gonna go buy a truck. But there’s a lot more to it than that when you get when you actually get started in doing it with the paperwork, the title work, the loan work, I mean, it’s got to all come together, the 20 to 90 people don’t know about you gotta pay and get the tag and things like that, that are no Oakley, Here’s good. We do play a big part in trying to help that happen and get it done, especially, especially when we know we got a good owner operator, a good truck driver, a good candidate that we need lays down here we go the extra mile and try to get that done.

Bruce Marks  15:43  

Well, Oakley has been instrumental in making me a better driver I came in. And of course, you always think you pretty well got everything under control. But you learn a lot from everybody and safety department here has helped me to be a better driver, as well, they’ve been patient with me, and I’ve never had a camera in my truck and things like that. And the camera, it sees everything you do. And so you want to have no mistakes such as stopping fully at stop signs and driving over the speed limit, you might not think you’re speeding, but once you get to a certain speed, it’ll let you know. And so the safety department’s been really, really good to deal with about these things and helped me to be a better driver. And what I understand is I’m getting better every day at my scores and being able to handle the truck in a fashion that no matter who’s looking at it’s in a safe manner. So that’s helped me to be a better driver.

Jeremy Kellett  16:41  

That’s interesting because we put those cameras in course, they’re all forward facing cameras that go with the Geotab loves that we have we talked about it before on the podcast, but those, you don’t hear that? Well, I say the safety department hears that from a lot of our owner-operators, that data has made them a better driver. But I don’t think our listeners hear that very often. Or they may not believe it? I’m not sure. That’s pretty interesting that having that camera has made you a better driver? Did you not think you were a good driver before?

Bruce Marks  17:16  

I think that we are creatures of habit and you do things in a manner that you second nature where you don’t think about what you’re doing, I raced motorcycles and somebody would ask me, How do you do this and some things you do without thinking about. So once you get in the habit of certain things, or if you have some to point out that that’s not a good habit, you sort of sculpt your way away from that. So with that being said, I find that it’s some of these habits such as pull up to a stop sign and not coming to complete stop is sort of a habit. And when you’re in a big truck, it’s you’re wanting to get on out in the road when it’s clear and get moving. But the officer sitting and watching you from a distance and you don’t stop completely now you’ve got a violation for pull away from a stop sign and not stopping in it. It has made me such a driver that when I go home and drive my personal vehicle, I actually stopped at stop signs. And that’s why it has made me a better driver, period.

Jeremy Kellett  18:12  

I think we need to put those cameras in some of these four wheelers. Well, on these people drive like miles probably needs a camera. And I know Cory needs one. And Vicki needs one in the recruiting department because here’s here’s the bad habits that I see people do is they get on that so they get on the interstate, it is a direct, I got to get in the farthest left lane and tailgate somebody.

Bruce Marks  18:37  

But it’s not gonna get you there.

Jeremy Kellett  18:39  

And that’s a bad habit that you’re talking about that people do and I get aggravated because something’s gonna give, but they’re not coming in, and then they come into Office mad. I might well if y’all just stay in the right lane and crews only wouldn’t be so mad when you get here.

Bruce Marks  18:55  

You’re not getting any sooner. That’s what I’ve learned is the people in front of me that are making mistakes, and I want to tell them about it. They can’t hear me, and so staying calm and laid back is makes your day go better.

Jeremy Kellett  19:43  

What’s it like pulling a pneumatic tank?

Bruce Marks  19:12  

A pneumatic tank is a scientific adventure the different types of plastics and different products that you put in it and each time you use it, you have to wash it out and get it ready for the next product to go into it. So it’s a lot of prep, it’s a lot of thinking ahead and making sure that you got everything you need to be able to hook to wherever you go, there’s four inch, six inch, male-female on all your feedings, you got different type hoses, your filters are set up so that if they’re not working correctly, they’ll stop up your system. So there’s a lot of science and pneumatic hauling and—

Jeremy Kellett  19:50  

Let me stop there. So somebody listening out there that doesn’t know what your talking about, a pneumatic trailer, dumb it down for us. Miles makes and he probably don’t know we’re talking about. Explain.

Bruce Marks  20:05  

The pneumatic tank is nothing but a big air tank and your truck is nothing but the compressor to operate that tank, the truck will create either vacuum or push pressure to push the product off the trailer. So you have an inlet and an outlet on the front of your trailer and that will operate whether you’re going to make vacuum and drop material through a six-inch hose or four-inch hose and fill your trailer you got air gauge on the front of the trailer and you’ve got to air gauge on the rear of the trailer. And as you feel the trailer you watch those gauges and you want to manipulate the front or the back filled tubes as to how you’re failing the trailer so and what are you filling the trailer from? You’re filling the trailer from the rear of the trailer, there are two load on Oakley trailers you got to load shoot on the back of the trailer that are six-inch. And they are familiar when it comes to loading because that six-inch hose will vac a load on much quicker than a four-inch hose wheel. Okay, so you’re getting a bigger volume of air bigger volume material. Time constraints are very important with the E logs now. So everything you can make up where you can, you won’t that tries to perform flawlessly so that you’re not having too much.

Jeremy Kellett  21:30  

You’re able to—by yourself—you’re able to load your own trailer.

Bruce Marks  21:36  

That’s correct. You go in sometimes to a rail yard, there may be just paperwork for a rail car and you got to find a rail car and then load yourself and with Oakley trailer with the air gauges that are on the trailer can load the trainer to 79,300 pounds 79,600 pound and get the axle just right because I’m watching those two gauges and they’re very accurate, takes a little bit of test and trial to get it dialed in. But there’s a recipe for every trailers different hat loads. So you got to be patient with yourself when you first started using a trailer to make it so that you can do that.

Jeremy Kellett  22:16  

So it’s a big air tank, you’ve got it loaded, it’s all sealed off like a big air tank, and now you got to get the product out of there. Into what?

Bruce Marks  22:28  

Okay, now you’re going to have several different ways that you’re going to unload that trailer. Typically you go into a silo with it. There are times though that you’ll get to a place and they’ll tell you we don’t have a silo. And you can use what to call a Gaylord, which is a glorified huge box on a pallet when you put a cardboard lid on it cut a little hole on top of it and you can put it on low pressure and ease that material into the box. And you can do that it takes a little experience to do that. There are times that you’ll get to a rail yard and they’ll have a candy cane on side of the railcar. And you’ll hook on to that candy cane and blow it into the top of the railcar and load it out of it. Now, when I was at the coal mine you there were times that we didn’t load it into a silo that you unloaded the pneumatic trader on a pipe that went 600 to 900 feet in the ground down into the underground mine. And when you do that, it can you can unload the trailer in about 15 minutes by opening up all the hopper handles in you just blow it straight down into the mind. So that’s not a typical unload. But there are all different ways.

Jeremy Kellett  23:37  

You told me earlier that you it was kind of scientific, you like science, so that’s kind of the picture, I get my mind of a big air tank and I’ve got to figure out how the pressure with all the vials and the product fallen down to the bottom line and you got pressured, you’re pumping air to get the product out and then it’s gotta go. Who knows to the silo or how far.

Bruce Marks  24:03  

In the science of it you have all different types of plastic they have different melt rates and so therefore air pressure and air velocity creates heat. So you have to have a handheld temperature gauge with certain products not to have what they call Angel Hair streamers, come off your product and then you’ll get a call from your customer lighter on the tube overheat the plastic. So having an understanding of it in the scientific fashion is really important and operating the trailer. It helps me a lot to be able to read the what they call the certification sheet for the product that I’ve got when I go to unload it to know that the melt radius.

Jeremy Kellett  24:43  

People wonder why we don’t just put them straight on pneumatic tanks who have never done it before. Well this is exactly why because you gotta have some, you gotta have some experience and figured it out.

Bruce Marks  24:55  

Well, you have black plastic and you have white plastic, you have clear plastic in Any customer that you go to and you put any of the wrong color plastic into their silo, you have what’s called a contamination. So the liability of that is huge. And so we would try to make sure that every time we get to try to wash it out that there’s not a speck of anything left in it. That’s your mainstay: don’t make that mistake.

Jeremy Kellett  25:23  

Right. How do the customers treat you?

Bruce Marks  25:27  

The customers out in the field, they are very helpful. When you get there about letting you know where you’re going to be in what you’re gonna do in this division, because it is so critical that everything is done correctly, on the unload, there’s no go back and undo that we put this plastic in the wrong place. If he put the plastic in the wrong silo, and he tells me to do it, then there’s nothing I can do about I have to follow his lead. So if I’m on time and everything has transpired in a correct fashion, then most of the time everyone out there is always glad to see you. And they’ve seemed to be very helpful for the most part numbers, you don’t win them all. But for the most part, most of the people you go see in the plastic division, pneumatic division on the customers are glad to see you and especially on the second time after you’ve done them a job where you didn’t spell anything or you didn’t have anything go wrong. sigh of relief to see you so that I’ve already been to a place before I enjoy that deal with that customer because they’ve everybody’s always he made people that are different. Everybody’s different. So for me, it’s always sort of like going back, say family around certain people that like to hunt and fish and things like that.

Jeremy Kellett  26:51  

It depends on the day, I think most people explain that. Like he was telling me that when I mentioned customers downstairs, he’s talking about you being our customer. Or we were your customer.

Bruce Marks  27:02  

Well, when you’re an owner-operator, I’m leased on to Oakley and Oakley is my customer. The way I treat Oakley every day makes a big difference in how I’m delegated loads and responsibilities. The people I go see, that I unload and load at, are Oakley’s customers. So a customer that I’m out taking care of is Oakley’s customer and Oakley is my customer. So if I’m at a place and I unload or I load and they call Oakley back on the phone and say, “Could you send that guy back?” Let’s me know that I’ll have business in the long run and that Oakley will also have business. The left-hand feeds right hand. I have thought about this a lot about— when I get to a place and I’m not too clear on what needs to happen— is to keep smiling at face and be positive and keep moving forward. and you can work to any situation as long as you have the mentality I can do this but customers they’re very important and customer service is keeps those customers common so that’s keep that’s really made a big difference from me. My first year with Oakley I’ve been very happy with what I’ve done here and my bank tells me I’ve done the right thing. So I feel like that I’m where I need to be good. Good philosophy seems to be working.

Jeremy Kellett  28:29  

We’re talking to Bruce march from Niebo, Kentucky, one of vocalese owner operators and I got to my ask him a tough question next. But before we do that, let’s get to our LubeZone spot.

You’ve been hearing me talk about LubeZone for a couple of years now. Well, now it’s time you hear from one of our owner-operators. Listen to Mike Durbin talk about his experience with LubeZone.

Mike Durbin  28:50  

The price is great. The service is great. From time when I pulled in the door. What a time I pulled out with less than an hour the best I’ve ever had, as far as an owner operator had more chains, checks the wall that showed me it all. They had all the Horsham owned or ranches showed me my rear end wall on paper. They did their job. They were just it was very nice to go somewhere. Get what you wanted done and go I was very pleased about it. And like I said very satisfied. I won’t go out of my way from now on to go there.

Jeremy Kellett  29:25  

Check out lubezone.com for all their services and all their locations and tell them you heard it on the Oakley podcast.

Okay, talking with Bruce about his success story here at Oakley Trucking. I got you a good question, Bruce. I know you don’t want me to ask this but I’m gonna tell you. What’s the worst thing about Oakley Trucking and your experience?

Bruce Marks  29:45  

Well, being a new owner-operator, the responsibilities that you have to learn that are different than what you have whenever you’re a company driver are immense. And when you do get home and you’re tired and you’ve pushed the limit. And now you’re finally getting home and you’d like to just sort of cool down and kind of get away from everything, you you have responsibilities of taking care of your own truck, taking care of your paperwork and things that you need to say about it. So for me, there are times that I get a little tired and, but there’s more work than can be done with Oakley, we I’ve stayed busy since I’ve come here, I’ve never been told we just sit there, we don’t have anything yet. But that conversations never happen. So for me, being a motorcycle racer, I’ve that idea in my mind that when it’s time to go, you got to go. So with that being said, the only thing I can tell anyone that might be considering doing this, if you’re willing to work, you’re at the right place.

Jeremy Kellett  30:48  

I guess that changes. Also, you talked about immense changes, when you become an owner-operator, that also changes the way you manage money.

Bruce Marks  30:57  

Absolutely. Organization is the key to trucking, looking forward and making sure that you’re prepared for each day before you start, it makes a big difference in the end of the day, how tired you are. And so yeah, when it comes to managing your money, it is a totally different mindset than you would normally because you do have funds in your account that would allow you to say, Well, I’m gonna go on vacation. But in owner operator ship, as we all know, the cost of a new engine, the cost of tires, the cost of the vehicle, and everything, you have to have a lot of self-discipline to make sure that you manage things so that tomorrow will be a good day and not a day that I’ve got to ask to borrow money from the bank to try to do anything goes wrong. So that being said, it does help.

Jeremy Kellett  31:51  

Yeah, because we’ve talked about it before, but you start making a lot more money. So I think the key thing you said is self-discipline because thanks can be very tempting. Oh, yes. Because you have a sack full of cash and bank, you’re very tempted to do things with it that you don’t need to. So it’s something you’re exactly right when it comes to parts and repairs, and things like that cost a lot of money. So you got to be prepared to do it.

Bruce Marks  32:22  

Since I’ve been here, I’ve put myself in a position so that if I do have a breakdown, I can take care of that. And so I’ll have to decide that. That’s what lets me know I’m doing the right thing. Because when the rainy day comes, I’ll be able to handle that.

Jeremy Kellett  32:37  

A little more personal question: Do you plan on paying off your truck as soon as possible? Or do you are you gonna think you’re always gonna have a trip time?

Bruce Marks  32:47  

Well, the way I’m doing it is my business account maintains the balance so that I can pay my truck off whenever I would like to. But I keep that money in that account so that I can take care of like I said, if there’s a flu, Korean or flute motor or flute transmission, that money’s always there, and then the day comes, I need to pay the truck off. It’s that monies are for that also. But the way I’m set up on a business plan right now, I intended to drive this truck for two years, and then get another new one. And just keep warranty and just keep moving forward with a new unit. And the price of trucks now and the availability allows me to I feel like in my business plan to be able to carry that out.

Jeremy Kellett  33:37  

Good deal. Well, what’s in the future for Bruce Marks?

Bruce Marks  33:43  

I’m going to be retiring in a timeframe of probably the next three or four years. And so I don’t know that I’ll fully retire but I’ve gotten myself in a position to be able to do that. And health holds up and everything keeps moving forward. I work full time longer than that.

Jeremy Kellett  34:06  

You look pretty young. How old are you?

Bruce Marks  34:09  

62.

Jeremy Kellett  34:10  

Oh, yeah. Oh, you got more than three or four years with us. But I say these cam miles like him you want to get more years and just two or three he’s up to the can you want to get as much as you can do such a good job.

Bruce Marks  34:25  

I’m still extremely active in my dirt bike racing and riding and everything and that’s incredible. I maintain a 250 or 450 and a 300.

Jeremy Kellett  34:40  

That’s like a dirt bike courses, the jump in.

Bruce Marks  34:43  

Okay. Typically what I’ve always done is what’s called hare scramble racing and that’s the race for two hours or three hours and you have a barcode on your helmet. You write a 12-mile course and oh, and so once you make that 12 miles you go into a tent, and they say scan your helmet like groceries, and then you take off and you ride as fast as you can for another lap. And after the two-hour period comes the guy in the pro class it took off first and his two into his two hours. They put out the checkered flag in the tent that it’s over with and it’s over for the day. And when you GNCC rice, it’s a three-hour rice. And so it to keep you in shape. And as probably to lock woods and trails. In that case, it is extremely extreme off-road, woods and trails and you can get going too fast. Probably. Well, yeah, you get to open field you can accelerate up 70-80 mile an hour, fly off into the woods and fly off the motorcycle on the ground and get back out, run back get on. It helped me a lot though in life to not ever give up and always pick yourself back up and try again.

Jeremy Kellett  35:56  

Yeah, that’s a great sport. I’ve always admired those guys that can do that. Rondo’s motorcycles like no dirt bikes takes some skill.

Bruce Marks  36:04  

Well, I love to fish, for me, there’s nothing like a kitchen big old bass for you. Same down under the water and Oh, so now you’re speaking my language. Right, right. And I liked ocean fish. I like charter boat and get out in ocean fish. I like trout fish. So fishing and riding dirt bikes are my hobbies, I enjoy being home.

Jeremy Kellett  36:25  

Well, you sound like you are on your way to great retirement down the road. And I like you organize, you get things going your way. And he and he seemed like a good person good taking care of things. And we sure are glad to have you here at Oakley Trucking. I know that.

Bruce Marks  36:40  

I’m glad to be a board. They’ve all been really good to me, I want to give a shout-out to all the guys in wash bay. They always make my day when I come in and Oakley and they all say hello and call me my call me haircut. So I have longer hair, cut it into a flat top. And then all the guys out in the shop Teresa and Joe and Blake and James and all the guys out in the shop or it’s been like family, Harrison told me that Oakley will be your family. I lost my mom and dad and everything. So I told him, it gets kind of lonesome he won’t be your family. And sure enough, I’ve really been really happy with Oakley group and everybody in safety. I want to thank all of them for their patience with anything that’s going on and dispatch. I have Austin is my dispatcher. And the young man is always called me sir. And he’s always polite, and he does the best he can and try to get through his day with all the things that I think dispatch is probably one of the hardest jobs in the whole wide world. I’d venture to say that if I could do that job or not. So yeah, he’s, he’s doing the best he can. And I enjoy His company whenever I do get to talk to him on the phone.

Jeremy Kellett  37:58  

Well, good. Well, man, we appreciate you sitting down with us and sharing your story with everybody, all our listeners out there. And I mean, it’s just a great story once again, to have an owner-operator latke working for Oakley trucking, so we appreciate you. Appreciate you serving us.

Bruce Marks  38:12  

Well, I appreciate the opportunity.

Jeremy Kellett  38:12  

Well thanks to everybody for listening everybody to the Oakley podcast. Be sure to subscribe, like and comment. Give us some feedback on what you’d like to hear in the future and we’ll be glad to try to get it done. Once again. Have a good week. We’ll talk to you next week.

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