Red’s Roadmap to Authority

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✅ What it really costs to get started — not just forms, but fuel and survival
✅ How to file for DOT and MC without getting hustled
✅ Why insurance, BOC-3, UCR, IFTA, and IRP matter — and how to do them right
✅ The Clearinghouse, audits, medical cards, and traps they don’t warn you about
✅ Why most guys fail before they ever haul a paying load
✅ The tools and templates I’ve used — what they are, how they work, and when to use ’em
✅ The dangers of load boards, double brokers, and ghost freight
✅ How to keep your cash flowing without getting stuck waiting 90 days to get paid
✅ A full list of DOT-approved ELDs for 2025 — with links that still work
✅ And checklists after every step so you don’t miss a beat

🛑 “The road don’t give refunds — just lessons.”
— Red

 Because I already paid for it — the hard way.

I’ve spent over 40 years in this industry — as a driver, contractor, coordinator.
I’ve been scammed, audited, delayed, ghosted, fined, and forgotten.
I built this manual so you don’t have to go through that crap just to get rolling.

This ain’t a pitch. It’s a protection plan.

I break down every step, every filing, and what each one really means.
I show you what it costs, where to go, what to avoid, and how to keep from getting burned.
You’ll know what needs to be filed, what it does, and how to spot the traps nobody warns you about.

⚙️ “You’re not buying my opinion. You’re buying the map I wish I had when I started.”
— Red

 Other Ways to Learn (and What They’ll Cost You)

• YouTube / TikTok
You get: Bits and pieces, mostly hype
Cost: Free
Risk: ❌ High — scammers & gaps in info

• Facebook Groups
You get: Everyone’s an “expert”
Cost: Free
Risk: ❌ Very High — zero accountability

• Lawyers / Filing Services
You get: 1-on-1 help
Cost: $500–$3,000+
Risk: ✅ Reliable, but expensive

• Online Courses
You get: Often recycled fluff
Cost: $149–$997
Risk: ⚠️ Mixed quality — depends who made it

• FMCSA DIY
You get: Just forms, no help
Cost: Free
Risk: ❌ High — one mistake = shutdown

• This Manual
You get: Full walkthrough, plain talk
Cost: $99.95
Risk: ✅ Low — built by a driver, for drivers

 You’ve heard ’em:

“Too risky.”
“Not worth the effort.”
“Just lease on like everyone else.”
Most of those voices? They either never did it, or they tried and quit.

🔧 “Safe don’t build nothin’. It just keeps you stuck.”
— Red 

This ain’t for the ones looking for easy.
This is for the ones still hungry. The ones who want their name on the door and their authority locked down.

If you’re ready to build something real — I’ve got your back.

 You’ve probably got someone in your ear right now:

“Why would you buy a book?
Just come run with me.”
“You don’t need that — I’ve been driving 30 years.”
“My cousin knows someone at a carrier who’ll do it all for you.”
 

And maybe they mean well.
But unless they’ve actually built their own authority from scratch — and handled the filings, fees, audits, and slow pay traps — they don’t know what you’re about to face.

🚧 “Experience in a seat don’t mean experience on paper.”
— Red 

I’m not here to replace what they taught you — I’m here to fill the gaps they never warned you about.

Because most of those folks don’t know about:

• The 21-day MC activation window 
• The Clearinghouse fines that don’t go away 
• BOC-3 scams 
• Load board fraud
• Why FMCSA will suspend you for a missed test 
• Or how one typo on a filing can kill your authority 

“Respect your roots. But build your own.”
This manual’s not to show you up. It’s to stand you up — so you don’t have to learn it the hard way.

If your uncle already went through the fire and came out clean? Good.
This’ll just make your fire easier to control.

But if this is your name, your rig, your freight — then you need to see what’s coming.

 Let me be clear:

If you’re looking for shortcuts — this ain’t for you.
If you want someone to do it all for you — this ain’t for you.
If you expect a magic answer and can’t stand hard truth — this ain’t for you.

This book’s for the ones willing to do the work.
The ones who are tired of relying on dispatchers, brokers, or buddies to hold their hand.

💣 “It ain’t worth the price if you ain’t worth the work.”
— Red
 

If that don’t scare you off?
Good. You’re who I wrote it for.

 No upsells. No subscriptions. No catch.

Just the full manual — over 60 pages — written in my voice, from one driver to another.
You’ll walk away knowing how to:

✔ Set up your authority
✔ Avoid the traps
✔ Stay compliant
✔ Pass the audit
✔ And build something you own.

 Buy the manual. Sign on. Run 30 days. Get your money back.
 

If you buy this guide and later dispatch under Longhorn Logistics Dis. LLC, I’ll refund the full $99.95 after you’ve run loads with us for 30 days. 

✔ Active MC required
✔ Just show me the receipt
✔ Real miles. Real work. Real refund