Box truck carrier’s pivots show new fleets must know costs

TLA Group LLC, a Houston-based carrier founded by Telly Arnold, has learned valuable lessons about the costs associated with running a new box truck fleet. Arnold, who has a background in accounting and business, started the company to create opportunities for her son and to utilize her business sense. Over the past three years, the company has rented, co-owned, and financed box trucks, hauling final-mile appliance deliveries and moving over the road.

Arnold emphasizes two key habits for new truck owners: understanding every cost line item behind the cost per mile, and quickly changing course when a business model stops paying. The biggest surprise for the company was the unexpected expenses, starting from the moment the motor carrier authority became active. Insurance deposits of $4,000 to $5,000 and a monthly premium of about $2,500 were alarming, with the deposit not being returned even after renewal. The largest bill was a $10,000 repair for the company's first mechanical breakdown.

Arnold's advice for final-mile appliance deliveries is to document every handoff with photos of the box before and after, as damage can be concealed inside the packaging. Customer surveys can also pose risks, as a negative review from a contractor can lead to the loss of a route. After realizing that white-glove appliance delivery work was not as lucrative as initially thought, TLA Group pivoted to over-the-road freight in February 2025.

The carrier searches for loads on load boards like Truckstop and DAT, deciding how far out to run them based on the destination. They prefer freight headed to the Midwest, where they can bounce between loads. When the company added a second truck, they hired drivers and kept one truck local, but found hiring qualified drivers for non-CDL box trucks to be an obstacle they did not anticipate.