So you want to be an owner operator?

You're probably gonna be turnin' wrenches yourself more often now!!! Oh I hate hearing stories like this........you have a great attitude though.....hang in there!

 

Well I hate that you are having so many issues. I hope that this takes care of your problems for a good while.

 

Ugh...dude that's terrible! Glad to hear that you had a couple weeks at the house and the shop did fix some the issues that you had going on. Getting stuck for over 6K in the end because a shop lied about or forgot to do the work they supposedly did is just too much. You may not get much from that shop if you complain but word of mouth about poor service can be killer to any business.

Sounds like the loads have been good and you were able to recoup that money in the end but yeah, you have to forecast ahead for the unknowns and be prepared for the worst.

- Ringo1

 

I just replaced my batteries in my rig about a month ago. At that time, I went through and replaced the majority of my connectors to my batteries since they are older and corroded. That really sucks that this could have probably been prevented for the most part. I have not started running it yet but when I do I know there will be times like this!

 

I agree 100% hurst! To me I consider it preventive maintenance, catching something before it becomes a problem. I'm very thankful my dad is a mechanic, he only works on cars now but he use to only work on heavy trucks along with 2 of my very good friends who are brothers and took over there father's shop. One is a certified Cummins mechanic and worked for them for 6 years or so and the other worked for Navistar for 3 and is a are certified for medium and heavy diesels. Good people to know!
So far that truck seems like it's been pretty good to you Hurst! Keep on truckin!

 

With the kind of money you're making you should be able to just throw down a big down payment on a brand new one with a warranty. Tough call though. Buying your own trailer and getting the other guy out of the picture might be a smarter play depending on what kind of guy he is. That $500 a month you're paying him to use his trailer could be paying for your own.

The idea of someday owning my own truck and trailer has recently become more appealing to me, where as before I never gave it much thought and figured a high paying feeder job with UPS would be the ultimate way to earn a living driving a truck, but now I'm not so sure working your way towards being your own boss who makes his own schedule isn't the way to go.

 

Entrepreneurship has this edge to it especially in the start . You are about to journey into unexplored territory , you've heard many negatives and you heard many positives but your heart is weighing in ambition . Success is never achieved without struggle . It's perfectly normal for startup small businesses to have a rough take off because you are now developing your own method and no one now is handing you your paycheck , you are now going going out and getting it yourself . The people who never done it will always comment with negative replies , you must always remember you make and break your dollar , you are your bottom line .
I love being an o/o and I recomend though to be on the road as a company driver for a solid amount of a good 5 plus years first .