Trying to get back in and start slow but have been out since 2007 any ideas?

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by tomar, May 5, 2015.

  1. tomar

    tomar Bobtail Member

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    May 26, 2010
    Northern,Virginia
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    Hi all,

    I've been reading and absorbing the wealth of information on here for sometime now and you guys will save me a lot of headaches in the coming months and years and we certainly will be grateful to you for all for that. My wife and I live in a good freight lane ( a few minutes from 81 in northern Virginia and also close to 95/66 and 70) and hope to get a very small part time operation up and running.

    We are blessed to have them but are very bored with our "day jobs" so we thought we would go back on the road again on a part time basis to start with (our schedules are such that we can run a couple days in the middle of every week and also take more time off to run if need be) maybe doing power only to start and eventually after all the bugs are worked out moving into semi full time and running a little harder as needed. we're just tired of the time clock and would like to start looking at doing our own thing and moving towards semi-retirement in a few years, time for a change, know what I mean?

    I think we could make more money than we do now by having our own authority and running a decent older truck. How am I supposed to break back into the business after being out since 2007 without quitting my day job and driving for someone else full time to get my recent experience everyone seems to want? I've been driving off and on and have ran just about everything since 84' so I'm not a rookie per say. Any Ideas?
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2015
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  3. icsheeple

    icsheeple Trailing the Herd

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    Nov 1, 2013
    Kansas City, KS
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    If your wife's on board, and y'all have real clean records, you should team ammunition and explosives freight.
     
  4. dannythetrucker

    dannythetrucker Road Train Member

    2,856
    4,032
    May 26, 2011
    everywhere, man
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    what's the problem ? insurance companies won't take you ? Did you call Progressive ?
     
  5. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    Aug 28, 2011
    Henderson, NV & Orient
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    Many changes since you last drove; you will be shocked.
    Study the OOIDA.com website to become updated on being an owner-operator and especially the insurance issues.
     
  6. dlo

    dlo Bobtail Member

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    Apr 24, 2010
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    Unfortunately trucking is not a part time job. It's either you pour your heart and soul into your truck/business or you do a mediocre job and barely break even (if you get lucky). If you are serious, you will need to bite the bullet and just dive into trucking. There aren't any shortcuts in this business. I wish you luck!
     
  7. tomar

    tomar Bobtail Member

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    May 26, 2010
    Northern,Virginia
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    Yeah, I hear the tactical nukes and tridents are paying pretty well right now. Ammo may be easy since boy wonder is trying to corner the market and buy it all up and I happen to be in the neighborhood so to speak. LOL, I'm not into that much adventure these days.
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2015
  8. tomar

    tomar Bobtail Member

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    May 26, 2010
    Northern,Virginia
    0
    Chinatown, I will do some more studies on your advice, thanks.

    Danny,
    I expect it to cost more than normal due to the company being a start up but have not looked into quotes yet because I have not bought the truck, you can bet I'll be on the phone in the AM with OOIDA and a few others about covering a new company. I'm probably going to be unpleasantly surprised at the cost.

    dlo
    , Yeah I know this is a risky move but I think we could do alright by just doing some regional stuff that we can turn fairly quick to start. I guess its kind of an experiment to see if we can do it and not lose our shirts, pants, arms, legs or everything else for that matter, we still have a bit of a cushion from the "day jobs" and would plan on going full bore after the 1st of the year once all the puzzle pieces are in place. Believe it or not, the idea came from looking into buying an RV, I'll blame the wife for that one, she's addicted to the road, hehe. Thanks for the input guys I do appreciate it much, I'll try and make sure the ducks are all lined up before we commit full blown. The real challenge is going to be finding the right truck, a guy needs to be fast on the draw for the good ones, they don't stay on the market very long.
     
  9. tomar

    tomar Bobtail Member

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    May 26, 2010
    Northern,Virginia
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    icsheeple, doubtful on the coffee cup thing..... just sayin'..... if that's what your intention was with that, your just gonna need to trust me on that one pal.
    That's a great line though.:biggrin_25523:
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2015
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