Taking the plunge. My journey as an O/O.

Recap #3

Why I didn't move on to other o/o opportunities, and plans for the future.

I touched on this a while back, but there are several reasons why I stayed with Crete.

First, I was treated well at Crete, even though I wasn't making trucktons of money. I also get to keep Crete 'tenure' by staying here.

Second, driving is still something I enjoy doing on most days, and I'm cautious about changing that by making myself miserable.

Third, my mother is nearing retirement in the next year or so, and she's still not entirely sure what her post-retirement plans are. I need to be in a position to offer her assistance, even if she doesn't think she will need it. Either buying a new truck, or trying to run an old truck with mounting expenses as an o/o right now would possibly have impacted my ability to help her transition, whatever she decides to do.

Fourth, I am working on a patent which has the potential to allow me to retire almost immediately, if I can get it through the USPTO. The patent was on hold for a couple years after I re-filed it with some clarifications, but it's active again now, and it will cost me $500 + per exchange (every couple months or so) with the USPTO in order to continue pursuing it. When I do get the patent, I'll need to pay even more to finalize it. I do not want to find myself at the bottom of a major repair hole when I need to make significant payments to the USPTO.

There are other reasons, but I think those are enough to make the point that it's simply not an ideal situation for me right now to either buy a new truck and go elsewhere, or take the old truck elsewhere.

So, what do I plan for the future?

Well, after my mother is settled into retirement, and if the patent fails to provide me a retirement, there is a very good chance I will look into becoming an o/o again.

If I do so, I will do so with a new truck, or, (much less likely,) with rebuilt old iron. If I go the new truck route, I will work with a company that lets me pull from a load board, and I will run the truck for 400k miles and sell it.

In the meantime, I am going to settle back into being a Company driver where I can take home good money, have vacation time that I can use to take time off without losing income, and, hopefully, continue doing work that I enjoy doing.

 

There is no way in hell 10w30 semisynthetic oil is offering enough protection to the engine at 75k miles. I can feel the difference between new oil and 25k oil with my fingers. I've never personally touched oil much older than that, but 75k oil feels and acts more like water than oil according to the Crete mechanics I've talked to.

The 'recommended' interval is simply a 'wink-wink-nudge-nudge' way to allow mega-companies to pretend that they are properly maintain the trucks, so they can sucker people into paying more for used trucks that have barely been maintained. The engine will last a few hundred k miles being abused like that, but once the truck gets significant miles on it, that wear and tear will start to accelerate.

So long as the mega companies keep buying replacement trucks every 400k miles, the manufacturers don't lose anything.

 

I did pull oil samples before I bought it, and regularly after that, yes.

As far as the manufacturers are concerned, premature failure can't happen after the warranty is up. My truck had roughly as many miles as yours has now when the cracked head developed. I hope yours fares better.

My income was not indicated as a problem because my income was not a problem.

No mortgage. No wife, kids, or child support. No debt other than a truck note. I made enough to pay for everything I wanted, with little stress.

Another person with more financial responsibilities would find themselves more concerned with income, I'm sure.

My reasoning for going back to a company driver rather than jumping to a higher income company as an o/o is both financial and mental. I might need more flexibility than raw income in the near future.

There is a good chance I will go back to being o/o later, and if I do, I'll do it smarter next time, both because I know more, AND because I have proven I can do it.