Hi everyone, I am 58 and will probably be forced to leave my employer due to vaccine requirement In the near future. I would like to work at least 5-8 more years as a owner operator. I’m done working for someone else. I would not consider myself wealthy but I do have a substantial savings to buy my own equipment and pay the bills till I get my feet wet. Not looking to grow a company or become wealthy, just like driving and make a decent living the next 8 years.
just looking for any advice from experienced truckers who started their own authority as to what traps to look for the first couple of years.
Thanks!
New driver with own authority advice
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by mkbrower, Oct 27, 2021.
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Ask An Owner Operatormkbrower Thanks this. -
Thank you! I’ll ask there.
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justcarhaulin, mjd4277, mkbrower and 2 others Thank this.
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So what exactly would prevent a person from simply selling his rig in this case? I thought the used truck market was hot right now? Also, don't you suppose there might be a difference in job satisfaction between someone making good money as an O/O, taking only the jobs he wants vs. some poor schlub who has to work as a low wage slave for a mega-carrier (like you may have first had to do)?
As well, here's a link to an extensive Youtube channel (JustTruckin) of a guy who went O/O directly after CDL school, did manage to get insured, and years later he seems to be doing just fine. https://www.youtube.com/user/azcat8899/videos
But lastly, if you really do feel you lack the necessary experience, why not just hire a veteran driver/trainer to ride with you for the first 3 or 4 weeks, give him most of the money during this time, and then at the end of this period be in the same position as every other rookie driver who goes the more "traditional" route?Last edited: Oct 28, 2021
Mattflat362, Siinman and mkbrower Thank this. -
The bottom line of all of it is that inexperience costs money. So either you learn on someone else's dime or it costs you your own money to learn.
The retired policeman that you're talking about probably has a full pension and he might even double dip and have another pension. It would not surprise me if his insurance literally cost him 40 or $50,000 a year. Whatever it cost him, if he had experience it would be less.
People think trucks are indestructible. If you have no experience and just jump into your own truck it's possible you can damage your truck if you don't know how to drive properly. Takes a little time to get in your groove of how to slow down how to pull heavy loads how to shift the whole thing of it. And to be safe.
It is a good idea to at least get into a truck somehow for at least some time to see if it is for you. Just like people go through four years of college and major in something and never use that degree, there are people that will spend $150,000 on a truck and trailer and soend massive amounts of money on plates and insurance and everything else, and they do it for a month or so and say oh that's not for me. It does happen.
Plus there may be a lot of other factors that if you've never actually done it for any period of time you didn't realize it was going to be that way. The reality of doing something is rarely what you've imagined it to be.
I can't speak for anyone else but I could care less if you want to buy a truck and get your mc and you never worked for anyone.
But in an industry where 90 or 95% of owner-operators fail, and any business or even people just working somewhere there is massive colossal turn over, and in an industry that is capital-intensive that you're going to tie up hundreds of thousands of dollars, it's a good idea if you know that's what you want to do and you have some idea of how to actually do it. -
Although i agree with experience and other parts one part I don’t is “buy a truck and start hauling.”
I did exactly that with a few hours of training in 2018. It’s doable but it ain’t for the faint of heart.Mattflat362 and mkbrower Thank this. -
Mattflat362 Thanks this.
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