Should I buy my own tractor trailer?

I’m being very serious.
Even a year ago, for example, this same truck was 165-170,000 new.

Now 199k as 2 year old 350k miles.

Spec - Trucks - Crows Truck Center, Inc.
So.
200k divides by 60 months $3,333.33/month or 833.33/week.
Before finance charges.
That’s why everyone is losing those trucks like that.

 

Oh, after about 40 years, you get a knack for that. I'm not saying it's a total washout, it's kind of a conundrum. if you can repair your own stuff( mechanics charge upwards of$150+/hr) there are a lot of deals to be had as O/O's fail left and right( more accurately, throwing in the towel). Pre-emission trucks ( pre 2003) are in big demand, and a decent say, '89 KWhopper, babied all it's life, you might get it for $20grand, and a used wagon ( no reefers please) maybe $5grand, for $30 g's, you could theoretically be on your way, however, if you buy new, with a 1/4 million dollar investment, you better have a good account BEFORE you sign ze' papers,,,,,Remember, it's LOT easier getting into it, than getting OUT of it, trust me.

 

If this is really what you want to do, then go for it. Your own research should have shown you that equipment cost are high, along with insurance, fuel and repairs. Your research should have also revealed that rates on the spot market are high as well. There is no magic answer - only 10,000 opinions. Good luck

 

Noway,

if you are a decent shade tree mechanic and can do some of your own repairs . And can manage the math and business end , you can do ok.

but driving is only one part of the business

finding the profitable freight and maintaining the rig is the other half of the operation.

if you have to pay a mechanic to repair every little problem , you’re likely not going to make it as an owner op.

and if you’re rig breaks down and the part takes three weeks to arrive from China , you’re still making the payment and insurance . Even though you have zero money coming in .
You’re basic costs are going to be $1200 to $1800 per week , and that piles up quickly when the truck ain’t moving . Plus the actual parts and labor .


Unless you plan to run California
I would definitely get a pre emission rig ,
In fact I’d even get one older than that with zero computers .

it will use more fuel but that will balance out with it not having a lot of downtime caused by the computers and sensors .

 

There’s a post on here somewhere from someone who dropped some coin on a mew hotshot truck and trailer and can’t get insurance .

you gotta get all your ducks lined up in a row before you wrote the check

I never worked for anyone else or used any of the load boards .
I bought a truck and leased it on with a company that had their own trailers and their own freight .

I think thats called “power only “ now ?
I ran regional and local , 250 mile radius of their terminal .

I enjoyed it and made good money and quit to be able to spend more time with my new babies when they were born .

The two people who will be critical to your success are your mechanic and your accountant .
You need get those people lined up before you get started .

you could Probabaly get this rig and do regional freight to begin with and see how it runs .
Have a competent mechanic check it over good before you buy it , maybe even a dyno test , and Once you start driving it you will figure out what it needs .

it’s not a big fancy rig, which is why the price is so low, because no one wants to be seen in a cabover .

 

Bad time if you are buying anything new, newer or newish. I was at Freightliner yesterday. Oneboxes are on at least two month backorder……same with OEM ECM’s. The lot is jam packed full of trucks waiting on parts. I’m in there once a week over the past 6 months and it has gotten worse. Even tires are hard to come by. Oil too depending what area your in.

Trailers aren’t readily available and if you can get one you will be paying waaaaaay more than what you should. If you can get a build slot for a truck or trailer it will be next year before you get it delivered.

Rates are good but the price of fuel, equipment and tires takes away a lot of profit at this time.

If you are trying to make a plan, study the actual business more so all the stuff I mentioned above will be common knowledge. Based on your general question, you shouldn’t buy anything till you learn more. This site is a great resource for learning…….even with is being sarcastic and immature. It’s what we so best.

 

Get used to it. I don't keep track of how many people ask the same questions every week that you have but it's a bunch. Some of the guys lose sight of the fact that in almost every case the questions from the newbie are valid. Nobody comes in here knowing everything. Or anything, sometimes.
I wouldn't buy a truck right off the bat. Huge investment with no safety net.
Drive for somebody for a year or two. Learn some things about the business and about yourself too. You might not even like trucking.

 

We give stupid sarcastic answers because of the generalized questions that get asked. We see it over and over. New guys will even argue . . That’s very off putting when they know nothing. Myself, when I see questions like the OP posted, they may as well read like this.

Hey TTR, been breathing out of my face for a long time. It’s worked great but I’m thinking about adding another hole to get more air. Do you guys think its a bad idea?

Then we all jump on and tell them no and how dumb such a plan is. Then they come back and say they know a guy who did it and is breathing better than anyone else. And they already have the appointment scheduled.

Just like someone that asks how good a company is on a Sunday when they are sitting in a hotel for a Monday morning orientation. It’s hard not to have an immature/sarcastic response to that.

Yet another one. “hey guys, I smoked weed up till last week. I have orientation scheduled two weeks from today. Will I pass a drug test?”

They say there are no dumb questions. I disagree. The question may or may not be dumb but the thinking behind the question…..completely stupid.