I have made the selection.

Dude!!!!! Listen to what all these guys are sayin!!!!!!!!!! It looks like you have some drivin experience so suck it up and go find a decent place to work. Then run your ##### off and save every cent you can, and hopefully you can get where you might possibly be able to afford to give your dream a chance. At least you'll be in a truck. Use your head, listen to common sense, it will save you massive heartache.

 

I started with nothing and nothing to loose. I'm still here so #### them all!

But you're not going to do it as an independant. You need someone GOOD to lease the truck to, someone who will stand behind you in a pinch. And you're not going to get into a truck with no down payment. I started with a 24yo pete bought for $5k and BARELY made it into an 05 shaker.

And alot of it comes down to luck and your ability to pickout a truck that isn't going to kill you on repairs. SOme of that is skill, some is luck

 

This is true , if you can find a decent truck with no major repairs in the first 90 days you might have a chance. But what the heck you have nothing to lose at this point. I say go for it!!!

 

Well first off he said he has 2 bucks, not 5 grand. And second I've read your thread, well not all of it, but I don't quite classify you as a success yet. A good guy ...yes, a success not quite, you're still livin pretty close to the edge as per yer thread. If ya don't like that, I don't know what to tell ya, just the brutal truth, like I said this is coming from reading your thread.

 

Also you had, and have plenty to lose, your family if ya push her too hard for too long. Even the good ones can only handle so much. Your home, ranch, farm, whatever ya want to call it. Trust me You Have Plenty to Lose

 

I'm gonna be brutally honest with you! Don't do it. 1st, The way you describe yourself and your situation will not help you any. I think to succeed at anything you have to have a positive attitude about yourself and what you are doing. I am not seeing that in your post.
2d, you will not have any strings attached. There will be ropes and chains attaching you to this.
3rd you have to stand up and take responsibility for your own situation instead of blaming others. I highly doubt that the Liberals ( and I hate most of them)has anything to do with the situation your in.
And as mentioned before , unless you have someone (ie family / friends) that will loan you the money a bank isn't going to loan you that much to start a high risk business.
I am not trying to be mean just honest.

 

I'm gonna have to disagree with you. Not everyone has the option to make a truck road worthy while working at a well paying job.

Many have to just wing it.

He has $2 in his pocket.... I had nothing!!

That only shows the issues I had after the start. This link will show him where I was at when I was in his position.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...osts-involved-in-being-o-o-3.html#post1591549

I agree!

 

You do know that there are plenty of Owner Operators out there that run an outfit of 4 to 10 trucks (example). Obviously, the owner isn't driving all of them at the same time...he has other drivers! Stop focusing on the monster companies with nothing but policies and regulations and start looking for the owners that treat their fleet more like a family. You treat them, their equipment, and their business with the utmost respect and appreciation and they are likely to keep you moving as much as possible. They might not be as resourceful as the big guys, but it is definitely in their best interest to keep you moving at all times. They have to make the best of every single truck they own.

I myself am starting an outfit like this as well and would offer you an opportunity, since I want to have drivers that I can trust and respect, rather than just off the street people that are looking for any type of buck and then move on. But I am not currently in that position just yet. Maybe by end of Jan, but it sounds like you need something NOW!

If you really need to work that badly and want to make contacts at the same time, then go try to work at the warehouses, maybe get trained in their forklifts and procedures in hiring owner operators directly. That sort of information might come in handy when you are finally able to get your own truck. Otherwise, focus on meeting the owners that I just mentioned, get a job somewhere else until you save some money, or.....take the easier but illegal route and just lie in your application and tell them you've been driving for somebody for all these years (have someone else write an indestructible resume for you though) and have someone falsify that they were your employer. Then quit in about a year before they find out you lied. At least the next employer you try to go with will have some sort of history.

These are all just ideas. GL