Why do most owner operators fail?

Thats ok, next time you tell the story the "facts" will change again.

 

Funny, It seems to correlate directly with the age of the person involved. I'm a noob (haven't driven tractor/trailer since 1995) And my aim is to be an O/O ASAP. At age 47, I'm thinking my best bet for a first truck will be either a Columbia or a Volvo. Because either choice will give you WAY more truck for the money than a Long hood, but I saw a kid in his early 20's on another thread saying "I wanna be an O/O, but I won't take ANYTHING 'cept a 379 Pete or MAYBE a Coronado" All I can say to him is good luck!! but that's a recipe for lowering your odds at success. The 20 grand plus I'll save going with the Volvo will go right into a maintenance account, plus I'll have 485-515hp, better mileage, and a truly nice ride (got my first ride in a newer Volvo a couple weeks ago, I'm sold-couldn't believe the quiet or comfort). Point being, I may not LOOK as good, but my bank account will!

 

My son wants to o/o and although I haven't set in a new/newer Volvo they do look great on the inside and those seats made with the idea's from a doctor ?

 

and you just kindly let me know when the facts will change. and i'll tell you if your keeping up or falling behind again.

 

Hey bill or Rollin pm when u can. Im coming back out the 8th of this month with a new trk and trailer want to ask ya a question. RW

 

Hooda and Skip, I have read a lot on this forum about how Volvos are so expensive to maintain, and from driving them, I know they do have electrical issues. They are comfortable and ride smooth, but they are heavy. And I'm too scared to buy one, from the horror stories I have read about how expensive they can be to fix. No thank you!

 

My email is Chris@farm2fleet.com Bill is Bill@farm2fleet.com how's it going RW? Bill doesn't see every message posted here that's why you might not get a reply to a post, he will see pm's. Email might be hit or miss with him I know he gets swamped with those,he'll see them but may or may not have time to deal with. Phone is the best way. I reply to all emails.

 

I heard the same stories , in till my son went to orientation, and in hes off time he would walk around and talk to the garage people and other drivers, the reason they told him that there were/are so many stories is because Volvo is there main buying truck and when u have such a large number of one thing, then you have a large number of stories on one subject, the garage people like Volvo because they know almost to the second whats wrong and the down time is less

 

You are talking about issues from '05. Parts prices are down and more available. Like all other trucks, key is finding right mechanic. Like skip said, talk to mechanics that work on them and I also called the people that do the oil analysis. I was noticing more 780's with Cummins that said "rebuilt x miles ago" and no ads like that with D12's. And for the years I was looking at Volvo sold more D12's than Cummins. Shop didn't know why but said to check with oil sample guys. Was told the D12 was just behind the Detroit. But I had not interest in Freightliner.

 

Granted, Sweden IS the birthplace of IKEA, but you have to look at things in relative terms. Although they may be expensive to fix, how often do they require fixing? Between the American (Mack) and Swedish (Volvo) engineers, I get a feeling that a Volvo is going to break down relatively less than average. I'm hoping my career leads me into buying my first truck in early 2015. At that point, if I'm lucky enough, and the guv'ment hasn't clamped down, I'll buy a glider, and put in a pre-emissions powerplant, but that being the dream, in reality, I'll be looking at million mile old plus 2007's, and yes, they'll STILL be Volvo, or maybe Mack. That is unless there's SOMETHING done to allow the removal of troublesome emissions equipment, which seems to be where most of the issues are. Electrical is going to be ANY make, and they're ALL expensive to fix, don't kid yourself. But all that being said, look for the presence of maintenance logs, and any history of electrical trouble.