($300k) To lease or not to lease? that is the question!

There's a shortage of truck parking for owner ops around metro areas. In Miami, parking is $300/month for a tractor/trailer with 24/7 guarded, fenced controlled gate access, and cameras.

There are two good parking areas in Hialeah on NW 138th ST between NW 102 AVE and NW 105 AVE. These guys bought industrial zoned lots as a land investment. They finance that investment by operating their truck, trailer, boat, and RV parking facility; while waiting for the area to grow. The land is rezoned commercial/retail and residential in the future, where they then hope to sell it at a healthy gain.

Another shortage related to trucking is truck repair and road service. Most owner ops like to have this repair service near where they park.

Just some ideas to throw out there.

 

i'm an o/o and i would not pay to park. i dont need 24/7 surveillance. i got a dash cam and gps tracking on the truck. No its not perfect, but 300 bucks a month pays for a lot of vandalisim.

 

Lose 300k.

 

I understand you on that. It is very high.

But, I'm talkin' MIAMI baby! You just need to spend some time down there to understand how wild it can get.

 

I didn't say you said that , I said it.

as you say you have never hired drivers, I have . its a pita. paying the right wages has nothing to do with what you get out of someone, either someone has the proper work ethic or not , wages have nothing to do with it. the trick is to find a guy that has that magical work ethic, cares about your equipment, and simply does the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing. then you pay him whatever it takes to keep him.

the guy that tells if you pay him more , he will do a better job, he is lying to you. fire him on the spot.

 

payign higher wages attract the drivers that care. A pissed off driver doesnt care about equipment...a well paid driver wants to keep his awsome job so bad he takes care of the truck for fear you'd replace him.

Im not saying pay more to the guy thats says he;ll work harder if you pay better, im saying pay a decent rate up front. Also incentivise care of the equipment. When i hire drivers I'll give them a % of that trucks profit. If they abuse the truck, get poor mpg and the trucks always needing repairs, they make less money.

 

If the thieves or vandals steal that dash cam then it doesn't do you any good. If I lived in a high crime area I would pay the price.

 

Op are you getting your own authority than pull loads for a mega or just gonna lease on your new trucks

 

Best advice from another Miami based company, Buy a nice Intrepid or Sea vee with that money and go Fishing.

All seriousness i am still looking for owner operators down here, Got two trailers parked (step decks) ready to row, But Miami is a beautiful place with shady people. In other words i don't hire 2 chances truck drivers. Most driver down here are not loyal, try to find a way to steal from the company, from selling diesel on the side to even selling new pair of tires you put 2 moths ago or start their own gig and next thing you know you lost a customer. The competition here is so bad that people move freight for $1.20 a mile, why? because the company down the road is doing it. So most of the time my guys go up to central Florida to get something decent. Im Lucky enough to never have a problem finding freight, because you cant buy experience and a great company History and safety record. But i do advice to follow what you want to do, but 300k could go out quick if you dont follow a plan.

 

Red flags: no experience, south FL, trucking, seeking advice on this forum on 300 k investment, talking to Conway.
All of the above leads to you trying to decide whether to be paid 1.5 per mile when it costs you 1.6 to do it and you are thinking about it.
Being a flexible thinker is a trait of intelligent people, look into other ways to invest.