You want to be an owner operator?! THE TRUTH!

Lol..I kinda had to skip words to just get through it. I think he means the guy has a brain eating parasite.

 

So I did some thinking about how best to answer. Most of my posts probably make me come off sounding like an #######, which in some instances I am. Especially when someone says or does something stupid.
Owning a truck or a fleet of trucks can best be summed up as risk and reward, or just plain stupid. I inherited 8 trucks 8 reefers and 1 cattle wagon. By 1996 I was debt free and added trucks as cash flow allowed. I bought my first new truck in 1992. In 94 I dumped the reefers and went open deck. 3 Stretch flats for windmill blades back when the paid good money $8-9 per mile. Graduated to step decks and RGNs double goosenecks etc. Got a couple 53' step decks and did some LTL. Money was phenomenal. By 2010 I had a venture into a truck dealership pan out and became partner in a franchise. I gave day to day control of the trucking to my son. I still work in the shop to this day. I enjoy it.
Here is the truth: owning a truck is not a hobby, owning a truck is not a job. Owning a truck is a business 100%, also it is a dedication. Dedicated to getting your ### out of bed week in and week out to support whatever it is you have to pay for. There is always someone that will haul it cheaper than you. You sell a service and to justify higher rates you have to perform. If you don't have the smarts to maintain an account for your business and like to buy new Harleys and Dodge Challengers. And Cadillac escalades or whatever you need in your driveway to impress your neighbors, owning a truck is not for you. As I said its not a hobby, it's done for profit. That being said I spoke with my son before writing this to check on rates. They suck, but we still have customers paying $6-9 per mile linehaul rate on OD loads, heavy loads run higher. Permit and escorts are billed to customer at cost. I sold exceptional service to these customers years ago. I got their stuff where it needed to be when it needed to be there. Claim free. They have shown their loyalty back. Rates like these I know are few and far between I know Dailey or ATS or Warren or TMC would haul this for 1/2 or less, they tried, they won't even get the overflow. So with what rates are and fuel costs a person needs to know how to budget money, learning how to do it after you bought a truck is setting up for failure. If you are up to your ### in debt and think buying is the way to untold riches, you are ignorant. You have to be proficient in a lot of areas. Record keeping, customer service, scheduling, problem solving, negotiations, taxes, insurance, maintenance, repair. Owning a truck is not holding the steering wheel grabbing some gears and mashing the pedal. Its a business and needs all the respect any business deserves. Be it one truck and a trailer or a fortune 500 company. With labor rates reaching 150 an hour in some parts of the country and over 110 in most, that's more than quite a few make driving. I see people everyday that have a sob story about whatever it is that they can't afford to pay for repairs. I get it but I can't just give away the farm. I understand, and if I can get them a break I will. I'm not in the business to pit people out of business but its not my problem they have pisspoor money management. I made a very successful company that went from 8 trucks and 9 trailers to 27 trucks and 41 trailers. I see people everyday that have a broken down truck and don't have the time to fix it correctly. Remember, it's your money maker. You should be the one to take care of it. If your broker or company you are leased to doesn't give a #### about you truck jit only cards that their load is delivered, whether your truck makes it or not is not a partner you need. If you schedule so tight that you don't take into consideration a breakdown you are going to fail. This is an industry set up to fail. Success stories are rare but they are out there. New truck sales are up( even though Volvo and Mack are laying off people, mostly due to model year changeover and retooling for 2017 emissions.)
The rewards are small and usually personal. You are the boss. Being loaded and running when people are sitting dodging cheap freight. Landing a good paying account. The business success includes adding assets, a second truck extra trailers.
I see a lot of asset financed companies operating now. People are buying junk adding it to their asset list at the bank and borrowing cash to cover operating expenses. That is a stupid way to operate. The big bank account is nice to have but how long will it take you to secure that money. I'm not a naysayer about being an owner operator, just know that all the cards are stacked against you. Brute force and ignorance is not the path to prosperity. Thinking like a shrewd businessman will at least get you into a second year. And I didn't even touch on leasing on to a company. And lease purchase is another stupid idea. I don't care if you did it and wound up finally getting the truck. You are the exception not the rule. And, I would even lay money that you probably whined and #####ed a lot. If you can't afford traditional financing or pay cash, you can't afford a truck. ( that includes lone mountain truck leasing, some of the biggest crooks in the industry, there is a reason they moves from Iowa to Omaha). I could go on as this kind of snowballed. But hey go get a truck, make all the money, buy fancy ####, hope ya don't go bankrupt in your first year. If you make 5 years, you are in the top 5%

 

I would much rather Die of an Amoeba (in your mind that's autoimmune isnt it?) than spend my days existing... clearly past my prime on a forum harassing completely random people trying to learn something about an industry that they are interested in.
So far as I can tell (but what the hell do I know?) If you carry yourself as a professional and do the work it shouldn't matter what kind of personality you have when you go home.
But you are not interested in any of that its all about berating people on a forum because of a word that was super easy for you and your 'good buddies' to troll.

Am I really antisocial? well.. im not so sure that I ever was.... since that was a comment in jest... however I do see a group of 'good buddies' who make it their mission to derail berate and belittle people so that their other 'good buddies' can "Thank" them all the while offering nothing constructive... As If they got to where they were overnight without ever having to ask questions, make mistakes, or look like a fool.

You and rank shouldnt be truck drivers...its beneath you.. You should be Shrinks... you spend so much time on this forum and holding a steering wheel clearly you know everything there is to know about human psychology.

In fact I wonder how some of you with these thousands of posts relative to your join date actually find any time to drive your truck. Or is this really the best way you could think to spend your precious home time?

Enough about me, I don't care what you call me or what insults you make at my expense however you should at least try to add some constructive criticism or something of use to everyone else.

 

Do some digging into the Teamsters Pension fund , you may rethink what you wish you had done. Those Union bosses have earned a special place in ####! Current retires are facing a 33 to 68% cut. The companies gave them the cash and they blew it. People trusted in them .

 

Mr. Pink includes himself in the anti social group. Then he gets mad @rollin coal for calling him anti social. Then he gets mad at me for quoting the post where he called himself anti social. LOL

A quick review of his post history indicates he is a 21 yr old with an inheritance, a checkered past and has never driven a truck.

You say you come here to learn about trucking, which is fine, but your problem is you are a know it all who likes to give advice but doesn't take it very well.

Nobody here cares about your car accident, your lung problem, or your imminent cancer, or your special teachers that allowed you graduate high school. Most employers will think you're a screw up.

@skateboardman said you don't have the people skills required....seems accurate. If you can't deal with people trying to help you on the internet, how will you deal with customers and shippers that are trying NOT to help you?

You don't even know what you don't know. Your level of ignorance is only surpassed by your arrogance. You have been given good advice by many TTR members. My advice is that you just shut up and say thank you to them. Will you take this advice? No. You will continue to troll TTR looking for a fight.

To coin a phrase......grow up.

 

Says the guy who calls people "unicorns"
That's Dripping with irony... oh and im not the Original poster.. that would be the person who started the thread. Boy you sure seem to have a hard on for me..Researching my history and all.. however errantly.. typing up a whole short story on me... Is this the politics section? do you want my Criminal history too?
I think ill need a Cigarette after this one.

and all of you latched on to that one comment ignoring what actually was being spoken in the rest of the post, but hey everyone seems to be a selective reader now.

Any more constructive criticism? my quota on being called a young whipper snapper by overly zealous keyboard billy big riggers isn't full yet... Im a Communist too... we like quotas..
Have at it rank.. tear me up.. you are the one who responded to me, you are the one digging up irrelevant crap, you either clearly want to fight or have someone to listen to you wide eyed with fear as you rant and rave and berate them like some crazy liberal arts professor who took too much LSD in the 60s.

If you really want to carry this further PM me... this thread has been hijacked for too long. No one really wants you or I in this tone, it has nothing to do with anything.

 

Block him already

 

Can we stick to the original topic rather than "I me I you me I" stuff?

For the original topic, YES I want to be an owner operator ( I am, March 2016 will mark 5 solid years as such). Own my truck but been leased on to carriers. My experience is that doing it that way is total hamster wheel time.

 

The original topic was just some good advice from Flip Flops. If you haven't already read the @double yellow thread, that's a good place to start.

 

I remember owing about $10,000 until she depreciated my truck. Not necessarily have to buy a new one but it made it easier. I would think if your truck is already depreciated and still don't pay taxes, your not making any money.