New owner operator, top 5 veteran tips?

Maybe find a one or two truck operation that is transparent, and pays well and drive for them. It’ll give you a pretty good idea of how the life of an O/O is. Especially if the company keeps you involved, and apprised of the rates, costs, directly associated with the truck. Being fully involved with every bit of information without the hassle of negotiating for freight or paying the bills. It exists.....believe me, it does.

 

1. Know your operating costs
2. Save your money not just for maintenance but for a rainy day when the rates slow up.
3. Do not be afraid to pick up and call brokers...even if it ends up you can’t take that load ask them how often they have loads in that lane...WRITE DOWN THEIR CONTACT INFO to contact them later.
4. When you start making good money your first year do not try to buy another truck, give yourself up to a year to learn the ropes of o/o with your own authority.
5. Go beyond the load boards...hit up your local chambers of commerce, factories, pass out business cards to strangers...believe me it helps.

 

1. Keep left door closed
2. Live out of truck
3. Know what the parts of your truck are and do and location.
4. Don't buy a truck you know nothing about.
5. If your asking "how do I" questions your not ready .

 

Don't do the same thing that too many trucks are doing already.
So many people are just driving up and down the hwy pulling a van or something. They have driven the price down to where they are all starving. Find a specialty niche market, then buy a truck specifically designed for that work. If you can get on as a subcontractor pulling a company trailer for 2 or 3 places great, otherwise plan on buying your own trailer to, and they can easily cost more than the truck if specialized. People always underestimate the cost of a trailer. But don't make the mistake of doing no homework, and just buying a hwy truck, and pulling junk to a store or warehouse for garbage rates. And lastly don't be scared of change, if you do something for 5 years, and a better opportunity comes up doing completely different work, go for it. I started off with one used logging truck and trailer long ago...did really well at it and then had two logging trucks, things were great. Well then the money started to become less and less per load, I soon jumped ship from hauling logs, and began low bedding. Well I still low bed, but also haul gravel and other things, plus fuel, and it works well. I don't own a single chrome queen light duty highway truck, or those light duty trailers. I have some trailers that will cost twice what a hwy truck does, and yes specialized work is expensive to get into, but it can also pay many times more than hauling widgets to Costco does. Follow the money, and avoid otr pulling a van trailer is my advice. Take it or leave it, I don't care.
But the best advice I can give you is this...don't buy your own at all...get a job driving for a small company where you are an important member of a great team. Try to go someplace where they have less than 50 trucks, so its not some pissed off dispatcher who is the only one you ever talk to, and they hate drivers because they are tired of their #### from years of doing this. And the longer the haul is, the less it pays usually. Better to be home every night or most nights, and making $600 - $1000 per day...as opposed to gone for a few weeks at a time, making an average $250 per day.

 

The best advice in this whole thread...

 

1. Drive someone elses truck, under their numbers and expenses, self dispatched. Take on none of their expense except your own dat account, this will show you all the daily challenges of finding owner op freight. See if you can even make the same as your company job. If you love it, find a small MC that will lease on a newb, hash out the details. Seek more MCs and figure out which one is honest and has the best total package for you. Talk to their drivers. Research the PEOPLE youll trust.

2. Buy the truck you can afford that you want to fix. If it doesnt put a twinkle in your eye and give you atleast some sense of pride itll be like marrying a fat broad who wants you to do bills dishes and laundry while she sleeps. Youll be filled with resentment at the truck when its laying in the driveway PMS'ing at you.

3. Learn how to calculate your exact operating cost. Moving the truck one inch on behalf of a broker or shipper at less than operating cost is to subsidize freight. DONT SUBSIDIZE FREIGHT. There are no backhauls or loaded miles. They are all fronthauls and all miles count, using YOUR ROUTE, not googles, not the brokers listing that doesnt factor in a $200 long island toll. Know your tolls.

4. You need to make a grand a day most days of the week. Skip all that hair splitting BS over cpm vs loaded vs gross blah blah. Did you bring in a grand today, yes or no? A $4000 bad day is just around the corner so quit playing candy crush and go find your grand a day or better jobs.

5. Youre gonna live in that truck trying to pay for your mistakes in the beginning. Your back, knees, neck, ankles.. Its all gonna hurt. Take baby aspirin daily to prevent blood clots, and glucosamine chondroitin for your joints. Get 2 pillows, different colors. One to sit on, one to sleep on. Never mixup your face pillow and your fart pillow. Clap them both out once in a while either way.