Thinking about a big career change, seeking guidance

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by basedinMN_, Apr 16, 2020.

  1. Rubber duck kw

    Rubber duck kw Road Train Member

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    I'd call them and see if they know if one of their owner ops need a driver, it's a lot safer than buying your own truck right now. If this continues much longer they may cancel or push back the project, what would be your plan B in that case?
     
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  3. LtlAnonymous

    LtlAnonymous Road Train Member

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    This is my answer as well. Nothing is guaranteed money right now. Heck, nothing is guaranteed right now.
     
  4. Rubber duck kw

    Rubber duck kw Road Train Member

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    I'd say one things gauranteed now, a bottle of whiskey tonight will leave you with a headache tomorrow.
     
  5. LDLWells

    LDLWells Heavy Load Member

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    Here's the thing with owner operator companies they can hire and shed drivers with a lot less liability than company drivers. Soon as things turn south you might be shown the door
     
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  6. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    Yeah amazing isn't it, they did the same thing in Detroit, the roads are so bad that there are pot holes taking out trucks daily but quickly pushed the money through for the glorified bus on rails AND still after four years can't fund road repairs.
     
  7. KW10001

    KW10001 Light Load Member

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    Don’t fall for the grass is greener mentality. Don’t make any career changes right now. We don’t know what the future holds... it could get much worse.
     
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  8. HillbillyDeluxeTruck

    HillbillyDeluxeTruck Road Train Member

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    Stuff like that is just like running sand in the oil fields. When times are good, guys run out buy trucks and they are running nonstop making $$$$. When it slows up those companies get rid of the o/o's with no concequences for them, just the truck owner who's out of work.

    For saavy truck owners this is the time to buy and maybe even expand. Truck sales are in the toilet and dealers are very motivated to move inventory. But for a newbie with no experience and especially not having any mechanical aptitude, buying a 1st truck right now will end in financial ruin.
     
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  9. FoolsErrand

    FoolsErrand Road Train Member

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    There is risk and reward to everything. And none of us knows you or the future. If your present work is getting slow it may be wise to diversify to other income streams with your soon to be abundant spare time.

    You have $40k cash. This itself is great but the money may get eroded by overprinting that is to come. There is no other way for govt to hand out this much stimulus. In a few quarters its gonna be nothing but emergency too big to fail schemes. So watch closely the price of staple products that you have always bought. A contracting economy should make the price of whoppers and brakekleener go DOWN. Same amount of goods competing for less available dollars, deflation. If it goes UP you are witnessing dilution. Your $40k of cash is going to purchase less than 40k of brand new retail goods from big corporations as the printing of money erodes the value of the dollar. It is hard to make money and hard to keep it! But turbulence creates opportunity.

    If the dilution gets severe it may be wise to convert some of your cash into another savings mechanism that can generate cash flows as needed. Whatever that is for you, i dont know. The price of it would be falling. It must be something that will go back up in a boom period. Cant expire or spoil. And i prefer it not be electronic myself. If the price is falling because of economic contraction you are getting more for less so that preserves the value of your 40k. There are challenges here because liquidity, storage, maintenance etc come into question.


    When i had cash and a 50% employee discount on guns i bought all i could as a savings account, instead of saving cash. When ammo was down i bought $2k worth by the case @ wholesale from a friend with an FFL, shipped to his shop direct from distributor. I bought my f250, my 6cylinder stick welder and my welding gas tanks with no cash, pure gun and ammo trades in 3 separate deals. [Ammo is like small bills, you can break it into fractions to even up a deal unlike a gun. ] anyway i "made" money on all these because i got them at cost and appraised at retail when prices were high and i cashed in on stuff guys were willing to take a beating on. I had no cash at the time but was still acquiring what i needed. The value grew and was preserved.


    Collector cars, land, rental machinery like skid steer, mini ex, equipment trailer. Those can be places to park your money. Not saying all of your savings because liquidity becomes a challenge. A bobcat is a great place to park value because if you get laid off you can go work the machine to survive, without selling it. If youre job is doing well you can rent it out cheap longer term to a friend who gets laid off, and generate revenue on the side without laboring. Old skid steers pretty well stay the same price even after the hour meter breaks so using them up doesnt really hurt you. Paint and tires, thats all anyone cares about. Ive owned a few.

    Land with timber or topsoil or good sand or pasture, you can log or lease or sell off a chunk in a bind. but its not fast or easy like finding a little bobcat job.


    If you WANT to become an owner op youre gonna need to be a good mechanic in the early years. If youd said you were wanting to id say find you a few good trucks and make low offers. Let them call you when they come down to your price. Leverage is on your side there.

    Insurance and truck payment is the biggest problem with being parked without work. If you buy cash and find a lease operator who A) already has contracted lucrative long term work and B) will cover liability insurance ... Your biggest risks are reduced dramatically. Anything that puts burdens off you and onto the partner is a large hedge.

    An end dump would be slammed throughout construction season with dirt, gravel, riprap etc etc, then die off in winter. But in winter the grass is down and cattle feed is necessary so BEFORE you jump in you MUST go research the sources of your potential future work and what equipment specs are correct. You cant haul feed if your roof is too high to get in under their filling station or if they receiver needs a certain type of trailer or whatever. I dont know, im flatbed.


    Thats probably more than enough from me and hopefully some thoughts of use to you. Best of luck.
     
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  10. FoolsErrand

    FoolsErrand Road Train Member

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    Cliffnotes. The rich are rich because they buy low, sell high, generate revenue streams and tax deductible depreciation, and hire professionals to guide them. Very few people are rich so the crowd is generally going the wrong way. Do the opposite.
     
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  11. basedinMN_

    basedinMN_ Medium Load Member

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    I'm naturally contrarian so I hear you, FoolsErrand. Problem for me seems to be that I just don't have the experience, contacts, mechanical aptitude, or contingency in place to jump on this, even if there are good deals to be had. Maybe next down cycle...
     
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