So you want to "own " your own company

I was looking at uship the other day, and saw a drive away load. I was thinking, hey, i'll take it! and then realized i'd need an operating authority. LOL, it was early in the morning...

Anyway...I was thinking, drive away would be a neat way to become an owner op. I wouldnt have to *own* anything. Just need insurance and an operating authority and the ability to not get annoyed at buying temporary tags every single load. I have not researched rates yet but it doesn't matter because I don't have money yet either...

anyway, just wondering...what the heck kind of cargo insurance do you need? And commercial auto? Where do you even go to get it? I cant deal with this limited radius crap, because I'm supposed to be my own boss. I dont have a radius limit on my car. I could drive my 1986 volvo 240 to california and back every week if i wanted to. Wait, i dont have car insurance. Nevermind that one.

Does cargo insurance even cover drive away loads, or is it all commercial auto?

 

That's a good question...I'm thinking about going owner/op and would be interested in knowing the answer to this one too.

 

Wow only 3 replies to this so far. Kind of surprising. I do appreciate the feedback I've gotten but I'm hoping for a lot more.

 

Check out some of the other threads Looney....there's plenty a guy can pick up and learn just by reading other's experiences. I know I have. I'm sure others will chime in here as well.

 

all the "ins and outs" is way beyond one threads worth of information.

plus it's all already here. Use the search feature for whatever your looking for

 

I think we're all burnt out on O/O'ing right now lol... have to catch us at a better time!

 

I can think of two threads that should give you all the information you will ever need, if you have a week to read it all.

One thread is by a purple hippo, and the other by a MedicineMan.

If you still want to go O/O after reading this, you're either really determined, or don't comprehend very well.

 

Everyone is looking at O/O because big trucking companies are paying poorly and treating drivers like crap. The problem is that same thing is happening to O/Os, either from brokers or the company they are leased to.

I have owned several trucks through the years. Some I made good money with, other times I lost so much money I didn't know how I got in the hole so much so fast.

I don't have the nerves to go through now what I have through the years. I've called my wife from Cincy to tell her the crankshaft was out of my truck, and I was leaving the load and coming home to NC in the wrecker. I lost all pay for that load, and had to borrow money to pay the wrecker. I had not had the truck long, and had no backup money left.

The truck sat in the yard for over a year before I could afford to fix it, and it didn't stay fixed. It was a jinx truck. Yes there are such things. I have replaced a piston on the side of the interstate three states from home. I have waited by the mail box for broker checks that never came. I have fixed and fixed a truck, only to have something else go wrong just as I was about to have enough money to buy groceries that week.

It's not all fun and freedom. It is the luck of the day. Some trucks run forever and make you money, others break all the time for no apparent reason. The thing is, a lot of times you can't tell a good truck from a bad one until you own it.

O/O is a very hard, very stressful way to make a living, especially right now.

 

Actually you would not have to get temp tags. You just have to by Transport tags. I have done quite a bit of drive away work. You might want to try working for one of the bigger companies first before you jump in to doing this on your own.

As much as I dislike some of the people there, Coldiron Companies would be a good place to start. They just got 2 really big contracts recently plus they have their own recovery company and everyone knows the repo business is booming right now.

If you want another company to try, Truckmovers is another good one.

Word of warning though, WATCH your expenses and pay sheets very carefully with either company.

Cargo insurance does not cover drive away. Its called non-owned truck insurance, just like non-owned trailer, or transporter insurance. It is similar to what tow trucks use.

 

Uh thanks I'll look them up but I actually do comprehend very well.