Taking the plunge. My journey as an O/O.

I ain’t trying to be ugly but you’d be better off as a company driver. There’s some company’s that you can make good money at the way you never go home. I’ve seen some of the daske companies that pay a flat salary.

 

What’s different about the batteries, AGM, better AH, more CCA?
That’s the question you need to answer. As far as I know a truck with opti idle just uses regular truck batteries. Yes I would pick some with a higher ah rating but, shouldn’t make that much of a difference? At what voltage is you truck set to start when it sees a low voltage situation?

All things you should be able to answer now that your on your second set of batteries in a year?
What is the CCA and ah of the old batteries compared to the new ones? How about the original set that we’re in the truck? How long had the original set been in the truck?

 

So are you convinced that if you just try a little harder, obtain some more experience, get a few more breaks, etc, you'll end up being more profitable running for the same rates you do now at Crete, as opposed to running at a well paying company (with benefits) as a company driver?

 

I think he's trying to run his own truck and he's learning along the way.......give the guy a break, @Scooter Jones. Like I said before, no one comes out of the chute knowing all there is to know about owning a truck. You learn from mistakes.
Choice 'B' would be what you suggest. Be a brain dead company driver. 20 years from now, he'll still be a brain dead company driver. Choice 'A' is learn as you go along and 20 years from now make fun of the new guys. (Oh, and own his own rig and have 20 years of experience under his belt.....forgot that part).

 

I’m glad I wasn’t a member of this site when I first bought a truck. I would’ve been laughed off the internet. The only thing in my favor was above average income so I couldn’t sink myself.

 

Let the OP answer for himself

Not all company drivers are "brain dead"? In fact, I know many company drivers who are anything but brain dead. They're pretty darn smart.

Quite a few of them used to be "owner operators" and got tired of dealing with a lot of the bull-sheat that comes with running your own truck.

Especially one under someone else's authority.

The most fundamental mistake the OP has made in this whole experiment is convincing himself he could run freight at a $1.35 a mile and make money.

You don't need 5 years of hard knocks in this industry to figure that out.

But as always, I do wish Farmerbob1 well. I've grown fond of the guy.

 

What kind of o/o experience is he gaining now? Going to dealers and spending money? As far as I can see nothing has been changed since he bought a truck. Someone still does load planning for him and repairs his equipment
Still has no experience with rates, lanes, e.t.c.
He is still a company driver just with a different title