Considering Becoming an Owner Operator? Help me decide

Do not do a lease purchase.

You will be reliant on the same company that you have your debt to they will have to keep you busy so you can pay your debt.

That rarely if ever works out and even if it does it cost you an astronomical amount of money because that company is in business to do that to make money.

Often they screw you take the truck back and then do the same thing with someone else and make a ton of money.

The best answer that I can give you is the very best way to be an owner operator is to own your truck and your trailer out right and have everything fixed that's going to possibly break before you start and for your home bills to be extremely minimal and you live a Frugal lifestyle.

That is the best recipe for success as an owner operator.

 

What type of freight do you have experience in

 

I had my own truck for 10 years. Never made great money about the same as company driver. If someone got in at 2016 the rates went sky high for a couple year. They will say they made easy money. I had my truck from like 2004-2014. The rates were not so good. I had $20,000 cash when I stared. It was pretty bad when I got out because the emissions truck repairs were just much.

Wish today I put that $20,000 in Roth IRA I thing I would have don't a lot better doing that. People think the trucking company are making easy money. It hard business to make a profit.

 

Running your own authority involves Insurance down payment, Plates, IFTA, Inspection, and your own maintenance account. It takes like $6000 just to get started with your own authority. Also, running your own numbers you will find that brokers will treat you like a new driver because your authority will be new so it may be hard to get freight at first. You will also find running your own numbers starting off it will be hard to get good fuel discounts.

Landstar, USA Truck, JB Hunt, and others have their own load boards. Some are pretty good boards and you can make pretty good money. You use their trailers, they fit the bill on cargo insurance and claims, they take care of plates if you need it, and they offer good fuel discounts.

So, what should you do? I'd take that $30k and put $10k down on a good truck and take it over to Landstar or someone who can guarantee freight. Lease onto them for couple years save your money, pay your truck off, and live a happy life.

 

Does about one year mean almost 2 years or like 6 months

 

Greatwide will probably let you lease on.
~
Greatwide-tm.com
www.greatwide-tm.com
Greatwide Truckload Management contracts with Agents and Owner Operators to move freight within the 48 states and Canada.

 

Hold onto your money until after the new year at least.

If you have a job that is paying the bills and you can tolerate it for another 6 months and save some more money than stick with it .

This is the Rockiest I’ve ever seen this nation in 50 years .

Get through the new year than rethink going out on your own .

 

As a almost 3 year independent MC..or owner operator as some might call it . i went from local home daily to straight OTR van. I've learned A very lot. In thinking about in retrospective it might be easier to go in as a lease purchase walk away see if its for you get the feel of how its like and if its not for you then walk away. If you like it then scout some trucks and look at specs and ask questions about reliability apu and repair work performed. My 05 volvo D12d I bought for 13k this truck has taken 44k since i bought it. It steadily gets 5.5 mpg and has 1.6 million miles on it. It is mine i own it i fix it and can say learn as much as you can about your truck because if you just say I'm gonna bring it to the dealer and have them fix it... Prepare to get bent over and take it very hard. Most places are parts changers and guessing at the problem with the end result of your money spent and still have the same problem