owner operator requirements

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by clucas92, Sep 21, 2020.

  1. clucas92

    clucas92 Bobtail Member

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    hi. I'm a conpany driver and have been thinking about becoming owner operator and lease onto a company, like landstar or mercer. How do I go about getting started?
     
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  3. TallJoe

    TallJoe Road Train Member

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    Save money!
    Save enough to have for a decent down payment and $15 000 - $20 000 after the purchase when leased on or even more when you go independent.
    Those who fail the quickest are those who had too little funds after they bought a truck.
    I can attest myself that one single on the road break-down could mean $12 000 expense...(tow, rental, motels, repairs...etc) not to mention down time when you don't make any revenue --- ####! I don't even want to talk about it...
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2020
  4. Midwest Trucker

    Midwest Trucker Road Train Member

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    Jump in. It’s up to you whether you have a life jacket or not. (Money)

    Think of yourself as a child. The more experience the older you are so to speak.
     
  5. D.Tibbitt

    D.Tibbitt Road Train Member

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    Have common sense and above average communication skills. It will set u apart from the rest.
     
  6. uncleal13

    uncleal13 Road Train Member

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    If you have excellent credit: save up enough for a 20% down payment. Then get preliminary acceptance with a carrier to help you decide what truck specs you need. Then go get a truck.
    If your credit sucks. Save up for 100% of the cost of a truck.
     
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  7. clucas92

    clucas92 Bobtail Member

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    I Spoke to a sales rep at a company I used to work for [werner] that sells their used trucks at a pretty good cost [to me]. He said with the way the economy & covid has set things up, its best to come with 20% and shoot for a 750 credit score to avoid double digit interest rate. I would choose werner to buy my used truck because I know from experience they are on their maintenance & the trucks they sell they usually get rid of after 3-4 years with less than 400Kmiles
     
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  8. danny23tx

    danny23tx Road Train Member

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    Down payment for truck
    Down payment for insurance
    10k to 20k for break down , maintenence.
    Knowledge of what you want haul and Knowledge of lanes and seasons . Get on the forum and read other adventures and misadventures other O/Os have gone through. There's a thousand like yourself ready to make the jump so just keep that in mind .
     
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  9. clucas92

    clucas92 Bobtail Member

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    If you lease onto a company, do you need insurance down payment?
     
  10. boneebone

    boneebone Road Train Member

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    No down payment is needed.
     
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  11. kemosabi49

    kemosabi49 Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    I don't care how much they are "on their maintenance", If they will not let you get an Oil Analysis of the engine and 3 boxes, get an ecm dump so you can see the real mileage, idle hrs etc, take the truck to get a dyno with a blow by test run and to a mechanic you can trust to go over truck with a critical eye, they are not the place to buy a truck.
     
    clucas92 and black_dog106 Thank this.
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