Whats's first? Buy the truck, or line up work?

Deciding if your leaseing on, or getting your own numbers.
Then haveing ten to 15k on top of the truck purchase money.
Then writing a business plan. Then rewriting it.

 

Heres some bad advice, just go for it. Worst case scenario you go bankrupt

I would say find the company first, you need to know what kind of equipment you need before you try buying the truck. (For instance if i tried pulling a van with my current truck i would lose about .15 cpm on 80k miles.. i for one prefer not spending 12k a year on wind resistance.)


Now knowing if flatbed or van, etc, start looking for a truck. You probably already have a few basics you know (like what price the truck should be for your risk appetite). If financing the truck, get a preapproval, just snag a truck vin thats similar to roughly what youre looking for and ask them to run numbers so you know what your monthly payment is. (A 3 year loan on a 20k truck will be about 700$ a month at pretty terrible but common interest rates)

The older the truck, the more you will want to set aside for repairs/making the cab work for you. If you dont have your own tools or shop, expect that half your repair costs will come with buying tools for the first 3 or 4 years (assuming older truck)

I went in with only 3k and i bought directly from the guy, just payed him for 1 year 1250 a month, but he also played mechanic on the truck for the year. I still sunk 2k /month in parts or tools and repairs for a solid 3 years, not counting the inframe rebuild at 1 year (financed that)
Doing it this way is possible but very luck dependent. I do not actually recommend ANYTHING i did. Everyone telling you to have 15k in the bank is right. Thats the RIGHT and sane way to do things.

 

If you are running your own numbers. I would call to see what the insurance quotes are going to be. There are plenty of trucks to choose from from new to "we can build it better, stronger, faster". Now finding that company that if you are going to lease onto. That comes in many meals from "the best I ever had to I wouldn't serve that to my worst enemy". The best part of it is take your time no rush. Do your research, know what you need to be successful put it in the tackle box & let that line bring in your future. All the best to you on your journey.

 

If you can't make it work on paper it sure won't work in the real world. Budget for everything and then some. Find out if you can rent truck from Penske, etc. if yours breaks down and how much that will cost you. Get insurance quotes.

 

What insurance people always told me: A driver in their 20's will pay a lot more vs. even a rookie 50 yr driver, just because they will have more driving experience, even though its in a car. Get insurance quotes first, if they want $15-20k a yr for coverage, I'd just lease to a company first. Also for every moving violation a driver has, they told me its about $1,000 (maybe more) a yr to cover as well, if you have a fleet. So 2 tickets, $2000/yr add on etc.