How long before jumping to Owner Operator

I had zero years as a truck driver, and never went to CDL school. My first year insurance was 11k. That was six months ago.

Who told you you needed three years?

 

It depends on how good you are at math and how much you want to sacrifice.

Math- You gotta know your numbers and how to be profitable. Running too much cheap freight will get you bankrupt and out of business. Fueling at the wrong place at the wrong time will have you losing money. Not having money for repairs will have you sidelined and in the bread line fast.

Sacrifice- As an O/O you are the only person responsible for your business. Sometimes it might be worth it to stay out over the weekend. Sometimes you might have to miss a birthday party or family cookout because you found some hot freight. You might have to tell your wife and kids bye for an extended period of time, or you might have to tell them no for the sake of saving funds to further your business.

Free Advice- If you are doing this in the hopes of someday hiring a driver to do all the driving and you sitting back and collecting a check off his work, then don't even get in the business. You would make a lot more money and have a whole lot less headache investing in a good mutual fund and only being worried about 1 butt (yours) being in the driver's seat.

 

Is that with a truck and trailer and your own authority?

 

Yes.

 

I did at a year and a half, so i dont know what youre smoking

 

Jump ASAP!

If you soar, win!

If you crash, win! You'll know better what not to do next time.

There is no magic formula in trucking because we all have different needs. Personally, my truck (as an O/O) provides me with an opportunity to make money on my terms. I only made $13k gross in the month of January. However, that was for only 2 weeks of driving. I was able to chill at home and be a part of my family for the other 2 weeks. I spend about 20% of gross in fuel and it costs roughly a dollar per mile to operate the truck. Anything over that goes in my pocket after Uncle Sam gets his.

Thankfully, I bought my truck for cash and invested heavily in maintenance to ensure the truck is reliable for (fingers crossed) the rest of this year. IF you can't spend 10k on repairs right now (whether by cash or credit card or loan) then you're not ready to be an O/O. Your truck WILL break down and you'll have to repair it ASAP. If you're under a load when it breaks, you have no choice but to pay.

I would ask yourself this: "Do I really want to spend weeks of every month of my life in a truck?" I do. That's why I'm an O/O. I want to be doing this...regardless of the expenses or making every single penny I can. I like driving my N14 powered 379 down the highway seeing different parts of the country. That's why I drive. That's why I chose the type of freight I pull. I want to go where I want, when I want to go and be gone for as long as I want.

There are so many options in trucking and until you can figure out what those are and you have a clear vision of what you want out of trucking and then how to achieve that goal, I would suggest driving for a company that has new equipment and won't leave you hanging in South Dakota over the weekend without a load...no offense to my SD brothers...

 

Started as an O/O at 24, 26 now. Supporting a family of five. Would only suggest going O/O if you get things done no matter what in your everyday life. Cutthroat and scary when things are feeling uncertain. One little electrical fire could put you back in the hole. Lots of risk, high rewards if you work smart. Tough a lot of the times, but hey, I can go to Hawaii whenever my family wants! If you need to take time off just call yourself from a pay phone

 

Minimum one year before buying or leasing a truck. Let someone else pay for your mistakes while you learn, and make sure the job is one you can deal with long-term.