O/O wanabee

Good Luck,

enjoy the ride !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I like your idea and wish you well. I'd love to do the same thing but only by the book. I'd want to follow all rules and regulations and be on the right side of DOT. I look forward to learning from the posts you get on this. I hope people are serious and don't just beat they chest on this one. It looks good if you can just get the loads.

 

Before you get carried away crunching numbers, plan on 1500 to 2200 miles a week, not 3000 or more that most base their numbers on. You won't be running drop and hook coast to coast and before you get good at it chaining and tarping will take time.

You scoff at .37 a mile but remember it is about .45 with bennies.

Good luck

 

Instant O/O and Load boards

This guy did basically what you're talking about doing. Different trailer, similar situation. To be fair, freight has really picked up the last six weeks or so, so you might get off to a better start than Rob. Then again it may be in the crapper in another six. Read up.

On securement equipment, I'd look on Craigslist. Use google's advanced search and search nationwide if you can't find any locally. I use 20' long 3/8" grade 70 chain, I think you'd want at least that for a step. I'd get at least 8-12 chains and 12 binders. Twelve is kind of a magic number for me, that's 3 man lifts or humvees (one binder per corner, you can usually use one chain if your deck has tie downs to attach the binder directly to) I'd get about 20 straps so you'll have extra, google ratchet depot for good strap prices. You'll pay 3x for them in a truckstop than what you can get them online for. I'd buy four boxes of bungees for the same reason, you will use 100 or more on a complex load. I'd do my best to find used tarps, you'll be tearing them up if you're teaching yourself. You'll be tearing them up occasionally anyway, buy a patch kit. Buy some of those $5 moving pads to protect your tarps. If it were me, I'd be looking at 53' steps, or buying a beaver tail if you get a 48'.

I know you're just figuring up expenses, but $1.75 is too cheap for pretty much anything right now. I won't load my flat for that now, you definitely shouldn't load a SD load for that.

I'd say 60 days of expenses PLUS about $15k for repairs. I know that sounds insane, but a relatively simple repair can cost you $2k in a heartbeat by the time you throw in a wrecker bill. Personal example-I had a jake brake piston break about a month ago, had to get towed-$600. Diagnosis and repair $400. Parts $1000 (it broke the jake housing and compressed the threads on the rocker, and I had to buy all three jakes, no one would sell me one-for anyone that's wondering why so much on parts). Plus lost revenue.

All that to say, you will fail. There are guys that have been doing this for decades that are barely hanging on. Sure there are guys that are succeeding too, but you will be learning everything all at once, the legalities, the paperwork, the bookkeeping, the securement, the driving, the tarping. Just the tarping will make you cry. You may, miraculously, succeed in not going out of business in the first six months, but you will brake stuff on your truck, and could very easily have a cargo claim. You also won't be able to work your loads straight out and back as much as you want. There are easily ten times the loads on those load boards right now than there were this time last year, maybe even three months ago. You should read that thread I linked to, not just so you can learn from his mistakes, but because you need to know that you WILL make some of the same mistakes.

 

Not saying you can't, but I've seen people struggle more than you'd think they would when they get behind the actual wheel.

A semi tractor doesn't shift like a pickup truck. The gears in the pickup are synchronized. You push the clutch to the floor, and you shift. The semi truck has non-synchronized gears. If you push the clutch to the floor, the clutch brake stops the gears and you won't get it into the next gear. Instead, you clutch out of gear, then you have to use the throttle to match your engine speed to the road speed for whatever gear you are trying to get the transmission into, then clutch it back into gear. Now you don't HAVE to use the clutch in your daily driving...but if you don't use the clutch during your road test, you won't pass.

Also, you won't use more than a couple gears in a parking lot. You won't have any practice running up through the gears or recovering a gear if you miss a shift at higher speeds. Again, it's not like a car or pickup where you push the clutch to the floor and select a gear...you MUST match the engine speed to the road speed in the gear you want to select before it will slide into gear, whether you use the clutch or not.

You also won't have much practice regarding how wide you need to turn to keep close to the curb without running it over. Hit a curb, you fail. Interacting with traffic is another.

I'm not saying it can't be done...just don't bite off more than you can chew. Make sure you have the CDL in your hand before you go buying that truck...and even then, it would be wise to work in the industry for a while before striking out on your own. There will be surprises. Unexpected things that come up that you hadn't factored into your numbers. The best way to keep those to a minimum is to take smaller steps. Drive for someone else...or a few someone elses....to learn as much as you can about the industry. Drive a variety of trucks, hauling a variety of loads, with a variety of different trailers. Figure out what you want to do, as well as what kind of truck you need for that type of work. This isn't something you can do by just reading spec sheets...you have to actually drive the trucks to know if you like the set-up or not, what you like/dislike about that set-up, and after you've driven a few to have a point of reference, what you would change to improve the truck. Not all trucks are created equal. Engine make/displacement/power. Transmission. Rear end gears. Tire size. Frame thickness. Wheel base. Sleeper size. Truck make/model.

Remember: Just because it looks good "on paper" doesn't it will work.

Once you figure out what you will do, and what specs you need in order to do that job, then look for a truck with those specs. Don't buy a truck because it is shiny and will impress all of the steering wheel holders at the truck stop. With few exceptions, beneath the cab, all trucks can be spec'd the same.....same engine options, same transmission options, same axle options, same tire options....without regard to the name on the hood. The truck is a tool. If you need a 10 pound sledge hammer to drive a stake into the ground, you don't go to the store and buy a 16 oz claw hammer.

So now you have a truck.

At this point, lease on somewhere. This way, you'll have the carrier's help staying legal with the fuel taxes, registration, insurance requirements, permits, etc. as you deal with the unexpected expenses that WILL arise.

Once you are satisfied that you have a pretty good understanding of what you need to be legal, get your own authority and strike out on your own.


Just some things to think about...

You are 39 years old and have a family to support...which was your reason for not wanting to work for one of the puppy-mill mega-carriers. Keep in mind, there are O/O's who have been in this game for 20+ years that just don't see that it is worth it anymore and are hanging up the keys...and yet here you think you can get your CDL, buy a truck, and run a profitable enough business to support a family overnight?

Don't mean to sound pessimistic, but your plan isn't as good as you think it is. You might get lucky and it could work out for you...but from the sounds of it, you have a lot to lose. What do you have to gain?

 

Welcome to failure. It's not so lonely. We all thought we knew it all in the beginning.

 

Get some experience first!

You have NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO!!!

 

I run a small trucking company and our OO's do ok. If you want to run under your own authority you have to figure out your basic per mile costs such as insurance,plates,the 2290,truck and trailer pmts., and all other yearly expenses add those up and divide by 120,000 thats for 10k miles per month, then you have to speculate on other costs such as tires, oil changes, misc repairs, (depending on what you are hauling I would figure at minimum 2 steer tires a year=$1000 dont go cheap here and 4 drive tires a year $1700) and I would include 5 cents a mile as a cushion. add it all up and divide by 120k thats your basic cost, now you have to figure out what is acceptable as your driver wages ($0.35 per mile is avg) add this to your basic per mile cost. Then you have your fuel cost deduct .5 mpg from actual miles per gallon and now you have your operating cost. As for most guys running on their own authority with a truck note in the $1000 a month range your operating cost should be in the $1.05 to $1.20 per mile range with fuel at $3.20 gal. also there are some companies out there that offer dispatch service like mine who find all your loads for you for a monthly fee, also be prepared to give up 5% to a factoring company for some loads so you can get some operating cash.