Seriously Thinking Of Buying a Truck...HELP!!!

Hey Longshot! your list of questions looks like my old list. Many of my answers came from driving and speaking to other drivers in person.

I'm not saying don't ask, nor that ppl shouldn't answer. But for me, trucking is about time. All in time. I started wanting to know it all now, but the best answers come from what you learn on the road.

Good miles and be safe my friend.

 

This is your choice. My preference is freightliner century. You will get pro people for Peterbuilt who dislike anything non Peterbuilt. So you make the choice, not us.

this depends soley on you. Yet you say you have work lined up and your asking what to do????

About 15 to 20 grand, It varies on level of experience/

cant answer that.

Grass always looks greaner elsewhere. Personally I would stick with what you have.

Do you want to make money or break even? You dont make money with your truck when the wheels are parked. Most drivers dont have a home life. Very little personal life either.

LOL depends on what headaches you like?

if your truck looks like a piece of manure. What do you think will happen? Being polite to the police helps.

stands to reason that it will.

My personal view is CSA2010 was written by corporate industry whom would love to make sure there are no more OO. Just my opinion.

If it is your truck and a company asks you to pull their freight, they are not asking you to be DOT qualified each time you go to a new employer. Company employees must have physicals for each and every new company they work for. Besides, it is your truck, if you dont like the load you can turn it down.

 

If you are now clearing 45K, and can't take a pay cut, stick to the job you have.

To be brutally honest with you if you have to ask all of these questions you aren't ready to buy a truck AND MAKE DECENT MONEY. Sure you can lease to one of the big guys on a mileage contract and be treated like crap and hang on for a year or two until you go belly up working for low rates and toughing it out.

IF you can fix your own equipment...IF you can look at a used truck and know how all of it's systems operate and you know how they should be serviced and repaired...IF you know where the good freight is and where to run profitably...IF you can do all this and more you MAY be able to make it.

Look at it this way.... I may be able to fly an airplane but I probably can't run an airline...

 

Look at it this way. Buy the truck as a hobby expense. Dont buy a brand new one though. Get one that has about a half million miles for around 30k. Plan on getting engine and tranny inspected / maybe even rebuilt. If you have holiday time, take it from present work and go driving for your vaca time.

By the way? If you dont have any miles driven? That is going to be a very expensive venture. It is surprising how easy it is to blow a trailer tire with no experience. If its your money? LOL so much for your vacation!

Zero miles driven you will kill any money you had in a week easily! $500 a tire adds up quickly.

 

I'm not even going to start with this thread. You said 2 things in your original post that I will highlight below....

First you said...

Then you said...

So which is it? If you have plenty of work for the truck, then you don't need to contradict yourself with the following statement. Doesn't matter to me though. I'm surprised I'm the only one who caught that. On edit.... I guess I'm not the only one who caught it!

Either way, you have a lot to learn before buying a truck & jumping into it blind. You best start searching these forums & the internet. I would also suggest that you prepare yourself to become overwhelmed with a wealth of information that you just won't understand... Like the 2290.

 

On July 3rd 2010 you said....

Click on the arrow next to your name in the quote to take you to that post. May I bluntly say that you have no where near the experience, knowledge, or cofindence needed to take the risk of being a Owner Operator.

Being a O/O is like playing craps at a casino.... Someday you get lucky, then others you get shafted!

Get a few more years under your belt as a company hand. During that time read & learn everything you can about the O/O side of the industry. Then & only then shall you make an educated decision based on you knowlege and experience.

 

You had better have a real bee in your bonnet about wanting to go into business before considering a truck. The rewards are there, but the risks are greater as well. Face it.... if you are running your own business, be it trucking, a restaurant, whatever, you will put in far more hours and have more headaches than any employee would.

That being said, it can be profitable if done right. And you don't have to stay out weeks on end. Shorter hauls tend to pay more and if you can locate a good carrier that will pay a variable rate on length of haul, you can do quite well staying in a regional situation. I stay regional, am home each weekend, and I tend to get .20 more average a mile rate above the normal 48 state drivers. And I don't sit except for required breaks. Things tend to be planned out better on regional loads. But then, it still depends on the carrier. The biggest advantage to me being regional is that I can do a lot of little maintenance items and all my services myself at home. I do them as they come up, so it really doesn't suck up too much of my off time. And it saves a grip of cash. I am also able to develop some good business relationships near home for tires, parts, oil, etc. It is indeed a real rare occurence for me to pay for something done on the road. And staying regional, I can usually plan a run to get by my favorite shop for something during their business hours. I call ahead and they pull me right in. I get the work done, spend the break at home, then take off and finish the delivery... almost like a company driver would get the truck fixed except I have to do all the planning and pay the bills.

It takes time to build up a business. It will take its toll on you out of the gate, but if managed right, it will gradually come around.

To your last question: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS JOB SECURITY... ANYWHERE! I tend to worry why anyone would even ask that question if they have any idea what has gone on with the economy over the last couple of decades. Oh.... there is job security in only one place I can think of.... prison. There you will have job security watching your back and cleaning up after yourself.

 

now my friend although buying a truck is a big step and should be carefully considered it is not a bad thing and not impossible to do ,however here are a few things to consider.

the first thing you need to do is pay absoloutly no attention to all the gloom and doom you here most of it is none sense, when a driver says you can't do it , it simply m,eans he can't do it nothing to do with you if you want it bad enough YOU CAN.

if youir going to lease a truck to a company your not goingto make much money i don't care what they tellyou and they all lie to you it is really a bad way to go. i've been out here almost 50 years as an owner operator and still going strong and have done well but it has not been easy thats for sure.
the biggest thing that wil get you is high overhead it is a silent killer and will put you under quicker then anything else, most that try to go into this business try to start out with two much truck they got to look good with that shiney new truck , they last on average 6 months and they have lost there truck and let me tell you nothing wil hurt you more then losing your truck. ive been there i no now if i havew to make payments on it or deal with a finance company i simply dont want it , i have six trucks today and looking for more along witrh there trailers and the newest truck is a 1990 and there payed for no finance company envolved. can you do it of course you can if i can with no education at all you certainly can.

but ill tell you right up front you cant make it and make money with a new truck and depend on a leaasing compay to make money just is not there , the best wat to make money with a truck i to have your own trailer and your own authority then your idependent you make the money not a leasing company.

as far as the new regs if you are leased to a company they wil have a depramental affect on you if you are an indepedent and you keep your equipment in good shape no big deal at all.

your going to get a lot of advice most will come from drivers that dont no any more the you do most wil be company drivers now i ask you what the hell do they know about being an owner operatot.

just take it slow , buy the right equipment and you will be fine it wont be easy but you can do it if you don't mind work and being away from home and it s a good life but it takes getting used to.

good luck to you my friend. southernpride