Question on Buying a Tractor

Well, one problem is that some companies have a max age on the rig. Example: Swift says the truck must be less than 5 years old. Also, there are wheelbase requirements, etc, etc.

Now that assumes you are gonna buy the rig and run for a company rather than get your own authority. I've never been an O/O or even an L/O, but I do understand that getting your own authority, plates, insurance and permits can get pretty expensive. Not to meantion paying for your own repairs and fuel.

 

Many companies will not allow you to sign on if the tractor is more than 5 years old is true some want 3 years , takes a bit more to be a ( successful ) Owner Operate than a low priced tractor.

 

Fuel prices , insurance and stuff is what is forcing a lot of OWNER / OPERATORS out of their trucks.

 

I understand. Starting a business (O/O) seems pretty easy, until you start reading the fine print. You are doing it right , tho. You are looking before you leap.

 

11 year old tractor with probably close to 1million miles on it may be 25,500 and look nice. It's probably gonna need an overhaul soon. Let's just say 12,000 for grins. Bet it needs tires. Those tires on it may look good, but I know of more than one dealer that uses tires that are old and come off of other trucks and won't match. They may have Plenty of tread, but I've seen "new" dealer tires last mere weeks before the tread comes off. Let's say 2500 bucks for new tires. Oh, and there'll be a lot of small things potentially needing attention on a 10+ year old tractor. Let's say you align the front end after doing tie rod ends and king pins and you couldnt get out for less than $1000.

Now you get to run out and put up a grand on insurance, $550 for your 2290's, and $1800 for base plates.

Now you're in for a little over 31 large. Your first 200 gallons of fuel's gonna be $500 or so. You haven't made a dime yet and even if you financed all of the truck price, you've still paid thousands out of pocket just to get to run it for the first time.

Sure hope a settlement or two hits your account before a wheel seal fails from sitting on a lot for a while costs you a nice fat road service call and a missed load. Man, hope that motor hds out Long enough to get the money for an in-frame saved up.

Don't get me wrong, it can be done. I run a 96 model. It can be a little much sometimes, though. If it was easy, everybody would be buying them.

 

Usually your tractor payment is about a 1/4 of your expenses I would say. One thing to about an older tractor is that it is going to need more parts replaced and maintenance done to it. Not that, that is a bad thing but you can end up with a real wreck that has been beat on by student drivers for its whole life! Another thing about a $30,000 to 40,000 truck is that once you buy it that is pretty much it. There really is no re-sale after that. The market is flooded with those trucks mainly because of these mega-carriers turning them over for new ones. Now on the other hand if you know what you are doing in trucking and are doing the repairs and maintenance yourself then money can be made with the right purchase. It really takes a very experienced owner operator though. I know a lot of people knock the lease thing but if you do not know what you are doing it is a lot easier then running your own operation. I think that's mostly why you hear a lot of slack about the lease thing. Yes they can ruin your DAC and credit and you can owe the company money, but when it comes down to it it's no different then owing a bank 40,000 of which you are on the hook for or put a lean against your house to get. Either way, I really recommend at the very least two to three years of driving if not more before doing the whole owner operator thing. I myself had driven for five years before doing it and also was running husband/wife team and it was still tough! My rule of thumb is if you can navigate around the country without a map or gps and you can predict freight waves then you are ready to be an O/O. Sorry to ramble!