flatbed owner operater!!

Why is it a newbie right away want's to bcome an O/O soon as they go work for a company IF they get hired ? RESEARCH YOUR INFO ON THE "THETRUCKERSREPORT" before you do.

 

There are some good flat bed carriers around. CRST Malone, Landstar and Besl are a few. There are others. You may get on with CRST with only 6 months experience, but Besl will require more experience. I believe Landstar requires either 6 months or 1 year experience.

I agree with Diesel Dave. Too many new drivers want to buy a truck before they even get started in the business. You don't even know if you will like this business. The best thing you can do for yourself is to save your money while you learn about this business. At the least you will need a good amount for a down payment. You should have money set aside for running the truck and for any unexpected breakdowns.

You need to talk with those running flats and ask them about their carriers. You need to find a carrier who has freight lanes near your home, otherwise, you will may need to deadhead or take something cheap in order to get home. Don't be in such a rush to become an owner operator. You have much to learn. Learning takes time.

 

It must have been a while since you have worked for a company. They treat you like dung. What I wonder is why anyone with half a brain and enjoys driving would not be thinking “How do I get out of this and become an O/O ASAP.”
We have a couple good, positive threads going about being an O/O. The OP did not say “I just got my CDL , I have $250 in the bank, how do I finance a truck to become an O/O.” Seen plenty of those.
To the question asked. This is a hard one to answer. Being leased onto someone when you have less than 2-years experience in FB is going to be tough to get the better paying companies with good volume. With a year experience you are going to be looking at $1/mile plus FSC. And when you are looking at overhead at the $1.20/mile range that is not much better, if not worse than company driver rates.
However, once you get to 2-3 years experience you can start seeing 80% plus 100% FSC, tarping, drops, etc. Now the numbers look better.
And independent O/O pulling a flatbed should be able to average better than $100K per year. Sometimes I wonder if the rates are so much better because on a whole these people are some of the best trucking business people I have met.
It is never too early to start planning. If you are a good business person then there is no reason why you cannot be successful in this business. But what you can’t learn from the boards is what you will learn on the roads.

 

There are some flat bed carriers who pay mileage, but most seem to pay percentage. I think you will find that most pay 75% of the line haul and 100% of the fuel surcharge. Most will require that you either have your own trailer or rent one of their's. You will also be required to purchase or bring your own tarps, chains, binders, etc., That will run about $2,200-2,500. With most of the better flat bed carriers, the percentage paid to an owner operator is the same, regardless of time in the business. There are a few who have more specialized equipment who do offer a higher percentage for certain over sized loads. Most stick to the percentage in their contract. Some flat bed carriers will contract with owner operators with 6 months to 1 year experience.

Pulling a flat or any open type trailer is more work than many are willing to do. Rates are generally higher for flats than vans. Flat bed drivers may run fewer miles, but earn more per mile than vans. The more experience one has the more likely that they will do well and get the better rates. Success is often the result of learning your way around a carrier's system. It can take 6 months or longer to get a good feel for how they work and where the better paying loads are located, if you haul on percentage. Whether most will clear $100,000 after all expenses is questionable. It depends on how they run their business and the rates at which they are willing to run. Not everyone is a good manager. Some may work smarter or harder than others. There are those who won't make more than a company driver.

 

Being leased onto to a carrier it is less likely that someone is going to be able to break the $100k mark. When you are giving up 20-25% that is call coming out of the profit. And for an average FB O/O we are looking at $40k. This number seems high considering you have to bring your own trailer and accessories.
But someone running 2200 mile/wk for 48 weeks # $2.50/mile with overhead at $1.35/mile would see $120k. I have been tracking FB loads on a 48' x 102" staying under 46K from mid-April through last week of May. Once I would have had to drop to $2.30/mile and over the period my average for all miles was $2.67.
Have spent a lot of time talking to FB O/O's. Wow, it is a whole different world. Much more positive about the business (in general) and you feel like you are talking to a business person first and the trucking is the business they are in. And when they say they will sit or DH before taking cheap rates you tend to believe them.

 

I was lucky enough to do it a different way, bought my truck cash, an been 6 mths now....an trust me, if you think you can just ride an pay for maint...you better learn to carry your own tools an do most your own work....unless major, there aint much i aint changed on this old pete, due to neglect from the last owner, but let me tell you..i have nit drawn a check yet , iv been doing pretty good, money wise , but have chose to put it back into the truck...the truck is in great shape now an all i have left is the drive tires to change, due to they are the wrong size an hurting m,y fuel mileage.....so think about it, can you go 6 mths withut a paycheck????? Like they say, be carfull of the life you choose, it may take you to the cleaners if you dont know haowe to manage your buisness, oh an i didnt do some of this stuff on my own , i have had help from forum members,other friends in phone conversations, an met up with some an turned wrenches together.....remembwer, the driveing is the easy part....it's the rest that will wear you out