Options for Drivers

you need to learn the business first before looking into o/o. it could take a yr or 2 but all that depends on you. you should company drive for at least 3 yrs IMHO

 

I agree, anyone should truck at LEAST one year anyway before trying your hand at O/O. I have seen MANY people make some serious, life-altering mistakes by jumping into O/O too fast without the previous experience. So many have RUINED their credit for the rest of their life and are made quite bitter because they didn't do it right. Just MHO.

 

My late father was an O/O for 20+ years and I remember as a kid thinking how tough his life was back then before CDL. It takes a special kind of person to be an O/O and be successful especially with a lease and if you go the lease route teaming with a spouse is probably your best bet so you can run some serious miles to pay the lease and bills. My dad would have probably suggested 2-3 years experience before jumping into it with a bunch of money saved up first.

 

Its hard for anyone to answer your questions because they dont know you, dont know what or what you are not capable of, what your mentality will be after being a driver for a year or two. Its also my opinion that you will need at the very least a couple of years under your belt before you embark on that path, which it looks like you plan to do, just to see what you think of the whole deal, maybe by that time you will have no interest in becoming an Owner Op. Right now if I wanted to go the owner route I would buy my own truck flat out but, that means alot more work than what I would want to to. Good luck

 

i heard that.. trucking has been in my family for awhile. i've been out here a year and i do plan to drive o/o. there are alot of things to learn,being a company driver you will learn the fuel costs and maint. cost.,permits. (plus ins. and tools!) more importantly you have to learn the roads,unless you just drive dedicated. when checking out trucks,get the vin number and research what kind of work was done on it,same w/ the engine number,plus a good warranty will help. like i said there's alot of bases to cover in getting a truck,im sure someone else out here could shed light on it more. with any company you go to,as a o/o - well,some companies may not hire you due to lack of exp. good luck to ya.

 

My advice to being an O/O is no different then if you career you are at now is lets say Retail Sign Manufacturer Sales Rep, well I wouldn't suggest that your first day on the job to go out and invest $120,000 on machinery to make signs if you don't know what your doing. Same thing here, learn the business then see if it's what you want to do and it does take a couple years to learn it.

The only reason I stopped driving OTR 20 years ago was my 2 boys didn't know who I was when I came home, so I started taking one at a time with me and when they were 2 years old that's not a good idea as I found out. So I quit and went back into management to be home more. Now my sons are grown and the one that's 22 is going to be my team partner for a year or two.

Bottonline, trucking can be the most rewarding adventure out there to many people, but it can also be a nightmare to others. Just give it a try for a couple years and let someonelse foot the bills for the truck and fuel and enjoy yourself and try and have fun and see what happens.

 

Hey your in Kadena. I was at Futenma. That's cool, see it should be really hot and humid this time of year no?
It seems you have decided to go company, now the real fun begins. I assume your in the military, when is your E.A.S.?