Shoestring start ups?

They probably failed and did not continue in the industry so i doubt they will be on this forum, plus they prob have no money to own a computer LOL

 

Great story King, I,m sure that was quite an experince for a 19 yr old.

 

Whatever you do, DO NOT get a volvo with a volvo engine. #### near broke my uncle who had to have a shiny red 780. Them engines are not cheap to repair.

 

Yes it was.
My 2nd truck was a V8 MACK with a 12sp 2 stick transmission.

 

It can be done my friend. I don't run on my own authority but recently purchased my first truck. I had horrible credit, and no money saved. Truck was paid in full by an "angel" investor in the family whom I make payments to, plate/insurance/ifta/fuel card through company. Setup a business checking account to separate my truck from personal, got a good accountant, wheels are rolling and the money is starting to come in. I did my research first and would have probably been advised by many that in my situation to remain some company steering wheel holder but that was unacceptable to me, I wanted better for my family. Sometimes you have to take risks. It can be done on a tight budget. Just be careful, be responsible with your first bit of income, and do lots of research on your equipment purchase. Best of luck brother.

 

it can be done but as some have already said you have to watch every penny. My wife and i filed our authority in March of 2010 and have not looked back. only use 3 main brokers and a couple of side brokers. Have a couple of direct companies. The main thing is you have to know or willing to learn how to fix things your self. can't pay $76 for petro to put a fuse in like we saw a prime driver do 1 night. But don't forget to charge your company for tools you buy and your time to fix problems they are all tax right offs. and 1 last thing no need to pay to look at freight on a load board, most have there own web site or look at free load boards. Good luck it can be done.

 

I drove a couple SuperLiners with a v-8 turned up a bit, awesome power and sound, at a pipeline co. I was with for almost 10 years. I drove a 2 stick in a Mack also, I had no idea what shifter did what,so I figured the closest 1 gets shifted more. I operated all kinds of equipment, I looked at a truck the same as a trackhoe, it,s a piece of equiptment, now get in and master it and show off. I want my authority bad, real bad, trying to raise funds is tough driving a co. truck. I,ve been resident free,since 5-04 not paying rent helps save money. I,m want a CHU Mack Rawhide so bad, my driver pals think it,s funny, how nuts I get about them Mack trucks.

 

I know I am facing losing odds, but where there is a will, there is a way I say.

I still have a job making decent money, but I dont like the direction that the company I work for is going, so its time for me to break out on my own and hit the road.

Before I quit my job I plan on having the truck bought and paid for, along with the trailer, and will get my own authority, and have about 10k in the bank. I have been through the process for getting an authority before as my wife and I had purchased a 24ft box truck and she would run freight for the company I work for. Unfortunatly that did not end well, she totalled 4 cars but thankfully nobody was seriously hurt. It was a shame too because we didnt start with much, and when the wreck happened, we had just started to make money.

Anyway back to my plans, I am very good at fixing things, I dont think there would be much I would have to pay someone to fix on the truck, pretty much everything I would do myself.

My big problem is how I am going to get my CDL, I was thinking about paying upfront for the CRengland school in Indiana, going through the training, and if they have company trucks, spend about 6 months with them learning the business. And if they say lease or go home, I will gladly go home and run my own truck.

I also plan on getting a reefer trailer, so that will give me more flexibility as to what loads I can take.

Now if there are any other independent truckers in the NE Ohio area that would take me under their wing and let me ride with them for 2 weeks and learn, I could make it worth their while!!!!

If anyone has any good suggestions, I would be gratefull!!!! And if you think Im out of my mind, let me have it!!!!


By the way, just out of curiosity, how many people on here carry spare tires and will change them sitting on the side of the road?

 

This sounds fairly OK to me-as long as you're willing to risk it all. There's a pretty high failure rate in this industry for people that have a lot more experience than you. You can go through $10k in a heartbeat, but I'm sure you know that. I would check around and make sure you can get reasonable insurance before you do anything.

I carry a spare tire mounted on a wheel and a gear-reduction lug wrench, so I could change it on the side of the road if absolutely necessary.

 

Is your question about shoestring budget or a shoestring budget with bad credit? If you have good credit, you can buy a new truck with about $15K down. You will also need about $20K to finance your receivables. If you sell the receivables to factors, you will lose about 3%. That's way too much to lose. So, the least I would recommend is $40K startup, then you can make things run smoothly.