find a real owner operator mentor

If you have 3 years of experience I would think you know the basics of how the industry works.

Finding a mentor may be hard in that ; how do you know the mentor is as good as you need him/her to be?

I have my own authority and I call OOIDA for advice. Also, I use ATBS. The cost of having an advisor and having them do my taxes is worth the cost I find. "It's tax deductible".

Lastly, I ask questions of other drivers at truck stops. Now there's a wealth of information that will never dry up.

 

How do you sort through all the BS that the truck drivers spew? While I agree that there's a mountain of knowledge out there there's ten mountains of BS...just read the truck driver drivel here.

 

Buzz gave some good advice.

There is some very good info on this site from some of the posters and many you should simply ignore just like the loudmouths at the truck stop counter. Get to know some of the folks around here. I have made several friends around here that are a wealth of knowledge. I don't agree with everything they say or do but have learned a lot about many things from them.

You could also try some of the larger O/O companies out there. They lease on fleet owners as well and you can drive for them to get a feel of being an O/O without the initial investments.

 

it's a little harder to seperate the bs on here than in person but it's still not hard for the most part. It don't take a few minutes in person to tell if the person is full of it or not. On here it takes a little more personal interaction to tell for sure sometimes.

 

Yep! By asking and getting a BS answer you also learn what not to do. Always trust your instincts before acting on advice or call OIDA and get a second opinion.

 

Truck drivers tell lie......... It ain't possible!

 

Couldn't imagine wasting that dime!

 

One piece of advice I got once was to disconnect my tractor from the trailer if in a tight spot to turn around.

I remember laughing back then thinking that if I get into a spot I can always get out.

Well it was yesterday in Florida where I pulled forward into the lot, then hard jackknife back into the door. Very tight lot with cars.

The problem was to pull out you have to back across a 4 lane busy road.

So while being unloaded, I lowered my gear, unhooked, turned my bobtail around and re hooked jackknifed but now facing the exit route lol.

Just too easy and I'm glad that old guy told me the tip.

 

You sound like the person I'll be looking to talk to in a month or two, except located too far away. Go to work for an o/o that will give you line of sight to the business before you commit your money and jump into something you may not like after a while, or go broke trying. Your not going to have the company structure and driver support you would get with a large carrier. But you will get a taste of how things work without it.

There's lots of mentor "prospects" posting on this board. You just have to read a lot and make your own decision about who to approach. I have not had anyone refuse to answer a PM or even get on the phone a while. Just make sure you've done your homework and know what you're asking about before you just waste someone's time.