Company VS Owner Op

Hello everyone, my name is Ron and Im looking to start my career as a professional driver. My father drove a truck nearly all his life as did his father so I guess you could say its in my blood.

Im currently weighing the pros and cons of being a company driver vs owner op and would like to know what others think are the ups and down to both. My biggest concern being out of pocket costs of company vs o/o.

Thanks for any help.

PS. Im well aware that is it a "lifestyle" not a job. Constructive critisizm is welcome but please no discouraging rants and raves. I understand that a lot of time away from home may be required and Im ok with that. Ive made plenty of cross country trips before, both in a fourwheeler and my fathers Pete.

 

First off, thanks for the quick reply - its very appreciated.

Why do you say its setting myself up for failure?

 

So are O/Os still subject to the "2yr exp" rule so to speak? Id have thought that as an O/O one has better chance at a job, no?

And in what aspect are you referring to experience managing a business? 1099 vs W2? Time management? Money management? Something else?

 

Thank chompi, thats more of an answer I was looking for. Im the type of person, some may call it simply stubborn, but I need to so the reasoning/logic behind an answer instead of a simple yes/no. I understand a little more where youre coming from now though - learning the ropes a little more would definitely help out a bit. Im still confident the "business" aspect will be no problem, but applying it to trucking is where a little experience would help tremendously.

Although its a bit unnecessary Ild like to address a few of your questions and perhaps you can throw a little more advice my way. Consider it trivia, base score to see where I stand on what I think I know

The loads, Im under the impression that as an O/O you can lease/contract you and your truck to another company which will more or less provide the loads for you. I'd hazard a guess and say that perhaps you were referring to something more along the lines of fishing for loads yourself from private or multiple companies? More like actually running your own single employee trucking business?

Pay. Definately out in open waters here. Off the top of my head Im thinking company drivers get anywhere from mid .20s to upwards off .40 /mi on avg. Obviously will depend on the load, company, exp, etc. Once again taking a guess, but Im sure more companies are only paying out around 50% - 75% I seem to also recall reading somewhere that, perhaps it was o/o flatbed, will pull around .75-1.00 /mi

Repairs. Im sure theres a pretty good size learning curve going from your stand vehicle to a semi as far as repairs, but provided I have the tools needs Im confident I could do the majority of my own work. Ive been a gearhead from an early age and worked on many vehicles. Ive yet to own a vehicle that I didnt have to work on some. Oil change, spark plugs, valve adjustment, pulleys,timing, trans swap, new clutch, to a complete engine swap in a Dodge stratus with sideways mounted 4cyl, Ive done it. I actually enjoy turning wrenches. I dont use the screen-name torquewrench for no reason.

Ill admit I checked myself on this one and am proud to say I was partially right, generally 80,000lb gross weight, 20000lb for a single axle. For double axle less than 8' apart 34000lbs.

For what its worth Id consider myself to be a pretty dang good driver and I dont think I would wear anything out on my truck no faster than the next guy. I keep good maintenance on my vehicles, smooth driver, with no excessive wear on them. Most people say I drive like "grandma" because of this but Ive seen first hand what rough driving will do to a vehicle. Ive never been able to afford a mechanic or parts no more than whats absolutely necessary so Ive come to value my things and take care of stuff because I know itll last much longer.

I assume the $20000-$30000 you're referring to is for operating costs we'll say for maybe 6months. This will cover essentially all operating costs until profits begin to turn. Without it youll go in the hole from that alone. Will also cover unexpected costs such as repairs to the truck, insurance, etc

As for whether or not trucking will be my calling, theres always the slim chance that its not what Im looking for. However Im a persistent person and once I put my mind to something theres no a whole lot that can stop me. Im patient, yet determined. As for family, only my parents. They're partially the reason I intend to drive - so I can help them out financially as both are disabled, on fixed income, and can barely afford their prescriptions month to month.

Please dont take my extensive reply as an attempt to prove you wrong - I value advice from an experience driver very much. Id already figured a company driver was to be my first step but its never to early to prepare for the future. Now if I could only find one willing to hire from around my neck of the woods.

Thanks again.