Am I an Idiot? O/O's Please Read!!!!!

If you really want to do it, then do ALL your do dillagents and go for it. I was a teamster just like you 15 years ago and hated it for the same reasons. I bought a used truck quit my job( got my withdrawal card) and haven't looked back. Yes times have been tough lately, but business cycles with the economy. When it's up it's good and you put away more for when it's down. I work locally, always have. I make about 600 to 1000 a day pulling flatbed maxis in the Pacific NW. Find something in your area that pays well, wether it is dump or flat or refer, take a few days off and go talk to successful O/O. Pick their brain on how they did it. Ask them who there broker is. Call them to see if they need more trucks. You can find your own customers, but that takes time and you need to be driving, not being a freight salesman. If you want to move look at other regions of the country that have a good economy. Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, etc. Slim down your lifestyle and start putting money away now. In a few months you will be surprised how much who can accumulate. I do my own repairs, and don't spend that much time chasing parts. The key is to know your truck and do preventive maintenance. Lube every week or every other and repair or replace before they break. I keep all the filters formmy rig stocked in my shop so I don't have to chase them down. It takes 1/2 to lube and check air pressure. I do it on Sat morn. at 6am. Add an hour to change the oil and filters, then go fishing or ride the Harley.
Good Luck
Hey, my wife says to include yours in the decisions you make. They will affect her and your family too.

 

Very well said hotrod ..I am interested in becoming an O/O ..so I have been doing a lot of what you just mentioned here, I got flamed for asking questions...I'm glad to know there is a few decent o/o's on this board that are willing to help and understand everybody has to start somewhere...thanks again

Jimmy

 

I guess your saying, over the yrs in this business you believe all of the lease/purchase programs through the carriers are all the same? (Set to fail?)

 

Just read the thread.....My dad is an o/o like me. He sat in Odessa today at 66 years old and waited 10 hours to get unloaded. My father-in-law, same age, is retired from teamsters union. He plays golf 3 times a week. Not too hard of a choice if you look down the road. BTW, unless you own your own trailer other drivers are still going to leave them in disrepair for you.

 

Lease purchase programs are good for some people, you will never own the truck and you will always have payments. They are set up to profit the company you sign on with. Alot of people have been successful with them, but miss a week cause your sick or need to be home to help out and you can start to fall behind. I don't believe that someone should purchase/ lease a truck just because they can. If you don't throughly check out what your getting into you can loose your shirt and your house quickly. To be an O/O takes some smarts and you need to be a little insane too. The insanity helps when things go wrong. We are optimists, most of us think it will always get better, and smart enough to know when to bail or cut our losses. Remember, your a business, treat it that way, check things out before you jump in. Rent a trailer if you have to before you commit to thousands of dollars. Make sure the numbers work. If you are planning on leasing on to just one company, talk to other O/O's that work for them. Get one name from them to call and ask him or her for another, so you don't get just the ones that the company sends you. Hang out at their terminal and talk to their O/O's. I am currently looking on moving down to Texas because of the economy in Oregon. I have been on the phone for 4 weeks talking to other companies and brokers to find out what would pay the best and to get a feel for how they do business. If they are vague or won't answer my questions I move on. I'm jot appoint for a job, I'm interviewing a business partner. That's way I look at it at least. Oh ya, I fly in to Texas and will be visiting my short list of companies and people to make my final decision. People have a hard time not telling the whole truth when your sitting in front of them.

To all who decide to be an O/O good luck, it's hard and you'll wonder why sometimes, but after doing it for 15 plus years, I can do what I want when I want, take vacations when I want to, and when I turn 50 in about 4 years, I will retire with all my crap paid for. Even the hot rods and harleys.

 

I feel the same way about my job but having been an O/O once I can tell you that I would do whatever I could to deal with the BS everyday. Bringing your job home with you and staring at it sitting in the driveway needing grease or whatever else gets real old after awhile. Those things arent like the house projects that can be put off. Not to mention the benefits and health insurance which is a big thing especially if you have kids. I did well when I had my truck but that was also back when fuel was $1.30 a gallon. The rates dont seem much higher now than back then. Teamsters driving jobs are becoming few and far between. Good luck with whatever you decide to do but if your thinking of doing one of those lease purchase deals listen real closely to what people tell you here. I watched my brother in law loose his shirt big time with Trans Am and I warned him. He was real close to owning the truck to.