If You're An Owner/Operator Do You Work Where And As Much As You Want To Work?

Its the deal where you WORK to GENERATE income for both you and the company you work for.

Some O/O's get picky and find themselves out of work , know 1 that took an extra long vacation and when he came home the plates and decals were removed from his tractor as the company had loads and he was not available to haul them.

Now if your an O/O with your own authority its a different deal.

 

Again depends on the deal , most places just because your an O/O makes no difference over that of a company driver , the company uses your tractor ( dispatch wise ) as if it was theirs and you fight for the miles.

 

Its not really like that. The area im from has freight locally but Im more profitable doing what I am doing. I work for an all O/O company and stay mostly on the west side of the states. What drives me is what makes the bestprofit for me and sitting at home all the time being super picky isnt where its at. I have a TWIC and HAZMAT, TANKERS, TRIPLES endorsements plus Im Canadian legal. I am presented with loads and I can choose them or not but I stay out about a month or so at a time and keep my eye on the prize. I want to retire one day so my priorities are a little different. A family man (I have a wife and she comes along sometimes) with his priorities on family shouldnt be in OTR in my opinion.

 

Whether you run under your own authority or lease to another carrier, you will still need to find freight that will get your home. Unless you get very lucky, I think you will find it difficult to get home a couple of times per week. If you want to make money in this business you need to follow the freight. I didn't notice where you live, but there are some areas of the country where it might be more feasible to get home a couple of times a week. It is not the norm. Even running your own authority you may find it difficult to get home a couple of times a week. In fact, you may find it difficult to get home once each week. Most stay out 2-3 weeks at a time. I have one friend who manages to get home a couple of times a week leased to a carrier, but he is the exception. It will be easier to get home if you lease to a carrier that pays percentage, such as Landstar, that only has owner operators. If you lease to a carrier that pays mileage it may be more difficult to get home as frequently since they usually pay for all miles driven and are mostly forced dispatch. Agent based carriers, like Landstar, are non forced dispatch so you can run as hard as you want. You can also sit at home, but will need to cover your costs with them in order to remain active.

 

Ditto what G/Man said. I follow the freight and get the bills paid and sit for a week when im at home. Lots of O/O's try to find that perfect gig where they can be home and pay the bills but they are the lucky few and not the majority.

 

In this business you will sacrifice home time to make money or if you want to be home more then you will sacrifice income. It is very difficult to have both.

 

Its not really like that

The OP wanted to know if possible to be home more as an O/O, I responded in a generalized reply , yet you sort of cut my response down , then state you stay out a MONTH or so at a time.