New O/O

You could pm BigBadBill. You want to lease to a company and learn the ropes booking loadboard freight his company would be a good start. Not any hand holding and fair warning, you'll need to be a quick study cause loadboards are brutal, especially so it seems this year. Maybe your uncles contacts give you a slight leg up but you're still going to have to learn a lot on your own. The only big red flag I see here is your military trucking experience + your 8 months with a mega - you really don't know jack about freight, much less free market stuff. Greenest of the green. Things I took for granted that I knew when I started picking freight off the loadboards, the 9 years in a company seat, you just can't put a price on that experience and you don't even know what you know really until you jump in a realize - the "oh yeah" moments. You also aren't going to get that experience on a message forum or in a book. Yeah, you can learn it as an owner right from the start, it ain't gonna come quick and easy though... ..disclamer, I'm leased to BBB's company. You can do as well or bad as what you put into it.. Maybe you'd be better off at JB for $1.65 avg, or maybe you have a knack for this thing and can do much better???

 

Michael, I did a search on several owner operator trucking jobs websites. http://www.owneroperatorjob.com/ http://www.bigrigowner.com/ and a few others. It seems that most of the big companies require a year of verifiable OTR, some required 8 months and a few had a minimum of 6 months. The only other problem was year model of truck. Some say 5 years, some 7 years and some 8 years. JB Hunt says:
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[TD][h=3]Tractor Specifications[/h][/TD]
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  [TD]No year model restrictions[/TD]
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  [TD]Pass initial DOT inspection and semi-annually, following (paid by JBHT)[/TD]
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  [TD]Weight less than 20,000 lbs, fueled and occupied
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  [TD]Fifth wheel measurement of 47.5" or less[/TD]
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  I did not see on their owner op page what the requirement for experience was..here's a link to the webpage https://www.jbhunt.com/jobs/driver/driving_opportunities/owner_operator/
  
  I know this process can be frustrating but it seems that most carriers you could possibly qualify for end up disqualifying you for something else. Experience and/or age of tractor. Maybe you could find a local or regional job that has less restrictions on experience and age of tractor. The only other ways I see for you to break into the industry are (a) obtain your own authority or (b) work as a company driver until you meet the hiring criteria of the carriers that you want to be an owner op for.
  
  I know a lot of us have posted things that you viewed as negative or off topic. Most of us have probably wondered if you have that much support, experience and info from home, why haven't they discussed all of this info with you before the truck was even purchased. I don't think the people on here were trying to bad mouth you at all. I think they are probably the ones like myself, that have been out here for a long time, know the industry well and based on your scenario were worried about the investment and path you were taking. Check out those websites and read the qualifications for all the carriers and maybe you will find one that is willing to sign you on. I wish you the best of luck!

 

Sorry man. You live too far from me to give you any small company leads to lease on to. Mine would be a good one, but I'm home daily and we haul multi axle loads of iron.

 

Well, I will throw my 2 cents into the ring. Yes, you did jump the gun, but you bought the truck and now need to decide what you want to do with it. Most carriers require at least 6 months experience. I would advise you against getting your own authority at this point. If CRST Malone will accept you then that is the route I would take. They are based out of Alabama and have a lot of freight out of Birmingham and other areas in the state. They have a good average for rates. You can rent one of their trailers, if you can't buy on on your own. In fact, I would encourage you to rent one of their trailers until you see whether you want to pull flats or not. While you pull their trailer, you can see if you can work with their system. They will also finance your base plates and permits and securement equipment, if you can't afford it.

I leased to CRST Malone for about 3 years. I did well while leased to them. I don't know if you can stay in the southeast, but living where you do, it should not be a problem getting home on a regular basis. Things have changed somewhat since I was there, but they will teach you how to tarp and secure a load on a flat bed. While you are earning money, you are gaining experience. I mostly dispatched myself when I was there, but they did have dispatchers assigned. You should find plenty of freight if you run Chicago, Pittsburgh to Atlanta or Birmingham. That is their primary freight area. Sy ttaying in that area will enable you to get by the house regularly.

It makes more sense to me for you to lease to a carrier and get more experience before getting your own authority. Many people do well leased to a carrier. Universal Am Can, Mason Dixon and Landstar are a few other companies that are owner operator and agent based, but I believe they require more experience. Regardless of whom you decide to lease, you should plan on a learning curve of at least 6 months to get a feel of how the carrier works and to learn their system. Malone recently decided to require all their owner operators to install elogs in their trucks. They have a sign on bonus and deduct the cost of the unit from the sign on.

Once you get a couple of solid years experience, you can go anywhere you wish. You may find that you like CRST Malone and want to stay. I have known some owner operators who have been with them for more than 16 years. When I was there, they did offer insurance and a retirement program that you can get into, but neither were very good, as I recall. Remember, when you own the truck you are no longer an employee. You are a businessman and it is up to you to find your own insurance and set up your own retirement program.

 

If you have researced this for months then you should know to get your own authority. You should listen to the advice you are getting from people on the forum. Nobody is trying to rain in your parade, but rather just trying to steer you in the right direction. One plus you have going for you in my opinion is your location. Should be no problem moving freight around especially if you just go off load boards. As for your truck you will put money into it. First truck I bought had 440,000 miles. Had it all checked out and all was good. Ended up dumping $20,000 into it in the first year. Most of that was not engine related. Truck can be fine one day and then the next day your dumping $1000 into it. Don't let that detour you, just know how to handle it. Research, reasearch, and research some more. You can make it in this industry. Good luck

 

Progressive is great insurance but a lil high. Sounds like jb hunt. If you know pf any other power only fleets please please let me know. Thanks

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