how to get rolling

I own 10 and drive.. Don't really have to but if I want stuff I have to.. ... Here is the deal if you are looking to get into trucking as a fleet owner to get out of work you are in the wrong line of work.... Good luck my friend... back 15 years ago I had all this down on paper and my dad said.. "the thing about paper is it rips"... How true that was.. I would say to comfortably sit at home 1 truck is enough.. You can go just as broke with it as you can with 100... and you don't have to put up with any drivers except your lazy ###

 

The problem is drivers ... for every 1 good driver you get... You get 5 crappy ones... As someone that has done it..and is still doing it .. it isn't worth it... I am either driving one or working on one and they are fairly new trucks... something always breaks drivers don't call and tell you when it does... it stinks.. like I said good luck.... you are better off being an Army of 1

 

Got to agree i have three started with one and back when it was just me i had weekends to go screw around but with three of them i dont get weekends or days off but i am always working on them now you want advise take it for what is worth get one truck run it for a few years make sure that is what you want to do make some friends with fleets see what they go through before you make the big jump into owning a fleet you have to learn to crawl before you can walk i would suggest 20,000 in your bank acct for the just in case it is not easy out here but good luck to you

 

The first thing you need to do is save and buy your first truck. The second thing you need to do is to drive for another company for at least 2-5 years to gain some experience. In fact, it would be better if you became a company driver and learned how to handle a big truck before buying your truck. Always have money set aside for emergencies. As you grow into a fleet owner, your greatest challenge will be in finding and keeping good drivers. There are a lot of steering wheel holders, but not nearly as many professional drivers. One problem you will have is your youth, if you plan on starting to build a fleet before you become more seasoned. I knew a young guy who bought a truck, leased it on to a major carrier and put an older driver with many years experience in the truck. He had problems from day one. I think one of the biggest problems was that he had no experience and his driver had many years experience and yet the young owner was telling the older driver how to do his job. It didn't work out with him with this carrier. I believe that he took his truck home and found a local driver to do short runs around his home. The guy was industrious and owned several other businesses. This is a different animal. You will go through a lot of drivers to find one good driver. Some may steal from you and abuse your equipment. It is the nature of this business. You can build a fleet of trucks. The more trucks and drivers you have the more challenging it will be for a variety of reasons. You should be careful about obligating yourself to buying equipment. You need to prepare for some of those trucks to sit for weeks or months without a driver. Turnover in this industry is very high. Even if you treat driver fairly and pay them well, you will still have some who will not take care of your equipment and they will move to the next carrier for a penny a mile increase in pay. Any of us who have owned trucks and dealt with drivers could share some real horror stories. There are good drivers around, but many want to go with the big fleets where they can get the added benefits that a smaller carrier cannot afford. There is no magic formula for success in this business. We all find our niche'.

If you want to build a fleet of trucks, you first need to learn this business and gain as much experience as possible. There is much to learn. It is a simple business with complex issues. As a fleet owner, you will need to stay up on the latest regulations to keep your drivers compliant. There is additional paperwork. Running a trucking company is very time consuming and you are on call 24/7. Become a company driver, gain some experience and then buy your first truck, preferably with cash. See how you really like this industry. Many come into the business with many misconceptions only to leave within a few months. You will find it very difficult to get insurance until you are at least 23 years old. Most of us tend to be full of energy and not patient when it comes to dealing with the day to day operations. I would encourage you to at least take some business courses at a local college. You would do well to get your degree before starting out on your great adventure. You can't do much until you are 23 anyway. You may as well get a good education. You can still work and save your money. Most colleges offer night classes and many offer online classes. Be careful to not grow your business to rapidly. Whatever you think it will cost to start and run your business, it will be too low. I would add at least 1/3 more to your estimated costs than you expect.

You can make money with one truck. You may be able to make money with multiple trucks. As to how many trucks you need to own before being able to come out of the truck, that is a tricky question and will depend on a number of factors. The type of freight you haul and rates you get will be a major factor as well as the quality of your drivers. You also need to decide whether you want to be a fleetowner who leases their equipment to another carrier or if you will get your own authority and operate under your own MC number. Working for another company will give you an opportunity to learn and talk with others who may have done what you wish to do. Remember, all businesses run in cycles. You will have your ups and downs. Perseverance is critical to being successful in any business. If you are persistent you can be successful. Don't be afraid of changing directions if your plan doesn't work as you expect.

 

It's illegal to own a trucking company unless you have enough trucks and enough profit to justify getting workman's comp for your employees.

If you don't have enough revenue coming in to pay the astronomical prices of W.C. then you'd have to resort to paying your drivers on a 1099 which is illegal...although many do that. You have to have enough employees to justify the price, which would involve you having to have about 50 trucks. But then once you hit 50 employees, you have to pay Obamacare for them all, which would mean you couldn't afford to be in business. So I think your best bet is to just have a truck for yourself and shoot for $100k a year profit, which isn't the easiest thing to do with a dry van. You'd have to get your own authority and then you could make a little more than that.

That's what I've learned in the past year.

 

There are ways around workers comp that are legal you just have to learn them but I agree one truck your own dot and authority to see what keeping all your own paperwork is all bout and get through your first audit then go from there

 

You'll make more $$ operating heavy equipment at union rates.

What about a fleet of hoes, dozers, a dump or two and a lowboy?

In trucking you are competing with some of the dumbest people on earth and there's always two more to replace the one who just went bankrupt.

 

Not all states require workers comp. It usually depends on the number of employees. You may also be able to get an occupational accident policy that is much cheaper than workers comp and does pretty much the same thing as workers comp. The cost of workers comp can vary from one state to another. It is not illegal to not have workers comp nor is it illegal to pay on a 1099. The IRS has guidelines, but they cannot write laws. In order for something to be illegal, there must be a statute. No statute, no law and it isn't illegal.

There are additional costs when you have employees that an individual owner does not have to pay. Some can make more with a single truck than buying several trucks and hiring drivers.