Let Me Know What You Think

Rollin Coal is spot on, you are setup to give it a go.

However, if you are making 60k (plus bennys im guessing) working local. I would do some serious thinking before I invested my savings into becoming an o/o. Especially if you don't want to be gone more than 2 or three nights a week.

It can be done, but its not easy. Rollin Coal will tell you that also.

 

Good for you. You have experience and money, you have conquered two of the main evils in this business.

Leasing on, I think is the best option. I am planning on doing the same thing. If you are not happy with the money, it is a good stepping stone to your authority.

I don't know about the southeast, but maybe you can haul containers to get started. That should get you home most nights of the week. Good luck.

 

Primetime only way you are going to bring home 2000-2500 being leased on to a company pulling vans as in SNI or Landstar will be to stay out a full week or more at a time. At 65% to the truck revenue on percentage with average rates assuming you control your deadhead miles which are unpaid on percentage with SNI your average rate will be in the 1.40 to 1.60 range by time you include ALL MILES. SNI will screw you constantly on empty searches before next customer will allow you to bobtail in. Under 51 miles is on you for free, this is above your planned deadhead. Run hard, pick good paying loads 1800-2300 will be the normal bring home, like being home on weekends, pick loads with this in mind 1000-1700 will be the normal NET. Landstar will pay you 72% on lease if you own your own trailer. That would give you a better chance to potentially achieve your NET goals combined with your wish to only be away 2-3 days. Still will be hard without spending time turning those wheels daily. Good luck with your ventures.

 

The key is being able to buy a decent truck to get you on the right track. Buying a used truck can be a crapshoot to a certain extent as I found out. You can be lucky and not incur many repair costs but on the flip side, repairs have the potential to hurt you. That's why fleets buy new and then sell them off around 500,000 miles. You're definitely on the right track my friend, but spend an extra amount of time looking and evaluating your truck purchase. It's good that you plan to lease on and then maybe get your own authority. Having that amount of $$ put aside for possible repairs will come in handy in the long run.
Good luck

 

I saw one truck a few months ago just looking around that to me was an AWESOME DEAL!!! It was a 99 though which most people want newer then that. It was a 1 owner and this thing looked like it was kept up very well both inside and out. The guy was retiring and had 150K on a Cat platinum OH with papers. Had I would say better then 50% on the tires which were Michelin Virgins all around, 18 speed, it was a 3406E set at 500, it was in an old 9300 IH with the nice eagle interior. Guy wanted 29K for it and it had in total IIRC 1.3 million on it and that came with all of his flatbed gear and a nice enclosed headache rack! The truck was well worth the money to me and the older trucks like that are getting harder and harder to find, especially ones that look to be taken care of to the extent in which that guy did.