When do you know for sure you ready to become an O/O??

You have to be confident it is what you really, really want (STAY COMPANY DRIVER FOR A FEW YEARS!!!!!!!!!), then figure out how you can increase your own income/usage of your time to better fit your situation. A new truck with large payments is a very good way to lose it all, if you don't know what you are doing with said new truck.

 

Good luck getting insurance without much experience.

Me personally.. I want to be an owner operator and run under my own authority.
Be my own boss, run when I want and where I want.
Yes I know it's more responsibility but it'll be more motivating than to be making a company money off of me.

I want at least two years experience go learn as much as I can.
Although I won't have enough money saved up by then to do what I want.
Whatever you do don't start unless you've got money in your bank, as in to keep you running and paying your bills to cover you for a good couple months before the checks come in.

 

I am not an O/O but this summer I will be. I'm saving up the last of my money and should be ready to go by August/September. If you do not know "trucking" and have only been around it since you got your license, wait a while and learn. I have been around this industry my entire life and there is still PLENTY I dont know about trucking or owning one. I invite you to sit down and read everything that is required. Your tag/IFTA/IRP/insurance/taxes/etc. When you can understand all of it and it makes sense, and you have an idea what it will cost you to run a truck (with the specs included) per mile including your fuel/maint/ins/etc., then you are halfway there. I have been researching and reading for the past year and I still don't feel quite ready.

At the very least, be prepared to have, AT THE VERY LEAST, 10% - 20% down on your truck and trailer, enough money to pay for your fuel for a month, enough money in the bank in case you have a major break down before you start making money, and pay your insurance for the 1st 3 months up front. If you are like me (25 years old, no tickets, no wrecks) it is still very expensive for insurance. This website helped me a lot in looking at costs http://therealdealtrucking.com/authoritystartup.html . It would probably help if you got this thread moved to the Owner Operator sections.

 

I've told my story in these pages before, but I share it once again. before I even got my first driving job I was already planning my way to becoming a O/O. I drove 26 months for my training company before I went out on my own back in April, 2010.

I had managed to save 10k in my Comdata acct. when I had quit, I quickly ran thru 7k getting the Truck,Trailer, and Authority. I ran low on capitol and took a small loan from a friend to get over the hump, I paid for my fuel and waited for my invoice payment's which most were 30 days plus. I got my loads thru G/L load board and built up a broker contact's everything rolled along till Nov. 2012 got angry at the rates leaving Florida and decided to try something different, so I pulled container's out of the local port. that was a slow death so I moved onto a independent driving job using their truck for the past year and I'm preparing to put my truck on w/ him under his Authority, the load rates he gets are good and the percentage he will get is fair so less paperwork hassle for me.
I hope you find my short history informing and helpful.

 

O! you just got your license ?

 

Normally i would'nt recommend it without a little experience but if its something you really want to do and have some money saved up, companies that run local intermodal like Roadone require 1 year of experience but from what ive heard, they'll take a chance on anyone as long as you have your own day cab. They probably have ads on craigslist for your area. If you really dont want to work for a company first, trying something like seems like a more plausible route to take since you wont need your own operating authority or your own trailer. Im not sure how the insurance works though.

Intermodal is probably the only route to take if you want to work locally as an O'O. Local freight is mostly LTL and that ground is covered by the numerous P&D company day cabs you pass on the highway. Of course thats dry goods. If your looking to pull tankers, flat beds or dumps locally, thats a whole different animal.

And before you even take any of this into consideration, put the thought of owning a brand new truck out of your mind forever, a truck payment is the last thing you want.

 

When you're a company driver, you have a driver manager that does a lot for you. They hold your hand, set appointments for you, ride your arse when you start slacking, make the important decisions for you, schedule hometime for you and tell you how long you can stay and when you can leave.

so, you have drivers who want to be owner ops because they don't want anyone telling them what to do and when they can go home. So they believe that they can start slacking and still make money. Doesn't work. Not even for an owner OP. You don't go home until the bills are paid. All of the bills.

The drivers that are struggling are just waking up when I call at 0900. The drivers that make money are always up at 0500. Always. Don't even have to set an alarm click. You have to be a self starter. Hustle 24/7.

Had a driver call me asking about a Florida permit for an oversized and running on the weekend. After I told him the answer, he suddenly didn't have much time to chat, "hey thank, talk to you later!"

Waitaminute, Hole! When are you going to deliver that load?

"Well, they put on the Qualcomm to deliver Tuesday (it's Friday night, total trip is 900 miles.). We are going to run in and deliver Tuesday."

Did you call the site rep and tell them you were coming?

" Well no."

If I were you, I would leave out first light Saturday, hammer down boogity boogity, you should be at the site Sunday afternoon, unload first thing Monday. Worse case scenario, you get a 34.

"Well, my buddy John Smith says that they won't take us early, so we're going to take our time and relax."

If your buddy John Smith knows so much, why are you calling me asking about OSOW permits? (And I hung up)

That Monday morning, this driver calls me back saying to me those three words that I hate the most.

"Hey man, YOU WERE RIGHT. Called the site rep and he told me that if we could get in first thing Monday, he would unload us. We are still to far out to make it today."

(I hang up the phone. How can anyone expect to be a successful owner operators their natural disposition is to be a slacker? You're going to go broke.)