Question for owner op

My advice - be careful. Pay cash, and make sure you have a "bank" behind you....so, if you figure you need $30K to buy a truck, have an extra $30K to pay for plates, insurance, have money behind you in case you need repairs done right away. Also, if you do get your own authority, you may not get paid for a while, so, you need to have money for fuel and other small expenses along the way like tolls, fluids, etc.

There are PLENTY of companies who will let you lease your truck to them once you buy one...BUT...many need to see a few years exp OTR. Not sure your army experience will qualify.

Of course, there are LOTS of trucking companies you can go to work for, some will give you big bonuses to join them, usually, those are the ones you want to avoid! Of course, most of those will be OTR, you can count on being on the road at least 1 week at a time, maybe more.

If you want to be home more, OR, you don't just want to be a "number", you might be better served finding a small O/O you can trust to run for, or, go to work as a company driver for a non-trucking company! By that, what I mean is, be a company driver for a business that uses trucks as part of their overall business....not in the business of trucking. From my perspective, they don't run you near as hard, and, certainly, you can try to work your way up faster. Lots of places like hiring vets, may even get special tax incentives to do so.

I have been both a company driver and an O/O. I actually started out in corporate America....I have a 4 year degree in business. That is not to say you need a degree to own a trucking business, but, it helps to know how to run a business before you buy a truck. It also helps to know about trucking. Time and experience is the best teacher. Just as you have done here, don't be afraid or too "big-headed" to ask for advice.

As an O/O, moved up and had 5 trucks at one time, made tons of mistakes and went broke along the way. I quit trucking, sold everything, went back to corporate world only to find out, I HATE office environments, I am too quick to speak my mind, am NOT politically correct, do not play mind-games well, and, I loved trucking.

I got back into it as a company driver until I saved enough $ to buy another truck. It also helped me to learn what works and what doesn't. I did move up to 3 trucks again, but, once again, made some mistakes. The market has changed as well. Now, I am just an owner operator, and, probably will just stay that way. The problem is, hiring a reliable driver that won't tear up your equipment, piss off your customers and actually shows up for work is just so hard to find. Not saying it is impossible....just very very difficult. Hence, there is great opportunity for O/O's.

If you want to stay home, raise a family, in my opinion, there is nothing better than construction and/or heavy hauling. Learning how to be a heavy equipment operator helps too. As well, knowing how to fix trucks and do some welding. You can save yourself a lot of expense fixing your own.

I am hoping to go back to what I did my first go-around, hauling material....semi-dump. As well, heavy-haul, big equipment, like I said, helps if you know how to drive it, at least on and off your trailer. Not sure everyone will ALLOW you to do that, big outfits, probably not, but, they have the resources to have someone do that for you.

Good luck to you! And, thanks for your service to this country!

 

Hey, Army Guy! I just posted on your other thread before I read this one! I gave a bunch of advice but looks like you moved forward! I think you made a good move. You work for CBSL? Where at? I am about to join them. Maybe I'll see you around!!!

 

Yep, $80K gross would be a BAD year for an O/O, $80K net should be do-able just about anywhere you go, otherwise, why are you an O/O? Might as well drive someone else's and not have ANY of the worries! Some O/O's do much better, they also work harder, never home. Heavy haul can pay a LOT more, bigger risk, bigger reward.

 

This needs to be its own stickied thread...

 

Why? Seems like its the ordinary, run of the mill "ask a question and ignore all answers except for the one that you want to hear " thread. No need to sticky.

 

Lol. This is truth. But I meant Hursts post in particular. I see exactly the same questions asked a thousand times, with almost the same responses. Hurt hit the nail on the head. I know his and I'm not even an O/OO(which may not qualify me to even know that he did)! But I guess I need to remember that not everyone reads/listens first and asks questions later...

 

What exactly happened that having a paid for truck led you to still need 30k to maintain running? I'm assuming all while still getting paid for the current loads you are hauling? Major break down?

 

Nothing major, just bills and expenses. I'm a better to have and not need kind of guy.

After buying the truck and equipping the trailer I was leasing, I had less than $6k cash to my name. Then 1 week later the ecm in the truck failed while I was under a load. Not knowing any better I had the truck towed to the nearest Freightliner. 4 days later, $1200 tow bill, $5100 bill to Freightliner and $400 for hotel plus food, I was officially broke and on credit cards. Had bills due at home so I borrowed $20k to make sure I could cover all my bases.

Another example a few yrs later.

I had a company driver smash the hood on my truck. I was down for 6 weeks. No income for this period. I had $40k cash in the bank and believed that was a comfortable nest egg to cover any expenses.

Then 2 weeks after coming back out on the road, I over heated my engine and cracked the head. Since I was already at 1.1 million mi I decided an in frame would be the smart move. I was under a load when it happened and had to pay to have the load reloaded to another carrier and deivered.

During the course of the 6 weeks of downtime with out income. Then only 1 settlemeet from 3 short hauls. Then a series of miss haps during the inframe.. they got a used head to save me some money, only to have the headgasket and used head fail at the shop. Mean while with bills at home, covering expenses etc,.. I quickly went through $33k and I my truck was not even out of the shop yet. I had to run one of my carriers 9 axle rgns to maintain some income to prevent complete depletion of my bank account.

So the reality is $30k - $40k is really nothing in this business. What ever you believe is a comfortable cash nest egg to start with,... triple it. You may or may not need it. But it would be pretty stupid to buy a truck and blow through $40 - $50k only to end up bankrupt and unable to carry on due to unforseen circumstances.

Hurst

 

Thanks for sharing. Ya there's one thing that is universal in trucking and not debatable is that when it gets bad it can get a lot worst very fast. I'm Just refusing to venture out to O/O until i am able to pay cash for the truck. I had a 2012 prostar when i worked at Roehl and it was a very reliable truck and good on fuel so i think i will go with one of those. But of coarse all hell can break loose! Hope its all better now for you!!

 

What ever vehicle you choose you best know alot about it. Don't assume the ride you used in a company was a stellar vehicle. Do home work, find out the costs of repairs for your Ride you choose. Find out motor issues that your truck could have.
Example:
ISX -. EGR cooler. $$$$$
Detroit-. Gear train (just like timing belt in cars)
Cat: Head can crack if above 800k

Preventive maintenance is just that. You need to pick your poison. And rebuild it to your standards.

King pins , In frame,. Fifth wheel and tons of other items that you don't know how long it will last.
Not saying that having 50k in a bank would be awesome. But your starting slow and small. Don't get greedy, take your time pick your loads.carefully. You of all people don't have some no tailent 20yr old college dispatcher. If you can pay for diesel pay your insurance and put a few extra hundreds in an account. Be thankful. This is not an industry where you make millions in your first year.

I've scene a Taliban outfit buy( finance) 5 brand new trucks and new trailers. He went under in 6 months.

Take your time pay your basic stuff, find your truck loads , repair and replace parts on your truck. . You will make it, but not over night.