Picking my own freight baby! My journey to & of being on Schneider choice, the Adventure & Numbers!

Yup that's the way to be... Trucking only gets fun when all your equipment is paid off.. I only have 11 months left thank God lol... You can actually enjoy life stress free at that point

 

Low to no truck payment, pretty much any program works.

 

But, you must always hold back the amount you would be paying as if you had a truck payment, or the amount you would be paying if you bought a more expensive truck.

I have seen more than one o/o go broke relying on the weekly income they got, not banking on the eventual breakdowns, tags, taxes, repairs, tires, and newer truck when the repair is worth more than the truck.

I leased to one company that asked me to run loads that I knew sounded good, but in actual miles, I paid them to run it. They had a regular driver on it. I told them to wait until a breakdown or tag time, and they would be out. Sure enough, tag time came, the truck broke down, and the tires were slick. I was in the office when he called in and said he was broke, and was parking his truck.

The terminal manager said I was right, that load didn't pay enough to keep him going. I happened to be in the office when that happened. I was turning in my lease and permits. I had sold my truck for quite a bit more than I had paid for it, and was happy to be gone.

 

I just had platinum overhaul done a month ago. Cost me $23800, I financed it through Cat for 2.9% for 3 years. I finance all the 23800, could had put money down. I decided not too since it was a low interest rate. Also I have a 4 yr warranty with 0 deductible. I knew a year ago I would be needing a inframe done. It's all about having a back up plan, whether you have a new or old. People forget a truck is just a work tool.no more no less

 

Basically what everyone seems to be saying is it takes planning to be successful.
Save your money,run smart and do your maintenance.
Getting into a truck with no money in the bank is a recipe for disaster.
New or used you can make it here.

 

So you have a truck payment again..in the neighborhood of $690/month.
That's $8300/year to your maintenance before anything else(oil changes,tires etc)
Low but a payment none the less.
4 year warranty is a nice though.
But somewhere down the road there COULD be another component to repair or replace.
So that's money you have to take in to consideration when booking loads.

Yes it's still lower than a lease or new truck purchase..but with no warranty on the anything other than the engine..you're taking a chance of spending as much money as one of us.

Just something to think about.

 

I'll take 690 a month anyday over a 4 figure payment.. That's a no brainer... If it could do it all over again I would've went used but I didn't.. But I'll never buy another be truck again... That's for the birds... The one thing I learned is you dont have to have the 2400/month truck to make money.. That old freightliner Columbia will make the same as the new Cascadia if not more....

 

It comes down to this... owner operator takes care of their truck by properly maintaining it the truck will take care of them in return... simply comes down to how you maintain your truck...