Realistic advice needed

I think the OP's questions are good, but way too broad for us to handle here.

What she didn't ask, and what I think is the most important issue for a single truck operator, is RISK.

I bought a 5 year old truck in 2006 with a little over a half million miles. Ran it on the dyno, tested out great. Three months later, it needed an inframe. $16K down the drain, plus almost three weeks down time.

What if I had had another glitch of some sort? Rear ended at a stoplight, an appendix operation, paperwork glitch at the insurance company, a big freight claim?

As a single truck operator, averages are good to look at, but Murphy is alive and well on the road, and worst case scenarios do happen, and more often to inexperienced operators. Manage your risk before going ahead.

 

My opinion is you have to go all the way or do nothing.
Either go independent or stay as a company driver.
Owning a truck and leasing it on with someone else is the worst of both worlds.
"But why you ask? I own my own truck, and run my own business."
No, in that scenario you really don't. If you are forced to pull any load your "dispatcher" comes up with HE runs your business. Sure you can say no. But if you do that too often we all know what happens.

In almost any business be it trucking, farming, construction, or what have you. You can break it down and figure the bottom 25% are loosing money and on the way out. The middle 50% are breaking even and barely staying profitable. And the top 25% are consistently making money and expanding their operation. Its just the way capitalism works.

What are you going to bring to put you in the top 25%?
Because right now they are breaking even.

When the next upturn comes everybody will make money again, even them that got in with no skills but hope and a prayer. Its just a normal cycle. As soon as the bottom guys are forced out capacity will shrink and if the economy ever decides to pick up, on we go to the next upswing. Hopefully sooner than later.

Everybody is always concerned with costs.
I need 9.75 Mpg, So I bought a plastic, 300hp, 9 speed, super single, Ex Schneider cdl testing truck for cheap. Got beat to *** by every new grad Schneider had in 2015. But its a 2013 so its better than them old fuel guzzler Pete's and Kw's.
Here's a news flash. Most of us guys with the old polished up trucks got the good freight, we don't care what our all important fuel mileage is. And we keep em running on our own vs paying a 18 yr old "Tec" $100 an hour to learn.

My beady capitalist brain thinks its better to work on increasing your Income vs saving pennies per mile on cost.
If you got what it takes go it on your own. Plan your attack and then execute it. Your customers are everything. There is no secret here.
I started with a $1,600 dollar truck and a $2,500 dollar trailer. That's hundred not thousand. And moved up from there.
Good luck whatever you do.

 

I won't beat around the bush, here is my advice for you.

I would not worry about heavyhaul, look into flatbed and stick to that for a bit.

To me this is a better option than going on your own. Getting an authority sounds like it is great, make more money and all of that crap but I make just as much as my friends do with their authority.

That all depends on a lot of different things but there are different ways to measure it too, I look at monthly performance opposed to weekly, many use weekly and worry too much.

Why worry about that?

AND you are NOT a 1099 sp, you are either a sp or a 1099 contractor. SO here is the rub, I would look seriously into a corp, I have a C-Corp and it saves me on taxes.

I won't post my gross or my net, but if done right, your net can be about $60 to $80k.

Your net would be 35% or less, don't worry about that right now.

Yes.

OK if you are liquid at $115k, then I would look for something in the $60 or $70k range because you want dependability and longevity. I would finance it, mainly because you can keep the bulk of your money working for you in something else. I would also put aside $30k for maintenance and replace that when you build up the fund with the per mile rate which you will end up with the $30k back into the $115k and have the funds there for maintaince.

I would use an accountant and also get a lawyer to go over things with you. form a business entity, and plan on looking for deductions.

I have my drivers send in their receipts but I am trying out using a Neat scanner so everything is put into the computer with 24 hours and it is emailed to me so I can pass it onto my accountant. The receipts are still sent to me but now I don't have to deal with going through each one.
You want to make it easy and track everything.

Yes a couple things.

First is buying a truck is not like buying a car. People act as if I'm crazy but I tell everyone to get an OA, to get a dyno done, and get a fill ECM dump. I can't understand how people can think this isn't important. each of those tell you the condition of the truck, and there is more that can be done but this is just the basics.

The second thing is look for a company you can work with when it comes to finding your own loads. When you are stuck somewhere, having the company accept something you find can help you out.

Money is money, haul what you can to make a dime.

 

Run for the hills! Stay company as long as you can...or buy a truck outright with no payments otherwise in this recession you will lose everything and then some!
Signed-wife of a 6 year O/O...

 

All bad advice . Use credit lines . Invest your cash . If you don't have cash use all credit . Put your nose down grind it out fear nothing . Screw working for anyone . Screw ' safe '

 

I have several years of numbers that show being leased on to a company is not a bad thing. Much, much better than a company driver and better than a lot of o/o with their own authority. One size shoe does not fit everyone.
And I do drive an old polished up paid for rig and also have a driver leased to the same company in a new truck.

 

I agree that every situation is different. I was trying to get across to the flat rate lease crowd.
It seems the mentality anymore is you need a new state of the art fuel efficient truck and run 150,000 miles a year on a flat $1.25 mile lease. If that's the only option of owning your own truck what's the point.
If I didn't have other Irons in the fire I would have probably leased with a Landstar or Mercer like operation. A pick your own loads type operation.

 

Its what I do and I am doing very well.

You make your deal coming in the door. I think its naive for someone to believe a carrier is not going to try to take advantage. Know what you are signing and dont sign anything that you dont understand.


Hurst

 

I am a really big fan of people owning the equipment they drive and operate, and I started out with even less experience. I have never been a company driver. I started with a truck and trailer that I paid $25000 cash for. With all of that being said, the way things are going right now I would hold off for a while. We are still doing pretty good, but things have definitely been better. A lot of the big bottom feeder companies will probably let him lease onto them but a lot of the smaller companies will require 2 years exp. ( gotta love insurance companies) Especially doing heavy haul.

 

We're O/O. We gross about 150k a year. Truck/trailer payments are roughly $1500 a month. That's our truck and our bank, after he's been in the biz for 25 years. We're gonna buy a new trailer and lower our payments.

We pay $125 a month in insurance. There's no way in Hell, you can do that!

My husband takes off 3 weeks, sometimes. Three months? No way. I knew guys and my father did it. We haven't.

First couple of years, our taxes were easy. These days? Not so much.

You will never find exact answers to your questions. We've been O/O for years. We own a truck and currently gross $150k a year. A couple of years ago, our fuel bill exceeded $75,000. Repairs were costly, as well. Our current truck payment is about $1500. Who knows what your truck payments would look like?

Our house payment is $292 + utilities. It will be paid off in 2 years.

I can't tell you what to do, who to run with, or anything. There's no EZ mode in this game.