Lots of input requested about becoming O/O

Hello,

I would greatly appreciate hearing from any O/O's and getting some help.

My husband has been a driver for 4 1/2 years and is now thinking of becoming an O/O with him doing the driving and me (wife) doing the bookwork. He would like to buy a truck and lease it to a company in the Harrisburg, PA area or Greenville, SC area.

Problem is.......we don't have any idea how to go about doing this. O/O's that he has tried talking to don't seem too willing to share the "how-to's".

We have a lot of questions---

Are the requirements for becoming an O/O the same as for becoming a company driver (pass physical, age requirements, MVR/DAC, attend orientation, etc)? Would my husband have to provide this info or would the company he leased on with do it?

Would myhusband have to take any runs they gve him or would he have at least some choice about it?

What criteria do companies use in hiring an O/O?

Are there any additional liceneses / tests required? Would the company get those, or my husand? Would he have to get anything from the state/county/etc in order to own his own truck and lease it out?

What are the main "danger signs" to look for when looking for a company to lease his truck to?

Anything anyone wants to add to our idea of becoming O/O would be helpful for us to make this decision.

Thanks!
lew

 

Do you have a business plan written ???

 

Broncrider has a thread that is a must read.

At least the first 200 pages is a must read.

 

Read all of this first then begin to ask more specific questions. You'll get plenty of input from everyone here. Best of luck.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...-operator/13608-so-you-want-own-your-own.html

 

Thanks for the quick responses so far. I'm sure you will quickly realize how new I am to all this so please bear with me.

Where do I find this thread by "Broncrider"?

I did a fast read-through to the article mentioned and it seemed to me that it was for truckers who want to own their own cab "and" trailer. Is that correct?

My husband wants to buy a cab and lease on with a company hauling their trailers. Do all the same regulations and suggestions in that article apply to this situation?

What does he need to do to get just the cab (I think that is what it is called)? No trailer. He does not want to get his "authority"(????) and be totally independent.

Thanks.

 

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...er-operator/20752-here-we-go-finally-o-o.html

 

The information is most all still the same except getting his own authority and cargo ins. Some companys offer plates (that you pay for through deductions) and insurance available through them. He can't just buy a truck and say "OK I'm ready to go". Everything in that article has to be covered. He still needs DOT, Bobtail ins. and plates. He may need trailer ins. to cover the trailer he is pulling. He may have to rent/lease the trailer he is using. There are as many variables on what a company offers as there are companies.

Unless he hasn't discussed it with you and you are doing your own curiosity research, If he has been driving for 4 1/2 years he should know this already. If he doesn't at least know this much then he is destined to fail. You don't just own your truck and make more money. You are starting a business partnership where you will be financially responsible for many of the things that he does not have to concern himself with at present. During the time as a company driver he should have been running his truck as though he owned it. IE- He needs to calculate a CPM {cost per mile} OOIDA has a worksheet on that. Keeping records of fuel consumption, repairs, maintenace, tires, deadhead miles, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.,...theres alot of "etc." in owning your own truck.

Not to rain on your parade but unless he has done this to determine his costs of owning his own truck I would have to say he is not ready. Spend the next 6 mo to 1 yr learning all of these things and so much more. Keep reading, keep asking questions. Most of thhe questions you will have are already answered on this forum. Read everything posted on this sight and you will get most if not all of your answers. http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/ask-an-owner-operator/

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/trucking-industry-regulations/

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/questions-from-new-drivers/

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/experienced-truckers-advice/

Get a booklet, write down your questions and begin scanning the posts. Read the ones that answer the questions you currently have and write down the questions you come up with as your reading the posts. When you have read most everything posted in the above threads then ask the questions that somehow have not been asked yet.
Sorry but there is no short answer to your request. Owning your own truck is alot of work and it starts with alot of reading.

 

You dont want to lease on to a company and pull their trailers, 99% of the time you wont net more money than a company driver.

First and foremost he will need to get a FEIN (federal employer identification number) before he or the company can get you a license plate, if they give you the plate then right there im sure you wont be making the big bucks as a lot of companies that "give" a lot to O/Os wont pay them crap. A truck tag can run anywhere from $1700-2500 depending on state per year.

Then you have to worry about the yearly 2290, heavy highway use tax, its $550 per year, and he must pay it or he will not be able to get tags.

If he leases on he has to figure on paying bobtail and physical damage insurance, depending on truck it can run anywhere from $90-250 per month.

Im sure the company will take care of quarterly IFTA reporting, but ask who pays it.

These are just some of the things you have to deal with, then you have truck maintnance, tires, brakes, break downs, etc. If he is not mechanically inclined and cant fix minor stuff then that is a sure fail.

A big outfit wont pay more than 90cpm plus fuel surcharge, honestly after you pay all your monthly truck dos you wont net more than a company driver.

They only way you can actually make money these days is if he decides on what he wants to haul and buy a trailer, lease it to some small time company and run based on flat rate per load and not millage.

 

Wow, that sounds pretty ominous!!! Are things really that bad now for O/O's? Or has it always been that way? Wow.

I appreciate all the responses and any more to come. I am reading everything mentioned as I have time.

What about being a driver for an O/O? Has anyone done that? Is that any better than being an O/O or company driver? What are the perils involved in it?

We are just trying to find our way and figure out what to do.

Thanks!

 

Working FOR an OO your still just a company driver, often with less benefits since your just driving a truck he doesn't want too but still expects to pay his bills with. Once the OO has paid all the exspenses for operations and paid a driver theres not much left. Therefore you'd get a paycheck (maybe)and thats about it.