Starting my own

Sun group, in your business plan:

- What kind of trailers are you going to rent/buy and why? Dry van, reefer, flatbed, step deck, etc? You should get trailers that fit the needs of your customers, then hire drivers that are experienced hauling freight with that kind of trailer.

- How are you going to get your loads? Are you planning to go customer direct, or are you going to work off a load board with brokers?

- What is your expected operating cost per mile? Can you get freight at rates high enough to cover those costs and get a nice rate of return?

- What percentage of total miles are going to be deadhead miles? I'm assuming you are going to pay your drivers to deadhead to get the next load, that's going to cost you money.

- How are you planning to pay your drivers? By cpm, a percentage of load revenue, or by the hour?

 

Write a book ...

"How to make $100,000 quickly in trucking" ..........

 

You mean Ulif, Ivan and Emil, the 'ace card' he's holding? He's known them for 3 years. Probably even considers them as friends. The plan is to get a couple trucks and have Ulif, Ivan and Emil run the trucks. They're good drivers. Well, they say they are. They may even think they are. Are they? My money is on their being average on their best day.

Say for example, @ReeferOhio and I were friends who met through trucking. Reefer has a quarter mil to start a business. And I'm a driver. The only way I would consider going in with Reefer is if I had something to bring to the party. What's needed? Money and equipment, and land to build a HQ. The only way that I as a friend would go in a new venture with a friend is if I had one of the three. I'd want to have an investment in. Birds of a feather....

If Ulif, Ivan and Emil are planning to jump in with a friend and have nothing to bring, like a truck, they can't have the same feathers as OP. He has been diligent for 3 yrs wth his money. What have they been doing? If they've already talked about doing this, they should have by now, had something to bring to the table, right? At least 1 truck.

I may be mistaken, but it sounds to me like OP is the only one sticking his neck out. As a friend, I could not allow my buddy Reefer to be the only one with his neck on the line.

 

Can you even get insurance for a fleet of 3 trucks as a new entrant? If so, can you even afford the premium?

 

I am sure you will do fine. You have trucking experience and you have a good bank roll.

I would recommend buying new trucks from Lone Mountain. They have the advantage of both renting and paying cash. You get all the tax benefits without having to lay out the kind of cash a straight purchase means. You are looking to make a profit of 17% on your investment with a 5 year pay out. That would be the same time your warranties run out.

 

Ok here's my serious post. If you have the means to save up $250k, why would invest in trucking? Not knocking the industry but it seems to me to be a very poor investment decision. Unless you're looking to money launder....

 

But the scum get to pay those companies back if they do not stay the mandatory time. Generally 1 year.
Not sticking up for any of the guys that do it.just saying.

Hard to find good drivers these days tons come in thinking your just driving a truck how hard can it be.... within 6 months they are done.

Got my 69.5 hours in this week of just driving a truck it never gets easier .

Have tons of respect for you old school drivers, hell I have two GPS in my truck.
Dunno how the old school guys did it.

 

From what I mainly hear the old timers got it done with maps,written directions or from memory and a sack full of dimes to use the payphones. That and being a much tighter knit group of drivers

 

$250k you should BUY ONE TRUCK and BUY ONE TRAILER

 

Are you wondering yet why everyone seems so negative? There's a very steep learning curve in this business and the lessons are extremely expensive.
The things that Triple six mentioned made me laugh because I've actually seen all of them. They are very real and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
If you had seven years as an owner operator your chances would be much better. Right now, I'm not sure you can even imagine how many snakes there are in the grass, real tall grass.
Oh, trucks run on money. Lots of money and with three of them 250k can be gone in a flash leaving you wondering what the hell happened.
I'm curious if you have posted in the owner operators forum. There you would find more information about costs per mile, going rates and all those unexpected expenses that you never dreamed of.
Now, trucking can be profitable when done right. It takes a good business plan,steady freight that's profitable, good drivers, lots of luck and money, money, money.
How about this? Buy one good used truck and one good used trailer and see how it goes for three months. You will know by then if you can swim with the sharks or not. Good luck!