Becoming an O/O at 22 with no prior trucking experience.

He has a flat 30k. That will be tough.

 

That'll shut you down right there in your tracks, truth!

 

Depending on what state you're in everything varies. California is not lenient at all. However, there is always a way to circumvent obstacles. There are few ways to be successful in trucking. First reason is you must know how to ride and back a truck. You will need to be proficient in driving and backing. Second reason is where are you getting your loads from? Do you have a back-haul? these questions will determine your options. You must have a good broker who you done a credit check on. Vice versa for a shipper. Third reason is equipment. What are you running? Is it a ####ty expensive truck from Arrow, or is it a truck you know the inside and out of? This will also tell you a lot. Fourth reason is and a one to consider the most. How is your finance? You need to have money and even more important than money is credit score. If you fail on any of my tip then drive for a small trucking company, not big companies like Swift, but a small 5-20 truck company. Drive for them then be their dispatcher for awhile.

 

You'll make a fortune, but only if you buy a brand new
Stretched out Pete with a shower in it.
Get all the options and chrome it all out,
The more chrome you got the more the load pays.

You should spend a least 150,000 on your new truck.
Anything less than that and your doomed for failure.
Your payments should at least 4 grand a month,
Anything less than that and you won't get any good loads.

The lease on with CRST for .90 cpm and watch the money
Roll in. You won't be able to count it all.

 

In my opinion, a driver makes more money driving somebody else's truck. The profit margin is so small, I'm not sure if it's worth it. It's tough for small companies and owner operators to compete with megacarriers. If I were going to start a business like this one, you would not only have to have good credit and a good down payment for a truck, but about $10-$20,000 in the bank. Most of the guys in this thread say a few months of being a company driver is necessary experience to become an owner operator. I would say 3 to 5 years minimum experience will be sufficient to learn the business and industry.

 

Can it be done? Yes. I did it at 18 just a few days after graduating high school. Intrastate cdl. But you are gonna have to get your own authority. No carrier will lease you on with no experience.

Now just because it can be done, doesnt mean it should be done. While there is still very good money to be made with a truck, it isn't the easy pickings it was in the 90s and I had the benefit of being in trucking my entire life. From working on them, to loading them to driving them.

In todays world, for a new guy with no real knowledge of trucking? Very bad idea.

 

I would almost guarantee there isn't a company driver in the world that makes weekday I would make if I stopped taking over six months a year off. The key is not competing with the megas.

 

Better to go to "college" on a scholarship than pay for it yourself. That being said, drive for someone and learn the ropes. You will make mistakes and you will also learn valuable lessons along the way. Put your money in some kind of interest earning account until you graduate from finishing school.

 

I think I'm going to go buy a brand new parachute and do some skydiving. The fact that that I have no experience isn't a problem is it? After all, I have until I hit the ground to figure it out don't I?

 

Insurance alone will shut you down as @Mike2633 said. Why in the hell would anyone go into this biz w/out any exp is beyond me. I grew up around this ####, Grandpa and dad were both O/O and I would never consider this w/o 1st getting a few yrs exp as a company driver. Gotta crawl before you walk