Nubee at 38

Good Luck Be Safe and Welcome to the forum

 

There is a thread pinned at the top of the page,...you might want to start by reading that...

 

Howdy, Paul.

First, let me preface this post by tellin' you that I am not now,
nor have I ever been an O/O or I/C (Independent Contractor)
leased to a Big truck truckin' company. I have, however, driven
for I/C's in the past, and bumped elbows with many. By doin' so,
I've learned that it's generally accepted that to make a small fortune
as an O/O, one needs to START with a large fortune.

That being said, NOW is not considered the best time for ANYone
to consider goin' that route, especially a person with limited,
or no, experience in the truckin' industry.
Many, if not most, truckin' companies require a few years experience
before they'll even consider hiring you as an O/O or I/C.
And there's a GOOD reason for that.

However, there ARE truckin' companies who prey on the stary-eyed
newBees by offering them a "good" deal on becoming their own boss.
And just about ALL of them are a road to disaster.
One such company to avoid at ALL costs is C.R. England.
And, from what I've read and heard, Prime is another one to avoid.

If I were you, I'd hire on as a company driver FIRST, to decide if truckin'
is really something you will be able to handle.
As a company driver, unless you've chosen a truckin' company's training program, you
can just walk away if you discover truckin' isn't a lifestyle that agrees
with you. There's MUCH more to truckin' than meets the eye. Drivin'
a Big truck is just the tip of the ice cube, and probably the easiest part.

There are many I/C's who went from bein' company drivers, to the
ranks of I/C, only to discover that they were makin' MORE money as
company drivers, with NOwhere near the headaches.
There's a reason why truckin' companies like I/C's, and it's because
they prefer to do without the headaches --- and would rather that the
I/C's pay for their pain killers, rather than the truckin' company.

If, after thouroughly researching owning your own Big truck, you're
still interested, I wish you good luck.
But, in my opinion, doin' so is a recipe for disaster, ESPECIALLY
now-a-daze with the economy goin' south, and freight drying up.
The larger truckin' companies have no problem under-bidding the
O/O's and I/C's by haulin' cheap freight. Not to mention the freight
brokers who take MORE than their fair share of an Independent's profits.
It's a cut-throat business, even for the MOST experienced folks.
Keep in mind --- if it SOUNDS too good to be true,
it probably IS.

 

Can't add much to what Shocky has said.......we started briefly( less than a year) as hired drivers for an O/O that had a fleet and they were leased to a small co's....we shortly became O/O leaed to the same small company then got our own authority and went back a few years later to being leased to a mid size company still O/O then a small company and now we are O/O with a larger company.......he steered ya right...its a tough world out here for sure.......