For those thinking about being a o/o

this is what I am getting at every time I post.

Take advice of others, listen to what they have to say and try not to make the same mistakes.

 

This post should be on a billboard somewhere. But will they listen? I didn't,,,

 

I would like to, maybe I will when or if I no loonger have a family to keep me at home

 

I see lots of new people buying trucks that don't even understand trucking
I got a friend that just bought 2013 peterbilt he's fresh out of the military with about a year having his CDL. He's had the truck for about 5 months in the whole time sitting in his driveway.
Instead of leasing on to a company he thinks he's magically going to get his own authority and just start raking in the big bucks.lol
I've only been driving for 3.5 years and had countless people I deliver to tell me I should get my own truck. I look at them and say are you stupid? Any truck I could afford would be pretty old and in the north you need garage and somebody who has a clue on how to work on it.
I've seen my boss take a truck to Kenworth and wind up with a $5,000 bill and they never fix the actual problem he brought it in for.
New people wanting to be owner operators two weeks after getting their CDL wake up, stop with the illusions of grandeur.
Being an owner operator, no thanks. it's much better to work for someone else get out of the truck at the end of the day and maintenance, insurance, and future bankruptcy being someone else's problem.

 

I want a truck, I want my name on that truck and I want to self dispatch. I think this all the time while seeing the Landstar captains drive by me. However, I pose a question to all...

Why am I driving this truck?
a. because trucks are awesome and I never grew up
b. for the net pay
c. because I like saying 10-4.

The answer is mostly B but A also. Owning a trucking company is extremely risky as well as time consuming. I am making respectable money as a company guy as long as I poke and prod dispatch to keep me moving so before I make the leap I have to be completely sure I'll nearly double the income without living in it or under it.
My $0.02

 

I was talking to a guy I know the other day. He's been a lease operator for many years now. I asked him if he knew what his monthly fixed cost of operation were. His answer was "NO".

That's not uncommon. Especially when it comes to variable costs. Takes a measure of discipline to keep accurate, up to date and honest accounting of one's operations.

It's easier for some to just hope that it's not as bad as it could be, or really is.

Not saying this is the OP situation...

I've seen the same thing when it comes to accurate rate per mile assessment. It's easy to ignore those pesky deadhead miles, hours of unpaid detention, etc.

Doing so can blind you to what is really happening until you wake up one day trying to figure out why you're not getting ahead.

 

I get it all the time from my brother..."buy your own truck, be your own boss". When I tell him about all the massive bills I see my company paying for roadside repairs, towing, dealer repairs etc, he comes back with links to some fluff article about hotshot operators raking in money hand over fist, because "those trucks are smaller and will have smaller costs". He just doesn't get it, seems to think that buying a truck is a route to riches.

The latest story he came with. Met a hotshot driver who told him he makes $60K a year after expenses. Wow a whole $60K...before taxes, health insurance and all the rest of it. This guy was bragging to my brother about how much he made...yup, almost as much money as a company driver who doesn't have any of the business ownership headaches.

Having my name on the door of a truck just never seemed to be worth it.