Obtaining Class A CDL

I've learned from this forum it will pay off to get at least a cdl for a minimum a dually and 40 footer. Especially as an o.o it shows professionalism and that your serious about your business. My thinking has evolved from non cdl to that a cdl is a must have for hotshot. It gives you room for expanding the business.

 

Went back and read it all, maybe I missed it but didn't see anyone saying it couldn't be done.
If you are not and have not been in the business, some things are hard to comprehend and it applies to all truckers not just hotshot guys, but I am willing to bet that 2 out of every three new first time oo's goes belly up in the first 2 years, there is a lot to learn and some folks drive all their life and still can not do it.

Earlier I mentioned why I would not use a wedge if It was me, now this is just my 2 cents and worth exactly what it is costing you.
I used to have a fairly lucrative deal hauling all manner of trailers from several states down south to up here in alaska, enough to pretty much keep me busy, but other truckers would think I was getting rich and drop the rates, so I would be down some on freight, until their truck was repoed one in particular three times. lol or they would damage the trailers, pretty regular occurance for guys running the Alcan with the frost heaves.
One other long time OO who struggled seemed like all the time, made a deal with another trailer sales outfit who tried running their own truck (didn't work for them) to use their wedge trailer and since they were furnishing the trailer he would haul them out of Idaho for 6 grand a load. I had known this guy for several years and at least he did live within a few miles of where he would be loading the trailers, anyway I told him he could not make it work. Well he sure could, his truck was paid for and no trailer cost and he could use it cost free for back hauls, so I said go for it, no skin off my back, just hate to see you lose your backside.
He could not get any back hauls other than an occasional car on that wedge trailer, not that there are many backhauls out of Alaska anyway, but he was extremely limited and couldn't get one if it was available. Reefers would haul cars out of here cheaper than what the fuel cost, and there are a bunch of them going out empty every week, so they paid nearly nothing..
It did not take long, before he needed to borrow money to get home, working steadily and with paid off equipment. This particular guy had been doing this for many years, he is not with us anymore, RIP, I liked the guy but he never learned what it took to succeed and struggled through life.

The same guy decided to come up and work, he used to run the road years ago, well he made a deal to haul some trailers up in his reefer, Iirc for 1500 bucks just to cover fuel, they bounced around and damaged everyone pretty bad, tore the doors up on his trailer and worked part way out, dead of winter and bitter cold, he tried to get them back in and somehow fell and got busted up. It cost him several thousand dollars, plus was layed up for a few months, another of his smooth moves, working for nothing.
This business can and will take care of a guy if he does his part, but it is very unforgiving if not done right, and it does not care who it dumps on.

 

Do the folks who go under run as o.o or leased on? I guess what I'm asking is is it more likely to fold as an o.o or someone leased on? Do the folks who o.o use all tools available at they're disposal i.e load boards, internet(you'd be surprised how older folks can't use it), gps? What is they're business background? How were they're money management skills? You mentioned two years as a sort of red zone for two thirds of hotshots to go under, how did they make it through year one and then fail year two? I'm looking for a common pattern to failure. Do you see age playing a factor? Too young and rush into things. Too old, can't/ won't keep up with changing times and become obsolete along with your business. You sound like folks have a hard time finding the loads, are the boards not posting hs loads?

 

Rates. Simple as that.

You seem to be laboring under the assumption that all things are equal and will always remain so. Not true.

Because you can purchase your groceries and household necessities for very nearly the same price every week you may be under the impression that life here in the U.S.A is very stable. And that is just not the case with trucking and farming.

Relative to trucking there are a lot of economic forces in the background you may not have thought about. Not to Go into all the details and casual factors here in this setting as it would take hours, but the elephant in the room is: 1.) Supply and demand, and 2.) Debt load.

To the first, obviously the economy in general has a huge role, but secondarily because trucking is so easy to get into (requires no education, no experience, or money of your own ) the market gets FLOODED with new entrants when rates are on the upswing. Additionally, existing drivers will take this opportunity of rising rates to upgrade their equipment. (Remember, trucks are an asset with a rapidly declining value, need constant expensive maintenance and need to be reliable to satisfy both the customer and DOT.)

Now with all the new entrants comes over supply of capacity. Rates drop precipitously because now it' a brokers market. The new guy is forced to take cheap rates to protect his investment, his job, and his family. Rates that won't support his debt load. I

This has a spill over effect and catches the experienced guy flat footed because he took on debt to upgrade his equipment. And the cycle continues. Now he is required to accept lower rates to support his recently acquired debt load.

You have to be smart and cunning in this business --- that supposedly needs no smarts or experience--- to succeed. And that is no guarantee you will succeed....... Because so many factors are out of your control.

Don't be too quick to denigrate the old guy that doesn't keep up with the times, or the new guy with all the smarts. None of us are entirely in control of this thing we call trucking, and it would be wise to acknowledge and accept that.

 

CDL Test Truck

When you go to any of the large Metro DPS testing centers in Texas you’ll always see a few “rent a truck” businesses on site. The one above is pricey imo, around DFW it’s half that cost, but this one popped up in google for Houston.

 

The only real common factor to truckers going broke and this includes any type of oo, trucking companies and even to a certain extent company drivers or any other profession, is money management, and not doing enough research before jumping in to start with.

Age really has nothing to do with it, even more so now than ever. It seems like many new drivers come on board much later in life than they did in past years.

Truckers is a unique breed, one will flourish, while the neighbor that does the same exact thing goes belly up, but the same can be said about farming or about anything else really.

 

CDLTESTTRUCK.com is a scam. Owner has multiple fraud and embezzlement convictions, lies about being a firefighter and SEAL, and has literally stolen containers full of furniture.