Company Driver Becoming Owner Operator

Buy the truck in full, lease onto a reefer or flatbed company and you might survive.

 

You will get a 1,000 different answers to this question and most of them will be negative.
Before you invest thousands of dollars and effort into this, I would suggest doing your own research for free by googling information, talking to different O/O's every chance you get face to face.

Observation and listening are good teachers.

Learn as much as you can while being a company driver. Talk to mechanics about the different makes of truck and trailer models, engines, transmissions gear ratios. You don't want to buy a piece of equipment that was not spec'ed for the type of hauling you want to do.

What do you want to haul?

How does it affect your income and lifestyle?

What are you willing to sacrifice?

Good luck.

 

In my experience it’s hard (almost impossible) to convince someone who determined to get his own truck to reconsider. And banks know that too. I guess that’s a power of capitalism.
Good luck (you’re going to need it)!

 

A whole year? Why did you wait so long before deciding?

 

Me too! @sassytrucker88 go read some posts by @Ridgeline

 

If u cant take the bs from the company then u sure as heck cant handle the bs as an owner op.

 

Why would you want them to reconsider getting their own truck? If they do the research they know what they are in for.

 

I’m curious what’s your definition of “ good paying loads”? I see everyone complains that there is no good paying loads but there has to be if people are saying that there are?

 

I’ve been trucking for a decade now and I see a trend in load prices(lower) equipment/insurance/toll costs(higher).And although fuel cost is lower now we have to buy DEF now also. You can still get decent (same 2010 rated loads) paying loads, but they are fewer and don’t stay too long (as long as in 2010) on the load board. Trucking was always thin margin business but now there’s more regulations (environmental, ELD etc.).

 

There's one thing I've learned in my 3yrs as an O/O and that is: you'll never know enough before you buy your first truck. I waited a lot longer than 1yr before purchasing my first and I've still come close to failure more than once.
Being savvy won't help you one bit when you're a thousand miles from home with a broken truck. And here's the kicker...trucks don't break once and then the problem is fixed. No way! Trucks are like the PoS car that one guy has that's always up on ramps because it's nickel and diming him to death. If you don't have tools and a modicum of skill, your problems multiply because you're always paying the dealer $185/hr. (100 bucks an hour for Cletus, but you'll pay the 185 to fix what Cletus broke.) Company bs can be a pain but you still get breakdown pay and a truck that isn't your problem.