6 months experience (80% flatbed OTR, 20% dry van local) can I become owner operator?

Sign on a company, only need 20 percent down used truck. Don't buy auto trans. Learn more

 

6 months experience is a disaster waiting to happen. Your insurance could be $50K plus, and that's even if you can get insurance. You need working capitol as well. $50,000 is a good start. Lastly take a look at all the big carriers that have went out of business, and these carrier's have been in business for years.

 

Are you planning on leasing on to a carrier? If so you need to find out what their requirements are.

 

Yes but other costs are more consistent. To operate a truck costs lots of money whether its moving or not. I'm not sure if you’re trying to do lease purchase or buy a truck in order to lease on to a company. My bigger concern is your experience level. 6 months is no experience. That means you started at the beginning of the warm weather season so you haven't even trucked through winter months. You haven't been driving long enough to see the bad and the ugly, as well as the dark side of the industry. 100k really isn't that much to operate a single trucking business without going into some sort of debt. 100k these days is just scratching the surface. That's just buying the truck. You'll have many more expenses than that. I think you'll stand a greater chance of being successful if you gain more experience, and learn the industry more intimately, and that takes years. At the same time, you can increase your capital.

 

I would wait until youve got 5+ years. That truck needs to practically drive itself

There is not enough money in being an o/o startup to cover greenhorn screw ups. You will have them. Ive been driving 20 years, 12 as an o/o and I still break stuff once in a while

 

I am not trying to insult you. But you have absolutely no idea what you ate getting yourself in to. Drive for a company for 5 years first, at this point you haven't even driven in all the seasons. Driving in the snow is a totally different ball game. Think about it this way: you don't become the chief of police in 6 months. You have to put in your dues and work up to it, just like trucking.