Advice needed: Looking for knowledge on expected costs for being an o.o

OOIDA has a spreadsheet that you might find helpful. You can download it from their website. www.ooida.com. I don't recall if you need to be a member to download the spreadsheet. They did have two spreadsheets, one for an owner operator and another for a lease operator. While it isn't exact, it is a good basis from which to start. With their spreadsheet, you can plug in your numbers and it will show your profitability or loss. I have software specific to trucking that I use to track revenue and expenses. It doesn't do much for doing projections, but is good when looking as historical data. It gives the cost and profit for each load and any time period. It is important to know where you are in any business. Most people underestimate their expenses and over estimate their revenue. It is much better to underestimate revenue and over estimate expenses. Figure all your estimated expenses and add about 30% and if you can live with the numbers, you may be able to make money.

I would advise anyone buying their first truck to keep their payments at or under $1,000/month. You could probably make those $1,500 payments, but your first year or so will be a time of learning. You will not only be learning how to run your truck, but learning about running in a carrier's system. It usually takes about 6 months or so to get familiar with a carrier's system and how they operate. This can be especially true when you lease to an agent based carrier, such as Landstar, who doesn't have dispatchers. You will need to learn how to find loads and where to run.

I am encouraged that you plan on putting money aside before buying your truck.

 

thanks gman and mndriver. I am in a decent position because i have no additional overhead i.e. mortgage car payment or any real bills of that nature. I am just at the point now after the way i was treated and was let go from my last company i would like to have more say in my driving career and where i go and how i operate. Even if it means i take home less for a few years at least i can actually be building towards something instead of being destined to only reach a certain level as a company driver. Wish i would of had this insight and forward thinking when i got into trucking almost 10 years ago but better late than never. Also any advice towards being successful and understand that anyone can pass that went through the rough process of being an o.o is appreciated.