Another question about owning a truck and not driving

Gman, you are definitely the man. Thank you for your very detailed response. The next step in my business plan is to get my own authority. The extra 10% that the company I'm leased to will help me get my another truck. The only obsticles I'm facing now are (1) making the move to get my own authority and book my own loads, and (2) I don't have enough trucks to supplement my current income to quit but don't know if I will have time to book/coordinate loads at my current job. I'm sure that my current boss will get tired of me faxing and being on the phone through out the day...haha.

 

Not only that but you will have to browse internet boards as well during the day in order to find good paying freight....remember with only 1 truck you will need to maximize your profits the best you can...and the best way to do it is by building a load up inbound and outbound.

 

You are welcome. If you are determined to buy a truck you could lease it to another carrier that had dispatchers. It would take the burden off of you to find loads. Most of the companies that do provide dispatchers don't pay as well as those who don't. CRST Malone has dispatchers, but will allow owners to find their own loads if nothing is available. They pay percentage, but they are a flatbed company. They did have some vans running out of the main office in Birmingham, at one time. You don't need a trailer if you pull one of their vans. You could also pull trailers for JB Hunt or PTL once you get your authority. You can also lease your truck to them without first having your authority.

When you dispatch your own trucks you will need to spend a lot of time in front of a computer and on the telephone. Starting out with your own authority you will need to sign a contract with everyone with whom you do business. Some of those contracts are over 30 pages long. You will need to have them faxed or emailed to you, print them out, sign and fax back to the broker before you can haul a load for them. Once they get the contract back and supporting documents, they will fax you a rate confirmation which must also be printed out, signed and faxed back to them. It is an expense that some employers may not want to absorb. It will tie up their fax machine and take your time away from your job, which also costs them money. I have never like the idea of turning my truck over to a dispatcher. I think that I can do a better job myself than someone else can do in dispatching my trucks. In your case, it might be better to lease to a carrier that had dispatchers in place until you get your feet wet and learn more about this business.