Can I become an owner operator with no experience?

While that doesnt help. I dont think that is the whole story. Myself i think its a combination of factors. First many on the outside looking in are used to small cars and the like. They likely think a semi wont be that much more expensive. Tires every few years, a breakdown once in a long while for a couple hundred bucks, maybe some oil now and then. And surely they get good milage right? The epa requires good mpg. Plus you get to travel and see all kinds of neat places and be your own boss and do whatever you want whenever you want! Easy money!

Then you combine the above mindset with all those stupid signs like "O/Os make $5500 per week!" "Home every day!" "$1.78 a mile!" As you mentioned they see those numbers and get dollar signs in the eyes. Afterall they know nothing of the industry. $5500 a week if your "only spending a few hundred a week in fuel and sone occasional repairs" looks amazing to them.

And finally the ease of getting a truck sold to you even with credit that would make me blanch at lending enough for a candy bar for pennys on the dollar. Along with how many preditory lease purchase programs spending tens of millions a year repressing bad results and promoting the rare success storys and making doing real research hard...then throw on all the cut rate brokers happily to slit their "drivers" throats for a penny and as a result make finding loads childs play...

Well even all of that is only a bare bones example. Sadly the industry has devolved a lot and a lot of scammers have made it near imposible for anyone without years of experince and/or long family ties to the industry to find accurate info.

 

In the era of the trucks pictured, you bet! Era of Cascadias, fogetaboutit

 

I have heard that the Chicago area has some Lease/Purchase deals that are amazing!

 

Always ... Most attractive deals

 

You are right, 100% right.

 

All insurance carriers raised their rates a bit.

 

A lot depends on luck.
You can buy the equipment pretty cheap now. If it's a lemon or not, nobody can tell you that. But a lot of people are going out of business, so there is a good chance finding something good for low money.

Insurance will eat you. And the current market. That is why 15K won't be enough. You need second job right now to stay afloat.

 

With enough money anything is possible.

 

Bout to go call up the TQL kids to sprinkle some .80cpm 48k tarped lumber loads on him