Did anyone start as an O/O?

The following is(in my mind) the best way to progress.

First, you will need to get your cdl from a indapendent driving school. That way your not locked into a contract from a co sponserd school.

Next do your research and find a good co to work for as a co driver(for a year or so). Wile your doing so, keep track of the operation as if your leased onto them as an o/o. This way any mistakes you make wount come out of your wallet. Also you can use this time to save money for a down payment, repair fund, ect. This time will also allow you to find out if trucking is right for you.

Then when your ready, go buy a truck(I would advise a used one to get started with) and lease onto the co that youve already been working for. Avoid leasing a truck from any co. If you do so, your just paying them to drive their truck. Do this for 3-5 years. One of the bigest advantages of leasing onto a co is that you have someone to handle the logestics end of things. You will also be making important contacts at this point(shippers, brokers, ect.). Most o/o are happy to stay at this stage in the ball game.

If you want to go independent, you will most likely need to hire a bookeeper so that you can concentrate on keep the truck loaded and rolling. This is the level that you will ether sink or swim. There is so much at risk at this point, that I cant beleve that someone would even think of starting here even with support.

Its true that each step you take up theres a big jump in income, But there is also a huge step up in risk, responsibility, and likelyhood of failure. And rember that it dosnt matter what level you stay at, you wont make money if you dont keep the left door shut, and the wheels rolling!!!!!


God Bless,

 

Wouldn't you still make a little more money? "Supposedly", O/Os make 20 to 50% more CPM than co drivers, even after the expenses...

I've always be a co driver but am thinking of going O/O. But like others, I am apprehensive because of comments like your's....

No offense meant, I would just like to know why a driver wouldn't come out ahead as long as he stayed in the saddle and ran the miles and didn't hang out in the truckstops refusing loads....

Any other comments?

Bucks Owin'

 

None taken. Ive never leased a truck from a carrier. Although I did check into it when I was wanting to become an o/o.
I gess what realy turned me off to the whole lease purchase thing was that you pay so much more for the truck. If you go to a dealership, you could most likley buy the same truck for 30-40% less.

Im not saying that you cant make any money if you keep rolling. But what I am saying is that by the time you reach the end of your lease, with most carriers you will still have to pay a lot of money to actualy own the truck.

Another issue with a lease purchase that I didnt like was all the little fees that they put into the fine print. .03cpm for this/.08cpm for that. By the time they get done with all the "little fees", their taking .15-.19cpm off the top!!

I gess you can make money doing it this way but I think that lease purchase programs are just another way of carriers to take advantage of the drivers(mainly the ones with bad credit).

It just makes more sence to me to go to a dealership and get bacisly the same truck for half the payment minus all the little fees.

Ether way you are going to make the same gross pay. But the guy that goes to the dealership is going to make more profit.

There was only two avantages to doing the lease purchase that I could see. The big one was that you can walk away if its not for you. The other is that you can get a little better tax break on the payment. Keep in mind that there is copanys out there(like freightliner select lease) that you can still get the tax break with.

Now just to be clear in this example, both drivers would be leased onto the same carrier. Not the one thats going to the dealership having their own athority.

 

high tech redneck, are you from ga.,when I had my truck leased to Bomark in ga.,I used to run with a hightech redneck,that was his handle on his pete then. I had an 88 yellow and white classic freightshaker condo back then,just wondrun, You were a standup really nice person then and if its you hi,from buck and a half. ,sure if your not glad to meet a second one, Good advice from you see ya.

 

I was born into a trucking family you could say. I did diesel tech school at 18 and then at 21 when I got my license we had just switched over from leasing to companies to running our own athority. The later is a LOT of work, brokers pay slow etc etc. We lost our trucks after that change. It's imposible to do while on the road really unless someone if home all the time to do it.
The key to making money in my opinion as an o.o is what you can do yourself. If you have to take your truck to the shop to change a headlight you'll not last long.

 

i too would highly recommend driving for a company first.

now however, if someone is "born into the industry" and someone wants to "foot the bill" for a rig, then go for it.

but nothing really beats actual experience as a company driver first to "get the bugs out of learning"..............

 

There is going to be risk in any business. I have never driven for a company. I started out driving my own dumptruck right out of high school. Now I have my own authority and a dedicated tractor trailer run that has me home every night that pays way better than I could have made with any company I looked into. It was risky. I could have ruined my credit when I was 18 years old. But if you don't lay it out there at some point, then you will never get there. That same risk is going to be there in a year, or even ten. IMO, you should make the choice now. Am I going to be an owner operator, or am I going to drive for someone else?
Having said that, I do agree that you have to be willing and able to do most everything yourself to make money. I do all of my own bookwork. I do 99% of my own mechanic work. The only time my truck sees a shop is for electrical/computer problems because I don't have the equipment to figure those issues out.
It is harder work, it is a big risk, but for me the rewards have really paid off. Maybe I have been lucky, but if I think about where I would be today if I had started in a company truck at what...23? Instead of in the dumptruck at 18... I am sure happy with the direction I went way back then.

 

From what I understand from O/O's and CPA's, you would make enough to break even or make about as much as a company driver with your own truck until it is paid for. Now going under your own authority requires a bit more work and a good knowledge of the industry but can pay off better if you develop the right connections. As a company driver you will have benefits which can cost a fortune on your own. You can also gain more knowledge of the industry if you start out with a company. Either way you go you will need to have a diploma from an accredited driving school. I personally am staying company for a while but am collecting data on trucks (pricing, mpg for gear ratios, insurance, etc). Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

any good? looks like great pickin'.