Flatbedders. Howd you become o/o?

For those o/o out there, how’d you start off and how long to become o/o?

 

I took my truck off lease at Pacer, now XPO and put it on lease at a flatbed carrier.

 

I bought a truck and leased on with a power only place that sucked. 95 CSA and the person doing accounts payable lived in a travel trailer.

Found a decent flatbed and then inquired about how to get my authority, and just dove in. It was scary at first but now it's just life. Last year was awesome. Rates were incredibly high and I made a ton of money. Then injector cups failed and stuff got real, lol.

But, I keep trucking. Nothing better than going your own way.

 

Called the bank requested a loan bought the truck and flatbed gear ran my own numbers for six months!! Decided being completely independent wasn’t for me!! Tried pulling a end dump what the hell was I thinking now I’m back to pulling a step I’ll do this as long as I’m trucking!!

 

How hard was it through the bank?

I'm thinking of my credit union in a couple of months.

 

Best bet is to pay cash for your equipment. I bought a 2000 FLD for $8k cash, pulled power only for 3 months, then bought a dry van for $5k cash. Pulled that for 9 months until the van rates tanked, then bought a step deck for $4500 cash a couple of weeks ago.

 

You're not going to find a decent truck for a decent price in my hood. Or even close. Been looking for years already. And they ALL come with fresh inframes.

I have money. But would rather save it for whatever might pop up before the money comes in.

 

What year and make is that step you bought for that price?

 

2001 Transcraft DTL 2100

Here's a photo of the trailer after I got loaded yesterday:

 

With rates the way they are right now, you should be able to find something soon. The repo man will make sure of that.

I bought my truck at the height of the 'pre-ELD madness'. And mine is 'pre-ELD'. It's a 2000 FLD with a 99 CAT C-15. ELD exempt. Sure it's got 1.5 mil on it with no overhaul, but it's given me no problems over the last year. 7.2mpg average too.