Have 80K to invest and want to start a trucking company looking for advice

Army guy I'm not saying it can't be done by no means, but it will be tough and have some luck involved. I got my CDL early in life done a short hitch with the U.S Army was 21 at end of my contract. I grew up not only working on trucks in my Dads shop but riding shot gun for the best driver I have ever known. Dads brother could work a truck without being hard on it or himself. With between 2 to 3 million miles I watched him surrender his license and his truck cause he no longer felt safe.
As stated earlier when I got out of the Army almost 20 years ago I started mechanicing most of the year and driving in the winter as I do field service on machinery and winter is not the most pleasent time. 4 years ago I started my own repair facility and have always wanted to truck so once the shop was off the ground and running with stable help and I wasn't required to be there everyay I bought a truck. Other than being deployed in 04-05 with the guard this is all I have ever done, its fair to say I thought I knew two ends of this business pretty well. For sure the repair and maintenance side and of course driving. We were assigned to 2nd battalion 7th CAV during my deployment. Getting the trucking side of this business off the ground and keeping it their has been a harder battle than I have ever fought.
You mentioned a spread sheet earlier throw it out the window. Your drivers and your equipment will make or break you. You can not figure break down expenses as they vary greatly. Again you equipment and driver have everything to do with this. I realize that you plan on working at the V.A but with two trucks there just isn't enough there for you to get a paycheck from the company for a long time.
I would like to say we need more Veterans working at the V.A facilities. Care isn't always top notch and admin isn't much better so I want to say thank you in advance.
Again I am not saying it can't be done as I learned years ago its not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog that counts. I also am aware at how crafty an American soldier can be when they have to be. I am merely saying you can not take this too light. Dig in prepare for a long hard battle at every turn. You can't do to much research either. From experience I can say its a heck of a lot harder than I ever thought it would be to be successful with the knowledge I already had coming into this deal.

 

ARMY GUY where are you stationed?

 

Dont get discouraged, it may not be easy, but it is possible. Just take it slow and you will be fine. Read up on this forum. You will find just about everything you need here, if not you will find the direction to where you need to go. I also am getting my marbles together to form my llc, trucks, trailers and equipment. Im confident you will be fine.

 

Wow, the negativity...just answer his question. Who cares if its not a good idea! How would you do it if you could? ya know...since all of you are experienced and what not. That is what he is looking for, not criticism.

 

That's not a lot of money these days, but, good luck to you

 

1) You need at least a basic understanding of maintenance and repair. If you don't, you will be taken advantage of. Two trucks and two trailers for $80K tells me you are planning on running equipment that WILL BE in the shop (often).

2) You need at least 30 days operating capitol. Do not use a factoring agent (they take every penny of the limited profit in your business, you will be turning dollars).

3) You need an emergency fund, trucks will break. A tire is $400, a transmission is $5K, an engine is $20K... You NEED $10K per truck ALWAYS sitting in an emergency fund.

4) You need a great tax professional. Spend the money, he may cost a thousand dollars up front but if he is good, he will save you many thousands. Unless you are a CPA, PAY A PROFESSIONAL.

5) Use Hireright (DAC). Buying a truck is by far the easiest part of starting a trucking company. Keeping dependable drivers is one of the hardest parts. Hiring a mentally challenged steering wheel hold simply because he is willing to work cheap is the worst mistake you will ever make.

6) I am going to repeat #5... HIRING SOMEONE WHO ABUSES YOUR EQUIPMENT WILL BREAK YOU !!!! Pay a few CPM more to hire former owner ops who know how to take care of your truck, give them incentives for treating your trucks with care. You can not have a SWIFT mentality when it comes to hiring drivers, you do not have the option of 90% turnover, you do not have the option of hiring drivers who mistreat your trucks, customers, and you.


Good luck, I hope you beat the odds. I have no interest in talking you into or out of truck ownership but I will tell you that many smart, hard working, well financed people with experience in the trucking industry have tried and failed to do what you are considering. Conversely, a few idiots on a shoestring budget have cobbled together a couple of trucks and turned them into multi million dollar companies.

 

I have always heard, not experienced, that you don't want to own just 2, it is said 1, 3. Or more. Whatever you decide good luck.

 

IFTA, NY hut, 2290, IRP, 1099, dealing with brokers, knowing good freight lanes, do you know any of these? If not I'd suggest you get a new business plan as these are just basics. And the hardest thing with owning a fleet are DRIVERS. Bad drivers will put you out of business real fast. Learn the business for yourself first. This is like saying you're going to open a grocery store because your dad was a cashier for 30 yrs. there's more to trucking than just buying a truck and having someone drive it.

 

True. A trucking taboo to own an even number of trucks, unless you're above the 10 mark.
Don't ask me to think it's just BS, it's just that way.