Hoping to have a new KW ordered in the new year.....what do I expect?

I thing they just change the model number with changes to the body. It was T600 then changed to T660 now it’s T680. I suppose the T800 will be replaced with the T880. A much nicer looking truck in my opinion.

 

If you want to be an owner operator though, then try for it. Personally I think it’s a smart idea to get new or very close to new trucks. I had an older pre emission truck and it was a fairly good one but still all the knit pick problems and down time about did me in. Now I have a much newer one and don’t have nearly as much down time.

Also a newer truck helps your taxes and trust me you will be paying taxes. If you don’t figure something out with budgeting for taxes you’ll be out of business when March rolls around.

Hopefully it works out for you. Most banks require 20% down or collateral amounting to that. Most insurance companies want a fairly large deposit down for getting started. And you’ll probably be paying for the fuel for at least a couple weeks before you start being paid. Upfront expenses can be kind of high, but lots of us are making a decent living with our own truck.

Talk with a banker, a CPA tax accountant, whoever you plan to use for insurance, and your boss man about how steady the work will be. Also it might be worth using a company to do your MC and DOT number for you and file IFTA every quarter to save you some headache. Many of them are also a drug/alcoholic consortium so makes it convenient to have everything done at one place.

 

I never said that some are making a good living with their own trucks, but unless your last name is Amazon, most people doing okay have done so for a while, I can't imagine a new person has a prayer today. This person wants to haul trailer parts, with a new truck? Sounds fickle to me, and a dedicated "out and back" deal, a new truck is paramount, but it doesn't sound too promising, and PLENTY of decent older trucks, to "get your feet wet" with. If things workout in a year, then maybe, but these people have good intentions, but are bamboozled by banks and dealers that don't really care if you succeed, they just want their money. Insurance, taxes( quarterly's ALWAYS did me in) accountant, they don't work cheap, and all the other BS a new O/O may not think about, all of a sudden, something happens, yeah, new trucks break too, especially on ice,,, and those $5,000 payments a month keep coming in. Sounds awful foolish to me, padding all these peoples pockets, this consortium BS, the crooked clinics, $150/hr mechanics, hey, you want to make money, invest in the classic car market, or something plausible, but I truly believe, it's the governments mission to eliminate all O/O's with their foolish rules. O/O's used to be about being a rebel, an outlaw, "chain drive wallet", for heavens sake,,,mostly all gone.

 

They already did with the T860 lol

 

With your statement, "there isn't an O/O program here", should be an immediate red flag. Always sucks being a pioneer in those situations. Companies that deal exclusively with O/O's are a much better deal. The company you're with now probably thinks it's a great idea getting you off the payroll, and let you have the worries. Fuel, as fickle a deal THAT is, you should be concentrating on insurance, taxes, possible repairs, unforseen expenses, ( $500 a year road use tax, what the heck is that? O/O consortium fee? What next, base plate went up,,,again?) and so on. While you pay more for a newer truck, along with that is a higher payment, and not always unbreakable.I did it different, got an older truck, did my own work, made a decent living and got out relatively even. Not sure you can do that with a new truck. You lose probably $20g's, my entire investment, just driving it off the lot.

 

Avoiding One tow truck would Probabaly pay for the full lockers .

 

That’s a red flag for sure if the company has never used owner ops

why would they even want to start now ?
I’m sure they are happy to offload
Your taxes and insurance and worry about the truck maintaince and repair .
Especially if you are willing to do it for less than anyone else .

but what if after you start doing that , someone else comes along and offers to do it for less ?
You’re gonna be out on your elbow , if they can save a nickel .

I’m Not saying don’t buy a truck and become an OO , I’m saying run the numbers carefully ,

what happens if you get sick or the truck breaks down and needs a $300 sensor that’s simply not available for weeks ?
That’s happened already to many people , which is why the $300 sensor is selling for $5000 on eBay.
What happens when the truck gets involved in an accident ? That’s not even your fault , but is sitting for weeks and weeks and weeks waiting for parts to get repaired.
Who’s gonna be making the truck payment and insurance payment while the truck isn’t generating any revenue ?

and have you gotten quoted for insurance on a new company and MC number ?

You have plenty of time to figure out all this though , if you order a truck now , it will be delivered about 24-30 Months from now . You won’t be getting it for at least 18 months , more likely gonna be about two and a half years .