How much money do you make? How green is your grass?

You and I are the same age, so it’s a good comparison in my book to see how good (or bad) being an o/o can be. An earlier reply, you asked what we keep for ourselves. 50% of weekly check goes into savings account, the other half goes to bills and what is leftover can be play money. Most weeks 1500$ goes into the savings.

I simply got lucky. My father acquired our customer in 07/08 and providing excellent service has led to acquiring more customers. This includes brokers (I know people hate that word). Every “contract” (was never official paperwork but a mutual agreement that I can stay as long as I want to) I had, they all said the communication levels were above and beyond. These people I could call today and start hauling for again. Keeping that relationship going once established is important (one of the few useful tools I learned from college).

Every customer I had was a “what do you have trouble covering” and the rest fell in place. NYC always seems to be an issue, Chicago and military loads. That’s been my experience at least.

Also look at doing work that less than 5% want to do. Hand unloading freight, 10+ stops, multiple picks, and so on. You will be amazed at how easily you can find steady work in those areas. Again you won’t be making spot market money (when it spikes and every joe blow gets 5$/mile just for answering a phone), but you’ll have steady income.

 

To me, this is the most important question for a young man of 28. Starting a driving career is a little like joining the mafia, easy to get in but difficult to get out of so your pre-planning is wise.

Ask around and you’ll find many drivers who are divorced. Being consistently gone is toxic to a relationship. If you’re looking to eventually get married and have kids I’d strongly suggest the LTL/company driver w/ a local route or chances are you’ll wind up divorced with kids who think you don’t care about them because you never see them.

 

My feeling was I wanted to work less...... I take at least 8 weeks a year at home. On my terms not someone else’s.
Where else can you take 6, 8 or even 10 weeks a year off?

I also believe if you can’t spend $100k a year how ever you want (salary, dividends, Heath insurance, retirement, chrome, frivolous tools, shop space that is larger than needed for ONLY trucking purposes) than you shouldn’t even start. Some of that may or may not be taxed.

I spent my whole life working middle management only getting a week or 2 vacation a year. I traveled a lot for those jobs too. I figure I make about the same but take more time off but also spend more time away too.

if I was 28 again today I certainly wouldn’t go trucking for my self. I was 45 and secure in my life and relationships when I made the switch.

 

Just a couple of things. You can’t get a decent driver for anywhere near $0.60. Not when you include payroll cost, work comp, medical insurance and retirement schemes, vacation pay, sick pay, etc, etc, etc.

Second, if you want to generate above average revenue, you have to give above average performance to your customer. That’s not going to happen with a new driver every six months.

Third, I’m too lazy to look up the link, but the average cost to operate a semi truck is $1.79 a mile. And it really doesn’t matter if you pay a driver out of that or yourself. You have to generate more than that, on average, to earn more than you would as a wage slave.

Fourth, while trucks are expensive, and maintenance mistakes are even more expensive, costs are measured in pennies a mile. Revenue is measured in dollars per mile. It’s easier to make more on the revenue side. If you can sell, you can do very well in trucking, just like everywhere else.

 

So the only real benefit is the freedom to work whenever you want, whereever you want? I wouldn't mind getting a truck just for that. I really hate the northeast so that a would be a big bonus if I can make the same as I am making as a company driver