I have $7000.00 and i want to become a owner operator out of ga., what do i do next ?

now i just got thrue reading most of these post and to my surprise they were pretty good. now let me tell you what i think from my personal experience , if i see a truck for that amount of money i jump on it , in a heart beat but i check it out first carefully if it runs good and it looks good it's mine.

now right now used trucks are selling cheap and now is a real good time to buy they have never been cheaper, for exampel i have a 1989 379 pete extended hood with a cat engine and 18 spd transmission i payed 6500 for it and let me tell you it has payed for itself a dozen times over , you dont have to have a new truck to start trucking.

now if you want to be in business for your self why the hell would you consider leasing a truck to a company, that makes you a driver working for them and you won't make much but you will pay out a lot they don't let you pull there trailer for free, consider this.

put a few more bucks together and buy a trailer along with that tractor then another 300.00 and get your authority now your in business for yourself. what about loads for the truck? hell it is not hard to find a load easier then you think and when you find that load you get about 90% of the money, think you will get that muh leasing to a company i think not it will cost you about 300.00 bucks a week just to pull there trailer and make no mistake about it a leasing company does not give you anything free they charge you one way or the other. it really is not hard to be independent and you will find you put a lot more money in the bank and it's all yours.

don't listen to all the gloom and doom you hear out there , you want to be in business , just go for it but do it for you not some company that does not have your best interest at heart.

now it is true a lot of drivers lose there shirts in this business but its not the fault of the business its the fault of the driver, why ? well for a number of reasons, some just dont no what there doing , most are drivers that leased there truck to a company, some got hooked into a lease purchase deal, thats a fools game neve works. most lose because of a high overhead and high payments, really not a good thing, now its true if you go out and buy yourself a brand new pete you will look good you will look ever so neat in that air ride seat BUT for how long and let me tell you the biggest heart ache you will ever have is the one you get from losing a truck and you never get over it and don't look for sympathy from the finance company it just ain't there .

remember do your own thing thats what it is all about, thats trucking and let me tell you there is nothing better. and if you find yourself with your own tractor and trailer and for some reason you cant find a load for it , drop me a pm and ill help you find that load there out there you just have to look BUT YOU CAN DO IT and you cn make money at it just turn and burn my friend thats all there is to it exept a little work along the way.

best of luck to you all. southernpride

 

I hear you should have half the cash for a used truck and 10,000 for an emergency situation. I,ve seen some info on this site about Savanah port having alot of work. I would get a job pulling containers, out of the port or rail yards. That way your by the house to work on your truck, instead of being broke down 1,200 miles from the house. I,m running the railyards in Chicago now, I,m off for a few days do to a infection in my jaw bone,head, blood stream, from a rotten tooth. Do some research on Savanah port, get a job driving a co. truck, listen, learn, and then buy a truck and lease on whith the highest paying co.

 

look at a company calle lone mountain truck leasing for your interested in getting a truck

 

look at what they have on the lot,inspect your truck,but heres the bad news ,now your back to haveing a payment,,,,,,everyone situation is different,credit,cash in hand, I will tell you this, southern pride speaks from exsperience ! looking good and being mechanicly sound are two differnt anamals!!!! you can get a older model truck and for those that arnt mechanicly inclined it would be a good time to learn, i had a 97 t-600 kw 435 hp 9 spd, when i first made my deal with the owner (a thief) i my self went to the truck bone yard got my parts less than half of what it cost new , i replaced every light outlet and lights ,from head lights to fog lights to running lights, put two used air tanks (due to they were leaking on the seam and could not be patched) $ 80 .00 per tank verses $390,new per tank, replaced two rear inner wheel seals $20.00 per, the frame was way rusted from sitting for two yrs ,i used air sanders and repainted the whole frame ,looked like new when i was done, the 5 th wheel was so boogered up with rust ,it took a fork lift an 4 inch pipe,and a chain to break it free when i was done scrapeing,blowing,chipping, and cleaning the track ,lubed it up real good and it worked like brand new!!!!! amazeing what grease dos when its used ??? the interior of the truck was clean, thru a new $98 dollar matress in there, vacumed down the a./c and recharged the system a/c would freeze you out, and the finnal step and a service man come in change the oil and filters threw 2 new steers on her and in 3 mths had 27.000 miles and no major problems a two major dot inspection while out on the road and the inspector was inpressed with the condition of the truck can commented how well maintained i had kept it,,,,,, passed my inspections with flying colors,,,,,,,oh truck was only $15,000,,,clean well maintained trucks will always tell a inspector he's looking at someone that takes care of his equipment,oh and replaced all 6 shocks myself $350,,,,, my point here is you dont have to spend $40 or 50 grand to make money

 

funny thing about all you did is we all dont have a shop or a place to do that work on a truck some are willing to have a payment for a little better truck.. your dream for everyone to be able to work on there own truck is just that.. being a owner operator is tough but you have the freedom unlike a company driver..you can make money out there and it takes time to know who to go to and not go to to get work on your truck.. small stuff you can change. that whole speech was ridiculous to everyone out here its nice you nearly rebuilt your whole truck that sounded like a piece of kunk when you bought it. me my srlf if i looked at a truck in that shape i would of kept stepping it.. I will get my hands dirty doing my own work grew up in a family of mechanics and thats the only way work got done on our cars by us doing it... So you have great ideas for future owner operators but not reality

 

i thank for you reply,but i'm like most too i dont have a shop either, i did all this in my driveway, and as far as a dream ,wasnt a dream i know what dot requires,all i did was take a truck that needed some care and a few minor repaires to pass a dot inspection, and as far as being out on the road???just like the company drivers if i dont roll i dont make money! and second why would i pay a truckstop or a on call mechanice for something i can fix myself!!!!! you being a mechanic can understand this, yes i agree that we are suposed to take 34 hrs off for a reset, but theres nothing wrong with tinkering with your truck and greaseing it !!!! truckstops charge $30-40 dollars to do this when it takes 20-30 minits and $4 bucks worth of grease?????sounds kinda cost effective to me,,i like your self work hard for my money and dont like giveing it away when i can do it myself for the cost of parts thanks dino

 

Nice post. what kinda rigs are you running and what type of hauling?

 

Im am in the same situation with bankruptcy in 2008 and have 10,000 and have a truck just wondering which is the best company to go with.

 

If you already have the truck then you got it whipped. Just find a good company to lease on to.

 

I will agree with all the others that have posted, but will add this. Wife bought a truck last year for 4000 down with 1100 a month payments... Through the first year spent 15000 for repairs and general maintenance. I quit my IT job and have started to drive with her. Finally we are starting to see the tunnel ahead.