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

OK, I posted this a year ago while I was still in truck driving school. After the schooling and training finally went solo in June 2010. After just 8 months of really hard work I have now signed a for a lease truck with Swift because I don't have $7000, not even $7 lol. I'm taking the scenic route to owner operatorship. So I leased a truck with only 25 months remaining on the lease at which time I could choose to buy it for the residual value or turn it in. In the interim I have decided to start training new drivers for the extra money of course and to pass on that Je ne sais quoi quality I possess for driving.

In short, if there is something you really want in life, you may have it if you work hard enough to get it.

 

You think after 8 months your ready to train new drivers? More power to ya.

 

By swifts standards he's an 'old man'

 

And you'll have even less when it's said and done most likely, but good luck.

NEWS FLASH: If scenic means the wrong way, the broke way, or the never gonna happen way then your right. Your nothing more than a company driver with all the bills and responsibilities.

Exactly what's wrong with this industry today. The blind leading the blind!

That's the one thing we could agree on.

 

Actually I could care less either way. The thing is most people can't do what your goal is and end usually up making less than a company driver does or worse yet lose everything they had before they started. I don't wish you to fail, I hope you succeed and accomplish your goals. Best of Luck.

I would but the company I work for does not hire drivers out of school. I've been doing this for almost 11 years and I still learn new things all the time so you can surely understand why I think that someone that has been driving a whole 8 months or whatever you have is not qualified to train others. Not to mention that fact that you said you were gonna do it basically to help make the payments.

 

Can u become a company driver?

 

If you understand the business you can make good money as a lease driver. Problem is most people entering leases are idiots and don't understand what it takes.

And while I don't agree that a person that has so little experience should be teaching it is the way that it is done these days. I am not going to change that.

But if you can stand being a trainer that is the way to go with being a lease driver. You clould clear a couple grand a week if you work smart AND hard. But save, save, save because you sound smart enought to understand that the grind of training and 5K miles a week is going to get old.

And forget about buying your truck. The program you are in is not designed for that. It is a lease. Period. In all likely hood if you waited and found your truck on a lot three months after your lease is up you will be able to purchased it for $7-10k less than they offer it to you. Plus it will have had a lot of work done to it at that cheaper price.

Best of luck. And a work of advice from a former trainer.

Set clear rules from the beggining with all your students. One that many don't think about is the amount of time they spend on the phone in the sleeper berth. I had guys getting 3-4 sleep because the GF wanted to talk all night and I wouldn't let them talk while driving.

 

Couple of things to mention: I was in Motor Transport in the Marines for 4 years. First job out of the Marines was driving various trucks as a go-fer delivering crap to construction sites. Loved the job but it only paid $5 per hour (1990). Joined the union and worked heavy construction for the next 19 years amassing a nice annuity trust fund and pension fund along the way. Also had the opportunity to driver various trucks and heavy equipment over the years. I'm not going into this thing 'blind'. After 2 years without work in construction I was qualified to take a lump sum settlement from my annuity which I used to pay some bills and paid off my lease truck fully. I believe this investment will far outpace in value that the annuity would have done in the next decade.

 

If you must, check into www.trucksource.com