Leasing on/ recent experience

Most carriers want to see experience within the last three years. You may need to do some leg work to find a carrier that will give you an opportunity and that best meets your needs. There much more to running a truck than paying for fuel. Without knowing which carrier and how they pay, it is next to impossible to know how well you will do. There are just too many variables to know how much revenue you can generate. Different people have varying needs as far as income is concerned. Some people are happy earning $900/week and others want $2,000.

 

I am glad that some of my posts have been helpful. There is a breakdown somewhere on this forum that shows some of the expenses associated with running a truck. Deciding on a business structure should be one of the first things you do. I prefer a corporate structure for my businesses, but other have a different set up. One thing you need to do is set up your books from the beginning. If you need help, find a CPA that has trucking experience. You can use a spreadsheet or buy one of the trucking specific software packages that are available. The trucking specific software should help organize maintenance, loads, fuel and other expenses and can give you immediate feedback as to the profitability of each load. Starting out, most are likely surprised at where all the money goes. Remember, cash flow doesn't necessarily translate into profit. Even running locally, you will have most of the other costs associated with running over the road. Trucknpro is a good software program www.trucknpro.com. I have written about it and some of the others. It is simple and easy to use. Another is Easy Trucking www.easytrucking.com. The other one that I am familiar is Truckers Helper www.truckershelper.com. Each will do what you want, but I find trucknpro easier to use than the other two. Truckers Helper is a bit more complex to use, but has a few features available, such as payroll, that you may not need. They have several different versions based upon the size and scope of your business. Easy Trucking is fairly simple to use, but I don't personally like the way some features work. All three can work to help you track and better manage your business. All will give you your cost and profit per mile. Reports can be customized to some extent. All three should still have either a trial version which can be downloaded for a short time or an online tutorial which explains how the software works. I have used Trucknpro and Easy Trucking for a number of years. You don't have to purchase software to keep your records. You can set up a spreadsheet or database to run the business, but that does take time. Whatever you decide it is important to set up your books and keep good records. Not only do you need to have records for the tax man, but more importantly, for your own records.

There are things that everyone should be doing if they own trucks. Whether you set up a separate bank account or not, you need to be putting money aside for major expenses. Trucks break and when they do, you will need to have the money to make the repairs or you will be out of business. I do like the idea of either paying yourself a flat salary or mileage as though you were a company driver. Too many new operators consider all money coming in to the bank as their personal money and don't put anything away for a rainy day or the inevitable repairs on the truck.

 

Depending on which company you decide to lease with, if they are a major carrier, they will already have a preferred accounting firm they will rec'm to you. However, if you haven't otr for over or about 3 yrs, I am sure most if not all are going to require you to spend time with a trainer, as a refresher course. About speculating on the money your gonna make or not make. It all depends on several factors and which company hires you and leases to you. Its a jungle out here, believe me it is when it comes to lease/purchase deals. If your only goal is to clear $500/wk, then why not just try and get your start as a company driver, then you can just relax and enjoy the ride per se, then worry about the other stuff later. The best option is going to a truck dealer for whatever truck you like, talking to them, and getting their advice on what its going to take for financing a used truck. I talked to a Freightliner Dealership last summer, and was told I needed at least a $10,000 line of credit, a 700 - 750 credit score and a pretty good credit history, and a 20% down pymt. And that was just to apply and seen what they the finance company said, ok? However, thats the best way to go if you can, get some practical experience behind the wheel, get some money saved, buy a truck from a dealership, then lease with a company. Your weekly truck pymts will be half of what you'll pay on a lease/purchase or a direct buy-out from a major carrier on one of its' used sale trucks.

Basically what I seen in your post was you 'over thinking' things, like imagining what it is like to swim without first having gone into the water. Your first major hurtle or challenge is just getting your foot into any door without any recent exp behind you. I can almost say without any doubt, that most companies will require you to go out with a 'trainer - mentor' for a set amount of time.

So if that happens, accept it, take the opportunity, relax and enjoy the learning exp of just being a company driver for a while. Then in the course of time, make better plans for your future.

Good Luck to you, its a jungle out here at times, and who knows? You may decide you don't really want to play the game once your in it.

 

Even if you are required to go with a trainer for a short time, once you get at least 6 months experience, that should be sufficient to get on with most carriers as an owner operator, but some may require 12 months minimum within the last 3 years. If you have kept your CDL over the last three years, you may find a smaller carrier that will either lease you on or put you with a trainer for a short time. Smaller carriers can be a little more flexible than the mega carriers.