Let’s say you buy a $50,000 truck for cash....

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Lennythedriver, Jul 7, 2020.

  1. Robert85006

    Robert85006 Medium Load Member

    359
    396
    Aug 20, 2013
    Southwest USA
    0
    I'll jump in the kool aid:

    Here's something to chew on:
    Define your market. What type of hauling are you CURRENTLY experienced? Does that haul offer you loads that line up with what home time vs out on the road time you seek? What time of year is your slow season, if there is one.

    This can get specific due to location and experience. When I 1st started out I ran reefer and lived in Denver CO. I found shippers in Nogales AZ who had products for my customers in Denver. Once the haul was setup I put together a tractor and trailer that could climb hills and open up on the stretches to improve fuel mileage. I stayed busy in winter because I knew how to chain and get over Raton Pass when a lot of other customers couldn't find trucks. The best situation to be in is people asking for your services and you have more work than you know what to do......That's where dedicated lanes get established. I always told my customers " we could make this a weekly run year round if you like" That one sentence turned into a lane I hauled for three years.

    The last thing I worry about is the truck and trailer. If you don't 1st pay attention to customer acquisition and retention then you won't need a truck at all because there will be no loads to haul!

    Owner operating with your own authority is a business. You must employ tact, skill in presenting yourself in a professional capacity using proper etiquette and always be pleasant. Customers can find another truck to haul your loads in the blink of an eye, it's a good idea to always keep that in mind. I let professionalism be my salesman.

    In your initial post your title stated " Let's say you buy a 50,000 dollar truck for cash" You can define what equipment you need once you establish a lane or commodity. A trailer you haul boats is completely different from a grain trailer!

    Money is easy to find, banks are full of the stuff. Convincing a loan officer to fund your business takes a business plan, risk analysis, profit forecast etc. When first started I needed working capital and needed to show the bank I knew what I was doing. Good news is once you get going it gets easier and easier to get money from your bank. Today I can e-mail my loan officer and he will put whatever I need into my checking account because he knows I've proven myself over several decades. It's just like your personal FICO score. When people see you are a person of your word and pay your debts on time, or early, they are more likely to take a risk on you. Eventually if you make enough good decisions the bank will say " OK, sure, no problem"

    If you're going to be a business person you can forget about being a billy-big-rigger trucker and become a transportation professional capable of being successful at business.

    If you don't have business experience there are millions of sources where you can acquire business skills; you just have to study and practice what you learn. You'll learn about risk. "should I change that tire or run it until I can get home? Are you going over a desolate mountain pass where cell service or a repair truck can't get to you? It's all about risk. Risk analysis skills take a while to develop but you'll get there if you're disciplined and stay in the game. Just remember to own your decisions and you'll do fine!

    Best of luck

    Robert
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. 201

    201 Road Train Member

    11,168
    22,651
    Apr 16, 2014
    high plains colorado
    0
    I only said that as a " and now this" moment, and as an O/O, there are plenty of those. And then there's the yearly inspection, that was always good for a couple grand. IDK, I enjoyed my time as an O/O, it's something I always, as a company driver, wanted to do. But like marriage, I'll never do THAT again,,,
     
    Rideandrepair and dwells40 Thank this.
  4. Wasted Thyme

    Wasted Thyme Road Train Member

    7,729
    38,291
    Jan 27, 2020
    GOAT watching
    0
    Right. Agreed. My thoughts were. New truck warranty and pmts. W/the benefit of the writeoff to offset.
     
    Rideandrepair Thanks this.
  5. Michael 247

    Michael 247 Heavy Load Member

    767
    3,509
    Nov 20, 2017
    Dublin Va
    0
    Who will do the Maintenance and Repairs ?? It's very hard to find a Mechanic that can Fix it right the first time..Labor Rate is 70 to 120 Dollars an Hour...if they don't fix it right then you're on the road with the same problem you already paid for..
     
  6. Pepper24

    Pepper24 Road Train Member

    1,787
    1,239
    Dec 3, 2010
    0
    As far as insurance you will pay either 6 months or a year at a time I’m not aware at least of any company that does it by the month.So if you don’t want to run for a month doesn’t matter you have to keep insurance in place or the first day without your authority will go inactive.So insurance is what it is.So if you’re able to absorb that cost yes you can run like that.As far as leasing to a carrier and wanting to run 3 weeks and off a week I don’t think it would be a problem if you are available for dispatch for 3 weeks at a time . But taking a month off I think it depends on how often you did that might become a problem with the carrier because they too have to carry you on there insurance for that time unless you maybe canceled the lease and resume when you go back To work I personally don’t think any carrier would want to do that simply because of the cost having to plate and permit the truck over and over.
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2020
    Rideandrepair Thanks this.
  7. Old Man

    Old Man Road Train Member

    4,597
    13,466
    Apr 3, 2009
    Oklahoma City, OK
    0
    You can work how much or little you want if leased to a good carrier that is big enough that they don’t have to up their liability insurance every time they add one truck. But they don’t want you keeping their trailer while not working, so buy your own. Pay for your own tag too.
    In a true contractor deal they cannot force dispatch. They can treat you like crap so you quit.
     
    tommymonza and Rideandrepair Thank this.
  8. Pepper24

    Pepper24 Road Train Member

    1,787
    1,239
    Dec 3, 2010
    0
    Ok I didn’t know that larger carrier were not adding insurance cost for every truck running on there athority.But they don’t have to treat you like crap so you will quit as a contractor they can release at anytime for any reason they want since in all cases I know about leasing to a carrier your running under an agreement which is open ended so either party can end it at anytime for any reason.There is no unemployment issue there concerned with
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2020
    Rideandrepair Thanks this.
  9. TTNJ

    TTNJ Heavy Load Member

    704
    954
    Nov 21, 2017
    0
    Odd.....perhaps I should start a company hiring owner operators for power only and provide the trailers. I think I should call it Landstar
     
  10. 201

    201 Road Train Member

    11,168
    22,651
    Apr 16, 2014
    high plains colorado
    0
    When I had my truck, a guy leased to us always bought a new truck. He claimed, it was just a better deal. I disagreed. While the truck may be new, the wagons are old, and downtime is downtime, and those big payments keep rolling in. Since I was able to wrench on an older truck, I felt it was a better way to go. If the truck sat, it was no big deal.
     
    Wasted Thyme and Rideandrepair Thank this.
  11. Midwest Trucker

    Midwest Trucker Road Train Member

    5,768
    20,578
    Aug 31, 2018
    0
    You won’t see that for much longer. By this time next year they will be 75 to 85k

    fyi
     
    Rideandrepair Thanks this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.