Looking to buy my first truck. Help please.

You might wanna change your trucker profile to wannabe, when i saw 0-1 year i thought you just got your cdl

 

If you really want to be an o/o for gods sake get at least 2 yrs experiancr to see how you like the buisness.you might not like being gone long times away or dealing with breakdowns ect, if you have 30k saved up take my advice try to buy a property to rent out or flip it,youll probally do better than buying a truck!

 

I agree with you Cman301 that he should drive a couple more years before buying. I'm guessing the OP is from eastern Europe, maybe Czech, or Poland. At any rate being out for months and taking lumps that send most newbs running home to mamma is probably not going to be an issue for him. I do get the idea he is like most starry eyed newbs that get a taste of driving an want to jump in to a Large Car and be a Big Trucker. Now, as a trucker who built and flipped homes for 15 years and still owns 12 rentals. For gods sake BUY THE TRUCK.

 

I agree 100% owning your own truck yeah,its a blast till you hit the fuel pumps,breakdown ect. go with a company and save your money just to kind of get a round about of what they pay give you a better idea plus exp.as for truck wise love my kenworth but she aint made for fuel thats for sure

 

Please tell us a little more about yourself ,what you plan to haul , where you're thinking you're going to haul to,and who you're going to haul for.
That will give the folks who are serious about helping you , something to work with .
Right now , you haven't told us enough. How much experience do you have ? Who are you driving for now ? Do you plan on leasing to them , or somebody else ?
What are you driving now ? Do you like it ?
Remember , it takes a lot longer to write , than to read , a post . Shoot , write us a book ! We'll read it !
And someone will give you the answer you're Looking for. Just remember , in the end ,its You're Decision. You have to live with the truck you buy !

 

I read what you are saying and the best advice I can give you is to do your homework, have a plan see how much you can make at the company you want to work for. ask some of their o/os to let you see their settlements so you can see how much they really make. I was a o/o from 89 to 97 & I dont know how guys today are making money hauiling $1.00 mile freight paying $4.00gal for fuel ! If I won a rig today in a contest I would sell it asap instead of running it. I make $1200/$1400 a wk home every nite off on weekends without worrying about fixing some thing! I know the majority of o/os out there right now arent making more than I am after expenses! Good luck to you,but be catefull !

 

Welcome to America !
Thats a tall order. It can be done , for sure . Vans mean mostly cheap freight , you gotta run hard . Lot depends on your overhead , and their rates .
Are you a company driver now ? You might wanna get some more miles under your belt , before you buy a truck.
Most of us are working for our families . If you like trucking , get educated in it. Read a lot of threads . If you're just in it for your family , and don't really like Driving , and all the misery it can bring , you're in the wrong business .
That said , you'll need your Down payment. Then , you'll want to have at least three to five thousand in the Bank besides .
More later , if you're still interested.

 

I will give this gentlemen the benefit of the doubt. English is a 2nd language to him, so I will excuse the spelling and grammatical errors. And of course Chicago has more indivduals of Polish descent than Warsaw Poland. This fellow is from the Ukraine, and Chicago has become the epicenter for eastern Europeans migrating and entering certain industries, like trucking.
You have a significant resource in your Ukrainian friends, use them. You have $30,000. Buy something cheap, aerodynamic and easy to fix, for about $25,000, like any # of non EGR trucks up to 2003, assuming you are not going to the west coast. Make and drivetrain is up to you, condition is more important than anything. And use the $5000 left over for the inevitable repairs that are going to hit you in the 1st 3 months. Good luck.