Minimal capital suggested starting off as a O/O

Agreed. I stopped to help a dead rig on the top of black mountain/ridgecrest in NC.. 2019 paccar engine, smoked fan hub at 96k miles. Cracked head, coolant peeing down the block.


That hill wrecks a lot of equipment.

 

I started out with 15k bought me a 2015 freightliner cascadia had 513k miles put 10k down back in feb since then I’m on pace to net 115k from March til the end of the year I’m also haul crude oil and avg 3.00 a mile loaded and empty with that being said I made mistake and bought another truck with cash and now struggling to stay afloat had 15k saved up after the purchase but I broke down and was down for 8 days and the other truck I bought wasn’t ready to be driven has minor work so I learned a valuable lesson don’t count ur chickens til they hatch lol but with that being said u should clear 115k anywhere it’s the best decision I have made even though there are days I wish I was a company driver and learn how to work on stuff urself mechanics will charge u 1800 bucks for 4 hours of work

 

Cash needed at startup, here's what I'd recommend since this happened to me when I first went out on my own:
Enough to cover engine replacement and tow bill, flight home, money to cover all expenses while the truck is being rebuilt, including truck payment and insurance. You need enough money to afford 4 full tanks of fuel when you finally get going again (unless you factor)..or enough fuel until your money cycles back from billing customers.
My engine loss only cost me 11,000 dollars because a friend of mine did it in his spare time and I used one of my spare tractors to run my lane, believe me it still hurt me financially.

I agree with others: you cannot have enough money. You MIGHT be able to slide with minimum amounts of money but I don't operate that way [always stressing over money] I prefer big fat margins that only cost me time, because that's what we are really battling against in the first place: time.