need advice in becoming a owner operator!!!

That 389 must of had a rough life because at the most it was only 9 years old seeing they were only introduced in 2006

 

Personally. I think people should wait and see what happens on the insurance front first. A lot of new people are going to fold up immediately. If that premium ends up asnhigh as has been talked about.

 

I don't mind being a mechanic, I just don't want be one on the side of the road at night 2000 miles away from home.


I have been looking at trucks like crazy and the pre emission ones that are not beat are going for 18000 to 25000 with very high miles.

And even those I would count on sinking a minimum of a few thousand in them before I would take them down the road unless you came across a rare Cream Puff

For 10 to 15 thousand you are looking at buying some old worn out mid emission company truck with huge miles on it.

 

I have run plenty of older trucks with a lot of miles on them and did just fine. One thing I can tell you from hard cold experience, is that you have to be very proactive in your maintenance and repair regimen. Waiting for a part to completely fail before you replace it can be very expensive in terms of paying to get your truck towed in or trying to find parts in a remote area. I always tried to listen to my truck and get a feel for when something was starting to not sound right and put a new part in place before the failure point. Of course, this is not fool proof and I spent my share of time on the side of the road trying to get the truck wired together so I could make it to the next town where I could get parts. I think you would not be remiss in starting off debt free and making due with the lesser conveniences until you get established. It takes a bit to get the money flowing, but it adds up quickly. Good luck to you and keep us posted as to how everything is working out for you!

 

Some of the benefits of paying cash for an older truck really don't apply to a team operation. Might be a good way to get started, but I think eventually a new truck or glider truck with warranty may not be as bad as you think. Nobody likes payments, but you can easily wind up paying the same on repairs and down time on an older truck. Especially with the demands of a team operation. At least you know when the payments are coming, repairs will surprise you.

 

I think best course of action would be to just leave your buddy out of the mix for a little bit. Because honestly that money you would be paying him will need to be poured into that 10k truck. Once you get a handle on your equipment then bring on another driver.

 

I know about the mechanic idea. It IS a good idea, but you're going to burn yourself out. I can turn wrenches. I've built cars and 4x4 trucks. I did an inframe before. But I don't consider myself a mechanic. Had a mechanic do an inframe on a truck for me and he had it done in a day and a half. I bought all parts and he charged $950 labor (cash talks). I can't touch that. My time is more important than money. So, I quit turning wrenches. When I go home, I drop the truck off at the shop, and write a list of things I want done.

How did I find this shop? I went to the local Cat dealer and asked the oldest guy at the parts counter if he knew anyone that could do an inframe for a good cash price. I asked at Truck Pro, and they recommended two shops. The best thing about the small shop is if I am out on the road and need tech help, they help me. If you go into a dealer, the dealership wants to experiment on your dime. And even if they can't figure out what's wrong and fix it, they're going to charge you their hourly rate. It's like handing a complete stranger a blank check.

On my first truck, I lost all heat in northern Alberta. Knew it was the head gasket. Made it back to the states, went into a Freightliner dealer and after they tried to get me for $20k for an inframe without opening the hood, they told me that my engine had locked up. I tried to turn her over, but sure enough, she was locked. I got out the tools, pulled the valve covers, jakes, and injectors. Number 5 was filled with coolant. I put everything back but the number 5 injector, spun the motor and released the hydro lock. Had some fat girl from the service desk tell me that I wasn't supposed to do that because of insurance. "Screw you".

So do learn how to turn wrenches, but be sure to find you a shop around the house so that the truck can be serviced while you are at the house. The knowledge you gain about your truck helps to protect you from the billions of scoundrels that will try to empty your pockets. And you won't get burned out because you have to wrench when you're not driving.

Luck in battle.

 

Maybe think about power only first instead of getting your own trailer. Get used to all of it for a little bit. Don't bite off too much at once

 

This point needs to be addressed more to guys who want to be an o/o. being a mechanic is an important aspect of the job. The more you can do mechanically the better off you'll be. part of that is knowing when you need to get the tractor into a shop and knowing when to fix it yourself. Good judgement comes from experience. Unfortunately, experience comes from bad judgement.

 

good thread thx