Need Advise

If you have absolutely no idea of trucking I HIGHLY suggest you do NOT buy a truck just starting out.. You need a lot more experiance before "jumping" into this endevor!

 

I see you profile says 23 yrs. experiance.. so why the rookie questions?? You trying to start somthing??

 

I can tell you this, its a hard row to hoe out there hustling up freight right now. I do understand the desire to take advantage of the cheap truck market right now, but would be cautious about putting myself into debt and relying on running under your own authority to pay for it. Rates are cheap, and there seems to be very little room for negotiation right now. Add into that finding your own freight, up front operating costs, billing, collection, and compliance paperwork. There is nothing wrong with finding somebody to lease on with. Insurance costs will be lower, less paperwork involved, and you get your check while somebody else has the burden of operations. On the otherhand, if you get your own authority, there are other companies out there looking for "carrier partners" . May not be a bad way to go while you are getting your feet wet as a true owner operator. Either way, do not do anything you cannot afford to right now. I just bought another truck myself, but I paid cash for it. No finance company beating down the door if I don't make enough money. It can sit until freight picks up and I am still okay. I would be scared to death right now if my equipment was financed.
Further more, if you are just starting out under your own authority, I would strongly recommend that you use a "service" for compliance. There are companies out there that will maintain logs, do IFTA reports, and handle the drug consortium requirements. You might think, "ah hell, I can do all that myself" and you may, but Speaking from experience, it is real easy to get complacent and start letting it go. I did, and it cost me plenty. Now I pay somebody about $70.00 a month and they do it all for me. Well worth the aggravation. Just my opinion.....

 

unless you run coast to coast you will have a hard time getting the miles right now as you do less miles your cost per mile will increase because of your fixed costs plus you should figure in at least 10 cents a mile for maintenance

 

To give you an idea of the load boards, I have had plenty of "under a dollar " freight offered to me, some as low as 75 cents a mile. I can not and will not do it. Pay attention when other owner ops are telling you how cheap freight is. The truck has to make a living and you do too. Otherwise you are just wearing yourself and your truck out. As far as running your numbers, no offense, but you will probably wad that list up and make another after a few weeks. I know that I have worn the numbers off my calculator...lol I read on here somewhere that the big companies can make it with a penny a mile profit, just because of sheer volume. An O/Op cannot, so don't use your experience as a company driver as a guide to being an owner operator. Good luck to you sir!

 

...and the longer the freight, the cheaper it gets per mile........