NEW LEASE OPERATOR UPDATE - 1st post 4/18/13

Well actually that almost was what was in the back of my mind when I wrote what I did. I figured you would get the real life experience of some one that is living day to day with the responsibilities of truck ownership.

It does to some degree take some courage to step out from under the umbrella of being a company driver, and explore a new situation.

Ha! The costs are outrageous, like next month May is a 5 week month. Meaning I will have 5 weekly truck pymts totaling almost $3000. plus incidental expenses with Swift for another $1000. plus perhaps almost a $7000 fuel expense for the month and my bi-monthly oil change is also due, add another $300. So then, all that is not counting my personal bills and expenses. So then, if all goes according to plan, by the end of May I would have paid out almost or more than $11,000 in expenses and my personal stuff besides.

So why do I do it??? Pride of ownership, a little more independence, my cat which is the reason I had to buy a truck, company drivers aren't allowed to have pets. Plus, well, too many to list.

I hope you get to see all angles once your journey begins. You can listen to just about every opinion that there is, and you will eventually maybe hear thousands. So you decide what it is that you want to think and believe. It's just that simple.

I will say this. If your decision is to own a truck. Its a heavy commitment. You can't let your guard down and be lazy, dumb or even stupid. I find I have to really think about every decision and choice I make, whether its the best one, ok or just plan bad. Your committed more to your truck than your wife, home, family and what ever else you hold dear. Many O/O have nice homes, wives and kids, and perhaps do enjoy as much time as possible seeing them. However, !!! Your truck is your life, its your bread winner and your going to be faced with the situation of being overwhelming committed to making it live up to its' earning potential.

It's great owning your own truck. It's great being a truck driver. So whatever your future brings, I hope its the right thing and the very best for you.

 

and p.s. Make your dream into a reality.

 

Thanks, I plan to live it to the fullest!

Wow those are some expenses to keep in mind and not even really the beginning, how long have you had your own truck? I have thought about my own truck but not for awhile, I want to get my feet wet and experience things before committing myself to such a huge thing such as owning your own truck. I had a friend who's father was an o/o and he injured his back and my friend had to drop out of college and move back home just to help them from losing their home over it. I know there are some companies out there who push leasing right out of training and people just get screwed. I know you have to keep pushing and making money since every day off you don't get a day off from the bills. From what I understand you need to be smart when it comes to money and managing it, you just never know when something huge will go out or need replaced.

 

I am not an O/O or L/O, but I would wait at least 2 years before taking the plunge. You will have a better base of knowledge to know what to expect from leasing or owning, the lifestyle of being a trucker, and whether or not the commitment is for you.

A few of the other expenses would be bobtail insurance, qualcomm rental, your maintenance fund (from .05 to .10 per mile), and the list goes on. There are a couple of threads here on the Swift board that give some real good information on leasing.

Good luck to you.

 

Don't forget fica, social security, federal tax. Those three rarely get mentioned.

 

So when your an o/o its pretty much like self employment then? Your responsible for all the tax holdings and such.
Yeah i figured at LEAST a couple years, i was told that most drivers don't even make it past the first year for various reasons. One guy i talked to used to do wreck recovery for swift for about 5 years and he said almost all recoveries were from people with less than one year experience.

 

OMG! I just looked at my March IFTA $153, Oregon charged $103 for having driven in it 787 miles. Holy crap, never again for Oregon, thats why the smart guys stay out of that state and don't go anywhere near it.

See what I mean about being stupid, its a huge learning experience, it just is!

 

MN, KY, & NY also charge mileage tax, though nowhere as bad as OR.

 

wow those prices seem steep just for driving through

 

We've been warning you ... And to put salt in the wounds, there is no IFTA credit attached to fuel purchases in OR.
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I think you mean NM ... NY isn't bad, you get a credit back for your toll charges against the IFTA tax. Since Swift is paying the tolls, it works to your benefit.