newbie with a million questions.....

Big w900 with studio will run about 24k lbs. most companies want you under 20k

 

Yes...like Vegas gambling..lol. The whole 135K truck thing is nuts. I would say you have a good chance of netting less than 0 over 4 years running 90K miles per year with a 135K truck. The rest of you are looking at the expense side from a trucking perspective.....however...It's not that hard to put 135K a year to work at 8% fairly securely....which (quickly compounded annually) is a net loss over 4 years of $50,000!!!! So...take that 135K truck - 50K used value - 50K LOST INTEREST... and over 4 years you've lost the whole 135K! Buy a good used 2-3 year old truck for 50K or less (there are a PILE of them out there due to everyone getting out of this occupation right now)...invest the other 85 to 100K you saved and have fun (which is what you seem to want to do) without losing your shirt!!

 

Ya, I get it, just like anything else a newebie enters into. The all too common.......oh its too hard, you will fail, no money to be made, you will loose your shirt. It comes from the old timers in ANY profession. No insult intended as this sort of response was kinda expected.

By virtue of the process of deduction, I have concluded that many people are and do in fact make money in this business. How do I know this? Because tens of thousands of you do it. I have read many rags to riches stories about truckers.

I know it is no pie in the sky scenario, but a person can buy a new truck, run a tight ship and make a few bucks. It's not rocket science, trust me.

The advise about looking into a used truck is well presented here and will be taken into consideration. The main issue I want in a new truck versus used, is the worry of costly repairs and peace of mind when I first drive off. A truck for around $104,000 new can be found, but the sleepers are basic and boring. this is why I was looking at the studio.

Most of those who fail at this game do stupid things. Like lease a truck new out of school and then decide to go home for two weeks and can't figure out how or why they are loosing money!

 

Being a rookie yet to the trade , when I was OTR I drove a 07 Freighliner Classic XL which to me and some others Ive spoken to seem to have quite a spacious bunk that was liveable. Again I just started this trade and am still learning but I do know that unless you have the promised miles and pay you might be in for a surprise. Just from watching and listening from other drivers. Even new trucks will require TLC. You might take care of it but its never to say when youll get hit or something else. Consider and read the posts on here and other sites. Talk to these other drivers that have "made" it and ask them how long its been when they started and what the economy was like at that time and where they would be if they were starting at these times. Oh yeah also ask if they had any help from friends or familes to get started especially if they inherited help or buissiness from families. Good luck in the path you choose.

 

I think this thread should have been titled " Wannabe With All The Answers " .

 

I can't help but get angry when I read all of these posts about how people are just gonna buy a truck and make all the money. I'm busting my BUTT to stay afloat, barely breaking even, and these BUTTHOLES come around and talk talk talk. Take your 135k, and shove it up your BUTT. If you haven't noticed, the country has gone to CRAP, work is little to non existent, and plenty of smart people are losing everything. And don't think just because you go out and buy your new chicken truck that you won't have to worry about break downs and repairs. Every new truck I've ever driven had ten times the problems of a nice 2-3 year old truck with all the kinks worked out.

Oh, and the Cowboys suck.

 

I agree with much of your post . Hope it is acceptable to the staff . The ignorant don't realize lost revenue due to downtime for repairs under warranty will amount to more than repairs to a reliable older truck .

 

Who knows, who cares? Heaven forbid some emotion be shown. We're not all robots following orders.

 

You must also remember that if you lease the vehicle to a motor carrier, that motor carrier must give you written permission/authorization to carry a passenger pursuant to 49 CFR part 392.60. Without the written authorization, you will receive a citation in most states for the unauthorized passenger, and in some states the state law will place you out of service until the passenger is no longer in the vehicle.

I remember an instance before I retired in a southern state where a driver had his young son in the truck without the written permission from the carrier & was caught at a state weigh/inspection location. He was not allowed to leave until his son was no longer in the truck. He called his wife to come get the son (she lived about 2-hours away). He left the son at the weigh station & started to leave. He didn't get to the end of the ramp back on to the interstate when he was pulled over again and arrested for child abandonment.

Here's the rule:

TITLE 49
TRANSPORTATION
CHAPTER III
FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PART 392_DRIVING OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES
Table of Contents
Subpart G
Prohibited Practices
Sec. 392.60

Unauthorized persons not to be transported.
(a) Unless specifically authorized in writing to do so by the motor carrier under whose authority the commercial motor vehicle is being operated, no driver shall transport any person or permit any person to be transported on any commercial motor vehicle other than a bus. When such authorization is issued, it shall state the name of the person to be transported, the points where the transportation is to begin and end, and the date upon which such authority expires. No written authorization, however, shall be necessary for the transportation of: (1) Employees or other persons assigned to a commercial motor vehicle by a motor carrier; (2) Any person transported when aid is being rendered in case of an accident or other emergency; (3) An attendant delegated to care for livestock. (b) This section shall not apply to the operation of commercial motor vehicles controlled and operated by any farmer and used in the transportation

From a retired federal DOT official

 

I'm sorry, but that's just them being dicks. I don't want to hear about it's my job to enforce nonsense. There's a difference between letter of the law and spirit of the law. Some DOT officers are like Security Guards, power hungry and completely unreasonable. While others are the nicest in the world.