O/O wanabee

Do not let the naysayers discourage you. There are lots of Guys out here making a good living cause they are dedicated to succeed. All the luck to you, Chris -theloadlocater

 

curious who you are going through for insurance with a 1000 mile radius with no experience?

 

This is a joke, right? You have never even driven a truck...have no clue how to even shift a straight 10 and you are already talking about buying a truck where you split your shifts?

11R22.5 tires are the same diameter as low profile 24.5's. Low profile 22.5's are a little shorter, and 11R24.5's are a little taller. Just like ANY mechanical object, ANY change in the power train will affect the outcome. Larger tires, higher rear end gear, OD transmission....they all will lower the RPM at cruising speed...just like shorter tires, lower rear end gear, and direct drive transmission will increase RPM at cruising speed. This to drive a variety of set-ups so that you know what works FOR YOU and what doesn't. Top end speed doesn't get you anywhere any faster...and WILL cost you a lot in fuel, fines, and CSA2010 points. You are still limited by the speed limit and traffic conditions.

2007 engines were the first to have DPF's. Like any new technology forced upon an industry by government regulations before it has been thoroughly tested, there will be problems until the bugs are worked out. Some of those problems were driver-caused due to a lack of understanding how the system works (or just using the wrong fuel). Similar problems arose after EGR was mandated in 2004, too...and I expect to see a few on the 2010 engines with SCR, too, although that technology has been in use overseas for a while so the mechanical glitches should be relatively low in number. Drivers will still need to learn how the system works and what to do/not to do. By now, most of these issues that were had with the 2004's and 2007's have been worked out and updates are available to correct the mechanical issues. I wouldn't worry about them...just do your homework and make sure the updates have been made.

As for spec'ing the truck, I could tell you what I like...but what I like is irrelevant to YOUR operation. YOU need to pick a truck that YOU like. You won't be able to know what you like until you have planted your butt in a seat and experienced the good & bad about the various trucks you have driven and the way they were set up. One person's "perfect truck" might be a living hell for another. For examples of that, just read through the "dream truck" thread. Everyone has their own expectations of how a truck ought to perform...and what their truck ought to be able to do.

"Ooooh, that's shiny" should be the LAST thing you look for in a truck, because it's the easiest to change. Easier than swapping rear gears, transmissions, or engines.


Like I said, you have A LOT to lose, and not much to gain. You are going to be dipping into your savings just to buy the truck and get it set up. Then you will be dipping into your savings again to run the truck until you start getting paid (which running your own authority, may take 30 days if you are lucky, 90+ days if you don't thoroughly check out the brokers and customers you are hauling for. Then, you'll be dipping into your savings again when the truck breaks...because it's gotta get fixed so you can keep earning money that you won't see for a few months. Whereas now you may be dipping in a little each month, when you buy that truck it will be large chunks every time you put your hand in that cookie jar.

Fuel? I spend $1000/week in fuel, and I'm home every night. No idling, no APU, no 34 hour restarts. VERY few weekends, even. Got 2-3 months worth of fuel saved up?

Repairs? If you can do the work yourself, you'll save a little money...but parts are still expensive. If you don't have an out-of-the-weather place to work on a truck, you'll either be putting off doing something (which usually leads to a more expensive repair down the road) or you'll be working outside when it's 40 degrees and pouring rain.

Tires? You can change 4 tires on a car for less than it costs for 1 truck tire. You'll have 18 of them.

With a flat or step, you will also have chains, binders, straps, edge protectors, tarps, tarp straps, and a host of other "little things" that you won't even think about until you need them. If you worked for a company first (in their truck or your own), they'd either tell you what to have or they would supply you with it. All of that costs money, too. All of that equipment wears out and needs replacement, too...which again costs money. You have to know how much all of that equipment costs, as well as how many times you expect to use each one of them and factor that cost into your rates, too.

If you have a loan on your equipment, the lender doesn't care if you had a slow month...or had a breakdown and had a large repair bill...they want their money. If you didn't clear enough to have it, you'll be dipping into the savings yet again.

There is a LOT to this business, and you can't learn it by reading about it.

If you do everything right, you might make it. However, you can do everything right and still fail miserably. Get one or two things wrong, and your chances at success go down exponentially. You have a family, and would like to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. There are far less risky ways to invest your money...like the lottery.

I was young and single when I bought my truck. If I had a family to support, it is a leap I doubt I would have made. Until that truck is paid off, your life revolves around the truck. You won't get "paid vacations", and your health insurance options are whatever you can find that you are willing to pay for. If you don't work, you won't get paid...and if you aren't working because the truck is down, if you don't have the money to pay someone else to work on your truck, you had better know how to wrench on it yourself. The DOT doesn't care if you've got the money to pay the fine or not...if they catch you slacking off on the maintenance because you didn't want to dip into your savings to fix the truck, you'll have to dip even deeper to pay the fine AND THEN potentially have to pay someone to come out to the road side and fix what you didn't want to do when you were home. If you neglect the maintenance and have a wreck, you may even face jail time.

It's an expensive business to be in...

 

You should probably talk to a couple of other insurance companies. I was quoted $22,500 per year for a 2003 International 9900, and a 2004 Doepker B-train bulk trailer for hauling grain. That was 3 mill Plpd, collision, bank required this and 50k cargo. That is to run the three western provinces in Canada. I don't know how you insurance works in the states but that is what is going to cost me. That kind of puts a kink in my plans. As a compairison for me to insure the same truck and trailers under my farm plan it would cost $5,500 and change. But then its not legal to haul for others, and I want to be legal because the fine is pretty nasty if you get caught.

As for experience, I have been running trucks since I was 14, on the farm and have had my class 1 since 2002. The problem is that the insurance companies won't classify my farm work as experience. I would average 70-80,000 miles a year hauling my own commodities, so this also angers me. No wrecks, no tickets, no DUIs, nothing. So if you can get insurance for that price your doing good.

 

You're going to do whatever you want to do no matter what folks say here. It will take that kind of determination and a bunch more to keep on truckin'.

All I can say is, do your homework. Research, research and more research. When I got my Authority, it cost plenty more than $300. Overhead is the killer.

I've encouraged many new entrants into the O/O world to write a business plan that covers everything from marketing through expenses. Lay out a plan and work the plan. Those that approach this business or any other for that matter, have a better chance of success than those that don't.

I wish you all the luck in the world but PLEASE...research and put your plan on paper!