One year as a O/O with one truck. Is buying a second as backup wise?

2 things, imho from the guys I've talked to that haul crude..
crude operations are regional/local and 30-40% off road.

 

As of now it is, but the fact that he was hauling crude oil would make one think otherwise regarding its past history.

 

This is why you need an accountant. They can look at the costs of the first truck and tell you to get rid of it, scrap it or buy a back up.

When I was doing the otr thing, I would calculate my running costs and repair projections against the value of the truck, there is a point that on paper it makes better sense to ditch the truck and I stopped doing the otr thing just as that point was reached, the truck sits collecting dust right now.

 

Having a 2nd truck just sitting is usually the kiss of death for a truck. Oil seals, tires, air system. I only had 1 truck, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't mind when the truck was down, it was a well deserved vacation, although, when it went down, I usually ended up working on it myself, so it wasn't really a vacation. You don't have a lot into the truck you have now, and sounds like you've done a lot of work on it already, so I doubt you'll have that much more going wrong for a while, and you probably don't have any payments, so another truck is just going to be another headache. Welcome to the wonderful world of being an oper-ownerator.

 

[QUOTE="semi" retired;4495226]Having a 2nd truck just sitting is usually the kiss of death for a truck. Oil seals, tires, air system. I only had 1 truck, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't mind when the truck was down, it was a well deserved vacation, although, when it went down, I usually ended up working on it myself, so it wasn't really a vacation. You don't have a lot into the truck you have now, and sounds like you've done a lot of work on it already, so I doubt you'll have that much more going wrong for a while, and you probably don't have any payments, so another truck is just going to be another headache. Welcome to the wonderful world of being an oper-ownerator.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, "Semi"! I was wondering and about to ask about this. I'm just the token four-wheeler here, but I know this is true of autos and assumed it was true for any engine.

 

Having a 2nd truck just sitting is usually the kiss of death for a truck. Oil seals, tires, air system No worse than a new / used truck sitting on a dealers lot for months on end and someone buying it and hitting the road , you just need to move it around and not just let it sit in 1 spot.

 

ditto.. whats wrong with alternating use of both trucks?

 

Hence the expression, "caveat emptor"... or "buyer beware"... when making your purchase.

 

Only wheel seal I ever lost while on the road was on a brand new KW W900 with 5,000 miles on it and yet when I first started out got headed to the west coast with a newly assigned old COE with mega miles on it with no problems.

 

My question is how do you put 50k worth of repairs in a truck and its only worth 20k? It seems to me at 50k you should have had an engine and transmission AND rear ends, along with air compressor, radiator, 10 new virgin tires etc.... I would assume that after spending 50k in a year the only thing you need to worry about now is services, so no I wouldn't think that purchasing another truck at 50k is a good idea unless you plan to plate it and run a two truck operation