Owner operator, hotshot, or local dump truck work?

How much money will I need to start? I will have 27k saved 9 months from now. I would plan on getting the truck and trailer on a business loan and using the 27k for maintenance/repairs. I already have a cdl from a community college. No experience.
Or, should I get a business loan on a class 8 truck and then lease onto a company?
Or, should I get a business loan on a dump truck and do local dirt work? I'm in the slc utah area.

 

Driver just get a company driver job and do that for awhile before you jump into the o/o routine. Otherwise your $27K will disappear in a flash.

 

Or whatever is FASTER than a flash.

 

Ok from all the posts it’s obvious you don’t know what to do or how to do it. Just go work for someone and keep saving money.

 

You can have the largest bank account in the world and it will just get smaller unless you know how to bid different job types and have a client list that trusts you in the dirt world.

As BM 58 said, find a job driving with someone else and take business classes while doing so.

Right now you probably don't even know where you would dump the dirt let alone what your cost per hour is going to be or what type of truck you actually need.

But no one can tell you "how much you need" it is something that you need to learn to calculate for yourself as it depends on what your client base offers and what your empty miles are going to eat into etc...

Jumping into an industry that you have zero experience in is a super good way to lose money.

On dump trucks do you even know the difference between 3/4 and crusher run? Do you have multiple pits looking for fill or better another operator that needs some fill? Do you know why the grey x-out from one development is highly prized by other operators while the pink stuff from the other side of the valley will require you to pay to dump it?

Do you know if you are going to buy a truck that can deal with 2-5' boulders or are you going to get one that is good at spreading gravel? Do you have a place to park it and realize that once you get back from a job like last week that it will be dripping mud everywhere and most places that you can rent to park a truck won't want you.

Can you fix your own mechanical problems, or will you need to pay for a mechanic? This is all stuff that you will learn long before you decide how much to spend on a truck. It is the business side that is the hardest part in on-demand trucking.

While I appreciate your enthusiasm, use that drive to learn by working for someone else and learn from their mistakes on their dime. You may learn that you would rather just be a driver vs driving all day and talking to clients all night. This is an industry based largely on reputation, reliability and integrity and is not as much based on the race to the bottom like the van world.

I love driving dump because I always have to be on my A-game in mountain urban conditions. It makes the day go fast as I am never board but I couldn't line up clients for the next day while dealing with tiny gated community roads, steep grades and also watch for peds, cement trucks etc....

Ignoring the work/life balance OTR is so much easier than driving dump safely, if you can find a dump job try it and I will think you will figure out that you will be mentally exhausted at the end of the day.

That learning curve is hard enough when you are being paid by the hour but as an OO you will be earning money by the load and will be distracted and incentivized to make really really bad decisions and may not learn the most important word in the industry which is 'no'. Not knowing how to say 'no' and hurting for money is a very very very bad mix in an industry where you will hurt and kill people if you mess up.

Listen to the others in here and make the smart choice and drive for someone else first.

 

Well said Boss. I’ve had a couple of friends over the years that went the o/o route and were broke in less than a year.

 

Oh.... c'mon. Get your CDL at a Community College, buy a Truck, make big bucks!!! This business is so easy.... Quit discouraging the new guy. OP.... Don't listen to the naysayers. $27,000 will buy you insurance for the 1st year. Fuel will cost about the same. You'll be fine.... Go ahead and do it. Please post your numbers monthly so we can keep track of how well you are doing.

 

I went O/O and with no experience and netted 90k first year, but I also had a very good network of O/O’s with 10-20 yrs experience watching my back. They were my uncles and cousins. If you don’t got something like that, I can tell you in four years I’ve had literally three actually smooth full days. It’s tough, and if you’re alone in it nobody cares if you can’t feed your family. Good luck

 

@Jbrow327 are you driving dump yet? Do you have any experience? I'm also in the SLC area, boss may or may not roll the dice on you. (I work in dirt)

 

Just come back in 9 months and we'll talk then)