Owner operator looking to buy second truck

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Jeremy1, Jul 15, 2018.

  1. Jeremy1

    Jeremy1 Bobtail Member

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    We are leased to a small company and looking to buy second truck and have a team run the second truck. Really need some help and some information
     
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  3. Where did you buy your first Truck? Why not look to get second from that source.
     
  4. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    What info do you need?

    I mean really it isn't difficult, you go and locate a few trucks, see which one fits your needs best, do your due diligence on them (which will cost a grand or about that) then hire drivers and put the truck on the road.
     
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  5. windsmith

    windsmith Road Train Member

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    I only have one truck at the moment, but my research suggests that an odd number of trucks is the key to not going broke as a small fleet owner. One truck, three trucks, five trucks? Good. Two trucks, four trucks, six trucks? Bad.

    Can't tell you why, but that's how it seems to work out.
     
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  6. tnevin225

    tnevin225 Road Train Member

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    That ranks right up there with Step on a Crack break my Mothers Back.:rolleyes:
     
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  7. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    That's bs.

    There is always a correlation between failure and greed-ignorance, but not the odd or even numbers of trucks you have on the road.

    So I have to repeat my question ... What info does the OP need?
     
  8. Jeremy1

    Jeremy1 Bobtail Member

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    Is it better to lease with a buy out option for the next year to see if it works and how much of a pain it will be keeping drivers
     
  9. mover man

    mover man Road Train Member

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    That is an old advise from long ago.
    Has something to do with when trucks go down. If you have 2 trucks and one goes down for major repairs. The one that's still running has to support 2 truck and drivers. But if you have 3 trucks and one goes down. Then you have 2 trucks supporting 3.
    Sounds confusing hope you can understand what I'm trying to say.
     
  10. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    No it isn't better, actually it is a bad idea for a lot of reasons, one is that they can terminate the lease if you are not working that truck.

    Finding drivers is the biggest PIA you can imagine and teams are hard that are there for the long term.

    What you and other "newbies" don't think is that people are not like you.

    You may run as much as you want and get things done but others can get fatigued quickly and their performance drops off dramatically. I have a fleet where one of the policies is drivers get the hell out of the truck, not take a rest but they take serious time away from the truck. This is because they get fatigued and there has to be a rest period where they don't do any truck stuff, relaxation, spend time with the family or just go somewhere like Florida and sit on the beach. MOST small fleets can't do that, most can't even afford the driver out of the truck for more than a week, let alone two weeks. So to me this is part of the issue with drivers who think they can handle 24/7/52 when the human factor is involved, but then you have teams and that is compounded by five, you have to individuals living in a 320 cubic foot box for weeks at a time and hotel time just doesn't cut it.
     
  11. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    Not so much the odd/even but what a few guys have said that own a small number of trucks is that you should stick with one unless you can have 3 or more.

    To the OP....what will you be offering that would make an experienced team leave their job and come work for you? That’s not an insult. Me personally, I wouldn’t leave my good job to go try out something that may or may not work.
     
  12. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    You know Long, there have been a few applicants who asked me "how long you been doing this? I don't want to be with a new company who doesn't know their head from their ****".
     
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