Planning to build a small fleet, which truck to start with?

Trucking is too risky, especially if you hire drivers. There are better businesses for a new business owner for sure. Looks like CBD and tattoo removal could make you billions in the next few years.

 

Dino soar,
@Dino soar has a good idea. Use your cash to buy rental property.
I'll add, let a management company manage it for you. While that's going on, you can go trucking somewhere as a company driver.
The rental management company will take care of your rental properties; vetting renters in hopes of getting reliable renters in your properties, collect rent and deposit it for you, enforcing the rules on the property, taking care of maintenance.
`

 

Whatever you do, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you were the Driver that’s one thing. Having to rely on others to be profitable, especially when they’re 1000 miles away, and broke down. Too many potential problems. Between overhead costs, especially the inevitable unexpected ones, it’s hard to make a profit off one Truck. Better hang on to your cash. When it’s gone, and credit gets stretched, it can be a fast Snowball effect decline. One example is a major repair, $15000, say, after 5-6 mos. of doing everything right. Repair bill plus downtime plus fixed overhead bills still due. There goes most of your profit. If you’re serious, try to get more than one Truck ASAP, with as little down as possible. Keep your cash. You may never get it back. Buying Trucks is easy. Good deals everywhere every day. The real problem is getting and keeping the Drivers. It’s going to be a lot harder than you think. Not saying you can’t do it. But it will be tough. So many things are out of your control in Trucking. Keep your cash. Never know when it will be needed for emergencies or other more Lucrative opportunities. I only run one Truck myself. No Expert by any means. But I’ve seen a lot come and go. Great Success to Great Failure. Happens very fast in Trucking.

 

20K in 3 months? I know carpenters, electricians, and plumbers that make that and kiss nobody's ### AND they sleep at home every night. You said you made 80K and took off 3 months.. that works out to close to 9K a month.

 

I didn't make 80k, I saved over 80k. And I'm still not done with my first year. You keep moving the goal post. First it was better business to start, then it was a company driver, now you switched to a whole different career field that requires years of schooling. Maybe trucking isn't for you.

 

Been at it for 25 years. Doing just fine. Not moving the goal posts at all. You can make $7K a month driving for someone else. There, does that make you happy? My point was you don't have to take all the risk for a low return that trucking does.

This is your quote that started this discussion. "Tell me a business I can start with 60k and at the end of the year have over 80k. While taking about 3months off." I read that as: I take 60K and buy a tractor and trailer. I hit the road and at the end of the year I have $80K in my bank account. (and a tractor/trailer tha's another year older and worth a lot less) I also read that as after expenses and that's the net profit. If that is so, you made $80 in wages before taxes. I could be wrong and that's $80K after you paid yourself wages. Not bad money at all (great money if you paid yourself wages)as long as the truck doesn't break something major.

My response was take that $60K and put it in the bank. You now only have to clear $20K in the next year to be in the same spot. If you're a good qualified driver, you can easily make $80K a year driving and have no expenses, risk or liability going to your own iron.

I get wanting to work for yourself, and I've been doing it now for a long time. That freedom is something that is hard to put a value on. I just hesitate to suggest to someone who has zero experience in trucking to invest in trucking. The only way I've made any money at it is to drive for myself, to fix my own stuff, and a whole lot of praying that nothing breaks. I also made a bunch of money before the FMCSA existed and my state's commercial vehicle enforcement was non-existent. I was able to ride that money into the future. I saw the writing on the wall and using those trucks I already owned I went after specialty clients that appreciate my service and pay willingly for it. You don't find those relationships everyday, especially as a new entry into the market.

If the original poster had come along and said he'd been in the industry for 5 years, developed relationships with customers unhappy with their current freight providers, and saw an opportunity to fulfill those that were unhappy; I'd probably be singing a different tune.

 

And you still never told me a business with a better return than trucking.

I'm not a good qualified driver that can find a job that will hire me for 3 months and allow me to save 20k, or 9 months out of the year and make upwards of 80,000. I had no experience and did my own everything from the start so I wouldn't know.

Do you understand stand that keeping 60k in the bank and saving an extra 20k is not the same as me spending 60k and getting back up to 80k? I own assets and started a company. I'm literally worth more money.

 

Your "asset" is a truck. It's not real estate, it's not a building, and the trucking company isn't really worth anything more than the value of the trucks. The problem is that if you truly cleared $80K in net profit (not gross) you are an anomaly in this business, not the norm.

One of my friends who had decent carpentry skills went out and got his general contractors license. It took him less study time to pass his residential construction endorsement than it did his A class CDL. His total work setup was less than $50K.. a nice 20 yr. old used truck with a lumber rack and a used enclosed trailer. About $10K in tools. He does work for hire for 4 days a week (10 hr days) with one employee. He always have one or two spec houses going all the time. They'll do one or two spec houses a year alone. He built his own house one year, and he doubled his money right off the bat for a real asset. His family takes a month off per year, have a jet boat for the rivers, and an ocean boat AND they put money in the bank. That is just one example.

I'm seriously curious how you saved $60K to get started and why you didn't stick with that job?

 

You don't know what an asset is?

 

I absolutely do. Rolling stock is a depreciating asset. It's great for 1079 deductions, but it's still going to be worthless in a decade. My buildings and land have almost all doubled in value in 20 years, my trucks lose value every year.