Please Help Me With My Situation

Don’t listen to negative guys like @Dave_in_AZ , they just want you to fail. You have the humble attitude necessary to succeed, so go buy a used International with a MaxxForce engine, head to Florida and run dryvan freight . You will be expanding in no time if you have the patience to hire drivers.

 

Jace, I hope you realize Shogun is joking here. He gave you the worst truck with the worst engine running in the worst place. Although if you could do that and succeed you could do anything.

 

Aw man, your killin me Truckermania!!!

 

Sorry man, was just worried that he might take you seriously.

 

@Jace95,

I was kidding. If you think i was being serious, it just shows a lack of fundamental understanding of this business. At least you are doing your research which is a step in the right direction. You need capital, good business acumen, mechanical ability and problem solving skills at the ready.

A blowout costs you hours and $500 for a simple tire repair. Truck shut down due to an engine fault and you can’t diagnose? Expect a $250 call out or better after hours, a potential $5-700 tow bill, and the truck to be down for several days while parts changers fumble around throwing parts at it. Miss an appointment and the receiver won’t unload you? You just lost a day or two in revenue. Book a decent load going to Colorado on Friday? Don’t expect to leave out back out before Monday or a Tuesday. Reefer unit go down with a load of frozen peas on? Better call cold storage ($$$) or bribe the receiver to unloading you.

Headlight out at a scale with no spare? You get shutdown and pay a mechanic service to come fix it. Don’t know how to load a trailer? Get a ticket, and get put out of service until you get it re-worked which is costly. I am just scratching the surface here. Drive someone else’s truck for a while, treat it like your own, then try it out if you still want to O/O.

 

Have you priced insurance for a driver/owner-operator with no experience?
www.OOIDA.com is a business website for the owner-operator & small fleet owner.

 

You better listen to Shogun.......money goes out faster then it comes

 

One huge question I have that nobody seems to have touched on, is your friend in Texas a current O/O and is he successful at it? If the answer is no, I would run away from the trucking business and put your education to good use somewhere else. But, if the answer is yes, then there just may be an opportunity for you.

If your friend is an O/O, owns his own truck with his own authority, there is no reason you can't get your CDL and learn the ropes with him. If he's been at it a while, knows how to find high paying loads and has a pretty good business sense, then he shouldn't mind bringing on a future business partner to show you how things work. The two of you driving around together would also be a good way to really get to know each other and discuss how the business would work and how to improve it. Partnerships aren't easy, and you both may find after spending a few weeks together on close quarters that you can't stand each other, and starting a business together is a bad idea.

I have a sneaking suspicion that your friend isn't a successful O/O and is looking for a partner to come up with half of the cash "he" needs to get his own business started. Guys that have been doing this a while and have a brain wired for business do great in trucking. In fact a $10k month would probably not be a very good month for them because I know several that gross over $20k a month. If your friend was one of those O/O's he wouldn't need you to get another truck to expand his company.

Don't be a sucker. If you have $15k saved up and your family friend is looking to become an O/O, trust me, you will do much better in the short and long run with the education you already have and finding an entry level job in your field. I owned my own successful business for 30 years with an education similar to yours, and only got into trucking 3 years ago as a bucket list thing as somebody else mentioned. I like a challenge, and I'm becoming an O/O just to see if I can do it, and after a few years I can walk away if I want and still be fine in retirement. It's just something I wanted to try but it's going to be on my terms. Being a company driver SUCKS, and while I gained some great experience, I don't envy anybody that has to do it to pay the bills. I understand their strong desire to start their own business, but every year at least 80% of new O/O's fail. Of course if none of them failed there wouldn't be company drivers and being an O/O wouldn't pay very well, so I guess in a sense that's a good thing.

Anyway, good luck with whatever course you decide to take.