Preparing to get my CDL

Hello everybody! As the title states, I’m preparing to get my CDL. I recently quit my job of 9 years that I started straight out of high school due to an extremely unsafe work environment (it’s a complicated story). The thought of getting another office type job honestly sounds worse than death. I’ve always thought truck driving seemed like a job I would enjoy as I love driving, trucks (I’ve had an autistic obsession with semis since I was a child), and hauling things. Obviously I know there’s a little more to it than just driving trucks and hauling loads haha. I have type 1 diabetes, but I have already had and passed a dot physical and I am enrolling in school in Knoxville, TN this month. I have some experience hauling stone to various different states with my duramax and 32’ gooseneck. Not a semi but I figured some of the experience I gained doing that could be applicable to drive a semi.

I’m looking for advice. My ultimate goal is to start my own authority, but I’d like to start out as an owner operator running under someone else’s authority. I’ve read that it can be done, but it seems most people have the belief that you need to start as a company driver to gain experience (which makes sense to me). I have enough money to buy a truck cash, albeit an older truck, and still have about 50k in the bank. I aware that older trucks always present you with the opportunity of having to deal with a breakdown; however, I like to think I’m decently mechanically inclined (obviously never worked on a semi, but I have worked on duramaxs, powerstrokes, and various gas vehicles).

I guess my question is if there are companies that will let new/newer drivers with older trucks run under their authority. Im not opposed to having to do company driving for a stint, but I would really love to be able to operate my own truck as opposed to a company owned lego. It also seems the home time is better as an o/o? I just got engaged a couple weeks ago and am currently planning a wedding n all that. I would great appreciate some insight as I don’t have any people in my life the hold CDLs and google is trash so I have been left with so many questions that seemingly can’t be answered with a simple search. Thanks!

 

would it be a bad idea to go ahead and purchase a truck with cash to work on and familiarize myself with while driving as a company driver? The trucks I’ve been looking at are all older and while they run and drive, they do need a few odds and ends. No matter what my goal is to own a truck and become an o/o.

 

From what I’ve read running under someone else’s authority with your own truck could have benefits such as using their insurance? Obviously I could be mistaken. I understand that it apparently is hard to run under someone’s authority with your own truck when you’re a new driver, but I was curious if there were companies that offered such an opportunity?

 

I’ve found a few companies that say they don’t have an age limit on trucks, but of course experience is a requirement. The least experience I’ve seen required is 3 months. I think I’m just gonna have to deal with being a company driver for a bit before I can do what I really want to do, but I’m hopeful that maybe someone will know of a company that has what I’m looking for.