Maybe he should try HH as a company driver...... Probably need to start in flats. Because getting on to HH with 15 months experience is a long shot....
There are no averages in general, as there are numerous different segments to this industry. I haul hopper bottom grain, I clear 30-35% of my gross. Keeping your expenses down is the big issue, I have a heated shop I can do a lot of maintenance myself. I work five or six days a week, and three hours a weekend on maintenance. A lot of people can make it (some don't) when times are good. If you can make it during the tough times, then you got it made.
I started with $30,000 of my own money. It wasnt until after I started and committed myself that I realized $30k was not enough and borrowed $20,000 just to maintain what I had already started. That was buying a truck, leasing on to a carrier, pulling their trailer and running under their authority. I never said it could not be done. I read stories here on TTR where guys say they have done it with much less. People who financed everything from the onset and survived. So I do not doubt the possibility that anyone can make it with enough savvy and fortitude. My main concern is his lack of experience in both,.. trucking and being in business. But hey,.. if they want to risk $100k of their own money on a gamble that could go either way,.. why not?? People have lost more than that in Vegas. Hurst
I just cringe when I read Double Yellows thread . He invested with a lot of cash and book smarts but zeroed out at the end . He admits he wasn't flexible enough , didn't want to run regional , didn't want to run his home state , didn't want to run all over ... I think if you can pull a flat , van or reefer and just shift when segments turn down to one that is stronger that's more realistic for steady success . I run on credit lines , I don't see the upside to investing so much capital that's not earning any investment just to try to recoup it in two years , even if I had that kind of scratch. Jmo
@Jonkie you should be a politician as quickly as you changed your responses. From the O/O are just trying to tell you not to do it bc of the completion. Then when someone responded you went the opposite direction immediately.
Alot of guys are hurting right now. Some it may be there own fault, others are a victim of the ####ty economy. I don't see things turning around any time soon. At least you are on here asking questions first. Most everyone has given you good answers. Hopefully your husband sits down with you and reads them over real good before making any big decisions.
I'm not discouraging him from doing it, but there's so many questions asked in the first post that it's impossible to give answers. if he chooses to go this route I hope he succeeds, I don't want anybody to fail and lose everything. Everybody sees o/o making $1.?? Something a mile and thinks it's all profit.
I don't turn the key for less than eight dollars a mile . Because it's powered by a magical unicorn that's expensive to feed
