saving to be o/o

Wow I guess I am either dumb or lucky after picking up my first truck for 7k I leased and left for first trip with $30 in my pocket. Spent another 8k on it as I went
6 months in bought a different truck. Struggle for sure and if the motor goes this truck is done for but still have the other one to fall back on.
To run my own number need to build 30k for sure though and thats with no truck payment.

 

Who are you attempting to entice with this line? "Poor stupid truckers" that believe someone from the internet is looking to broker them freight and give them more money at their own expense?

All business agreements should be laid out in advance: my customers whether broker or direct, have 30 days to pay. No discount for early pay. Most are well ahead of 30 when the check clears. If truckers are always in need of an advance, or quick pay...

Know what, I don't have time to be pulling back the curtain on every broker that's trying to use this forum as a place to find foolish OO's to haul their freight. I'm done with this thread.

OP: if you don't have 60+ days of operating costs for your business, 60 days worth of personal expense money, plus a cushion of $15+ thousand dollars for unforeseen repairs: it won't take much to create a domino effect of failure upon your business.

 

This,... ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^



Hurst:smt111

 

Very lucky brother.. very lucky.

I have no doubt that many guys out there buy a cheap truck,.. run it as is with no back up money,.. do well and succeed to move on to bigger better things.

But reality and the the risks are extreme.

Imagine,.. guy buys a $15k truck. Gets his base plate and insurance. Leases on to someone like Mercer and uses their fuel card. 2 weeks out and a carrier blows or engine bites it while 2000 mi away from home.

What happens then? What if your under a load? Who pays to reload or repower the trailer?

Thats the kind of scenario that scared me to death when I first started. Just towing a loaded truck and trailer into a shop can run $1000 - $1500 easily. Last time I had to do it cost me $1300,.. plus $6200 repair bill.

Hurst:smt111

 

I hear that last time i was towed it was 4 miles and 500 then 20 mile 700 to the shop.
And till I get the proper capital I am stuck here where company will front some cash if need be.
Just was between a rock and a hard spot at the time and as they say desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

Why so much,what's the difference?
What's the extra money for?
…I'm getting my own authority…it's not that much money...

 

Because unless you do factoring or quick pay,.. you will need a bare minimum of 30 - 45 days cash to cover expenses before you get your first paycheck. Some can take as much as 90 days to pay. Some may not pay you at all. Claim you violated their contract.

Most of all,.. because cash is king.

You can do what you want. Ignorance is bliss they say. I made sure I crossed all my T's and dotted all my I's before I made the switch. I would not have survived had I not had the cash to cover things I didnt think would happen so soon.

Hurst:smt111

 

Oh,I see…I got that covered...

 

after all this reading I am seeing the value of a new truck and warranty...

sure it's not cheap but neither is a week of zero revenue from being in the shop costing you thousands upon thousands

 

Not sure I agree with this statement. My first truck was an $11K beater that I got a couple of years out of before it started nickel and diming me to death. Traded that for a 5 year old truck that turned out to be a nightmare. Traded that for a new truck that spent more time in the shop last winter for DEF system issues than it did on the road. That and the tow bills broke me. Warranty usually doesn't cover towing and darn sure doesn't cover lost revenue.

At the moment, I'm sitting on my butt for the last 7 months on worker's comp rehabbing a bum knee, but I plan on going back as a company driver early next year. I plan on getting my own truck again in 2016 now that I know what pitfalls to avoid.