So You Want to be an Owner Operator

Same system I have. Works great!

 

I've been driving for 2 and a 1/2 decades, always been a company driver, and always had the thought of being my own boss. Your write-up was, IMHO, nothing short of excellent. The biggest issue that always keeps me from pulling the trigger, is how nobody in the industry (minus entities like OOIDA) is ever making it easier for drivers. Too much liability, to many ambulance chasers and regulators that just gotta regulate regardless if the reg makes sense or not. As excellent as your write-up was, it didn't push me any closer to want to be my own boss. Could you elaborate a little more on lease purchase, with like landstar or super ego?

 

Also, glad you had you posterior covered and wont have the likes of a "Texas Hammer" looking to ruin you for something that you weren't at fault for. BTW, as a side note, my personal feelings on the cemeras, it's a love hate one. At first I hated them (I was there when the first systems started showing up), then I grew to love them because of how everything you do is all right there, and now with the AI cameras... back to hate. They lack the real time experience of what professional drivers have. Why we did what we did, ever if it was a dick move, it was probably for a good reason. Maybe because we know what people are going to do before they do. My new favorite thing is how break checking has made a comeback and these dudes, always in pickup trucks don't realize they're on camera.

 

I think this thread should be pinned. So many folks come in here with stars in their eyes, wanting to make that big money and drive a large car...this is a much needed dose of reality.

 

"Supertrucker" is a slang term often used in the trucking industry to describe a driver who takes unnecessary risks or is seen as a "super" driver, often associated with a certain personality or driving style. It's a term that can be both positive and negative, depending on the context.
In general, a supertrucker is often perceived as:

• Risk-taker:
  Someone who pushes the limits of their vehicle and/or the road conditions, potentially putting themselves and others at risk

 

This is spot on. Did it for 19.5 years with my own numbers. 2064 loads delivered. 0 claims. It’s the job that never ends. I guess I just got so caught up on succeeding, I kept going till I couldn’t afford to. The juice ain’t worth the squeeze. Working 60 hrs a week now @ 25 hr. It’s no picnic either. Pay is lousy. Looking to do something different maybe. Anyone with half a brain can do better than Trucking in its current State. Last local job I had in 1994 paid $16+ an hour. $14 was easy to get. Pay up 50% in 30 years just doesn’t add up against inflation. I hate to be negative, but the Industry has gone down the tubes. Not much future in it for an eager young person with lots of energy and ideas. A little bit of schooling, and a person could make twice the money, and have a much better future and quality of life. These days, in general, Trucking sucks. There, I said it.

 

28 years here. I decided a long time ago that I really wasn’t here to succeed….. I was just here to survive. Over the years people have called me a pessimist in about every round about way you can think of…but I think that mentality has served me well as I always have very low expectations. Right now, I would be better off by a mile if I hadn’t quit my job back in’97 but my wife keeps reminding me about how a misanthropist like myself is better off working FOR myself……..BY myself. I’m 51 now and I think I will just eventually die when this truck does.
Depressing some times when I see a 140 Cat grader swirling up a big windrow and I didn’t get to master that craft!