So you want to "own " your own company

I guess that I should also chime in, too. If you want to get into the trucking business I would suggest that you drive the truck for at least a year or two yourself before putting a driver in it. You also need a good cash reserve for emergencies. There are many ways in which you can lose your shirt in this business. Buying a truck without first having some personal experience is a good way to lose your investment.

Whether you lease or buy is a personal decision. Leasing may require a smaller down payment, but I prefer to buy. It may or may not be better for your tax situation. I don't see that there is enough profit or revenue to lease a truck through a carrier and put a driver in it. Most carrier will require the leasee to also be the driver. If you go to an outside leasing company you may get into the truck with the first and last month payment. They could also require as much as 10% down or more, depending on your credit and level of experience. Lenders do consider your time in the industry when they look at whether to approve your loan.

 

is there anyone i can talk to and that can give me some advice plz contact me and help via Email or phone
abaznian@yahoo.com

 

The people that have responded have done so in an effort to help you out. This forum is full of people that share ideas and help one another in this industry. I encourage you to post your questions here so we can help you out if you wish.

I've removed your phone number for personal security reasons.

 

I'm 60 years young walking into this business as a flatbedder for Swift. No prior experience. I would like to be an o/o eventually not tomorrow not next year. I'm in pretty good health and reasonably intelligent. How long were you guys drivin before you made the jump? I see my age as an assest and a liability. I have a lot of life experience but a short time to learn trucking. Can I make my truck pay for my wife's house? ( I have neither at this point. And perhaps an unrealistic thing for KW's. Ha ha ) Thanks for yer thoughts.

 

You'll get a wide variety of answers here. Although driving experience is critical, there's a host of other things that are involved. I made the jump after having my CDL for 5 years, although I didn't drive full time during those 5 years (it's complicated).

 

Being older and in good health is certainly an asset in this business. If you eventually want to buy your own truck, it would be much better for you to wait until you get a year or two experience. There is a very high failure rate in this industry, especially for those with limited experience. Having previous business experience would be helpful to anyone who wants to become an owner operator. As to whether you can own a truck and it pay for your wife's house, well, that would depend on how expensive your wife's tastes are and how big the house payment. It would probably be difficult to make any sort of house payment of any size if you are leasing a truck from a carrier. If you keep your truck payment down below $1,000/month then there is no reason that you should not be able to pay for a house or about anything else you want. You should be able to earn a very good living as either a company driver or owner operator.

 

Thanks you.

I need drivers where can i find them O/O or owners can anyone help on this.

 

You really need to be more specific friend....

 

A quick question, I don't see myself as ever being an O/O ( I am willing to take less pay for not having to deal with the risk/expenses). For those of you who are o/o how mechanically proficient are you, and do you believe people who are not mechanically proficient will be able to adequately handle being an O/O?

 

Good question.

I am mechanically efficeint enought that I can repair most anything with the right tools, and a place to do it. More importantly, is being able to tell by the sound, feel, ride, and drive, that something is not right as soon as a potential problem starts, and knowing where to look to find the problem by the symptoms.

I have saved myself tens of thousands of dollars by doing my own repairs, and by finding future problems before leaving the house. That way I was able to fix them here instead of beside the road or in a shop in bfe.

My feeling is if you are not very mechanically inclined, your chances of making it just went down 80%, unless you happen to be blessed with one of the few trucks that rarely give problems.