So you want to "own " your own company

That's why I would never be an O/O Stranger. But it is a portion I think alot of wannabe's forget about. It is also why companies want repairs done at the yard, on the road repairs are a minimum of 3x the expense.

 

You have to figure it as 100 bucks an hour for the truck to be worked on. I had to get my thermostats replaced along with an oil pressure sensor for the itake actuator on the jake on my company truck Monday and it cost 572. 248 in parts and 273 in labor and 22 for shop supplies. Now that is something that can be done fairly easily with the right tools ad a few hours of time, atleast the thermostats. I dont have the slightest clue as to where that sensor is located to change it out.

 

You can do a lot of repairs yourself, especially the small stuff. Just changing a light can save you $45 or more in labor costs. Add the fraudulent shop fees that most garages charge and you will easily be over $50 plus the cost of the light. I keep extra lights in my trucks in case I need to replace one on the road. I have bought marker lights at my local truck parts store for about $2 that I have seen for $5.00 or more at a truck stop. I also keep spare belts and fuel filters. These are minor repairs that can usually be done with a pair of pliers and screwdriver. I keep a set of tools in my sidebox. Only a few months ago I had to replace a belt. It only took me about 5 minutes and I saved a minimum of 1/2 shop time, plus having to find a shop. I usually have a spare belt with me. I waited to gas up my a/c because it would have cost me over $100 for someone to connect up a hose to my a/c system. I have guages and my own gas. I can't see paying someone to do what I can do for myself. I have changed out a radiator and done a lot of other types of repairs. I saved about 3 or 4 hours labor on the radiator. Other repairs that I can recall making in the last year or so are air governor, air filter, relief or pop off valve in the compressor and air tank. None of these repairs were complicated, but I saved hundreds of dollars in labor costs. In addition, all I had to do was pull my tools out of my sidebox. If I had gone to a garage, they would have charged me their usual hourly rate plus shop, fee plus sales tax and I would have wasted hours just for them to get to my truck. By doing these repairs myself, I got back on the road in a much shorter time. I don't do as much on my vehicles as I did at one time, but will often do my own minor repairs. Even brakes are not that difficult if you have an air wrench and jack. It can be worth it to buy the tools and do it yourself for the savings. Whatever you can do yourself will put money in your pocket.

 

Yes, and O/O that has no to little mechanical ability can still make good money. This is based on not getting a truck that is going to need a lot of work to start with unless you can build that into the price.

While I may spend more on having to pay for repairs it seems that I am on the road more than some of my neighbors that do their own repairs.

 

There are times when it is better to pay someone to do the work for you. Unless you have the time or tools and expertise it may be less costly to pay someone to do things for you. There are some repairs that also require more than one person. I need to repair or replace a radiator in one of my trucks. I have taken them out before but may pay someone to help me or do the work this time. Last time I pulled a radiator I had access to a forklift. Radiators are not that heavy, but are a pain to work with unless you have another set of hands or a forklift or other means of lifting it out of the truck. It takes about 1 1/2 -2 hours to pull it and about the same to reinstall it. Sometimes, it is a matter of prioritizing your time. When you save money by doing things yourself, you are putting money in your pocket. I won't say one way is better than another. You don't have to do work on your truck to make money as an owner operator, but it can save you time and money.

 

And when I say I have people work on my truck I am talking the bigger stuff. Cange my own lights, replaced an air line connection to the tanks myself.

Just some clarification.

 

Understood, BigBadBill. We do what we can.

 

This is what you (and by you, I'm talking to myself) have to be really careful of if you have mechanical abilities. It is incredibly easy to underestimate how long it's going to take to do something, and, more importantly, how much stuff you're going to break or decide to "replace while it's off" in the process. I've screwed myself out of more money in missed work than I saved by doing repairs myself several times, and ended with nothing but skinned knuckles to show for it. The last time I did it (head gasket/spacer plate, injector cups and O-rings, if you're curious) a guy I work with a lot told me he'd hire a goon to beat me up every time I put my truck in the shop if I felt like I needed to feel pain in order to think my truck was fixed right...

 

I understand paying a mechanic to do some of the more comprehensive repairs that may need to be done, but I can't see waisting time for a shop to replace a market light or headlight, fanbelt or some other simple repair. I can't remember the last time I took a truck to a dealer and the bill was not much more than the original estimate.

 

Myself, I do everything, unless broke down on the road, including a full inframe, a clutch and more. But for me, it's personal. Knowing I did it and did it my way.
I'm sure I've lost work in doing so, like it took me 3 weeks to do the inframe. This is my 4th and last trk, I'm going to own.