Socking away cash.

Your first year in trucking, as a company driver, you can expect around $30K gross in the 12 month cycle. I'm not talking calendar or fiscal year but 12 month continuum and about $7K- $10K expense or debt (of varying types, tuition; tool purchase - learning how to conserve and overspending a little from time to time etc). Your second year the expense balances to around $8/ day and $200 or so per day in gross income. Figure a 5 day week. Anything more is gravy. Doing it as a company team I'd say push the numbers up by 1/3 the first year and half the second. It takes time to get the swing of how things work. This is a unique industry and the math and reality RARELY work out to be the same.

I NEVER recommend jumping straight into the owner op thing. Do at least a year as a company driver before signing your life away to a "no money down, no credit check", OO contract. practice being a truck owner on someone else's dime. THEN if you think you can give it a shot go for it. But overall most OO's NET about the same as company drivers, a little more but not "rolling in dough". The gross is MUCH higher but so are the expenses. The big draw is you are a business owner and the larger numbers on weekly cash flow can be helpful and legally manipulated a little more easily than a company driver and you have more freedom; more financial consequences for misjudgments too though. In the end of the year balance sheet, though, OO's take home a little more than CD's and a couple as a team banks more than solo if both direct deposits are going into the same account but it would be a serious mistake to just double the math on income as a team (either OO or CD).

Half as much more when you are starting, one third more when you get into a good swing and know how to do it, and bump up a little for that after about your third or fourth year. We put an awful lot of stock in the math but it rarely works out that way and unless you have a six figure liquid cushion you're willing to dig into, I wouldn't do the OO thing for a couple of years.

 

If you go OTR, you can live just about anywhere, right? If you're can live anywhere, how would you choose where to live? OP sounds like prey for an England, CRST, USX recruiter....especially US Express.

Anyways, if you're running 48, or even regional, wouldn't it stand to reason that you move your residence to somewheres that you don't have such high property taxes or state income tax and whatnot?

 

Now now kiddies.

They're not looking to save the cash and buy a truck - they're looking to save the cash to start a business in a chic area.

I don't know what chic is.

I live in BF Missouri and never see the beach either, but after dedicating more than 2 years to an industry I actually care about it sure is nice not to have a mortgage anymore.

Of course I had to leave my family thousands of miles away to do so, and learn the hard way. . .

Oh gosh darn it - I just joined the mob. Light my torch would you?

 

Its irritating me now.

Your acquaintance can be dismissed into the Muppet bunch. Really - 60k if he didn't have child support or alimony? Not the kind of dude I'd even take directions from.

Sounds kinda fun and see the country . . . folks get killed out here every day.

Try a start up capital investment for your chic business and save yourself the heart ache.

Honestly - kind regards and good luck sir.

 

Be company drivers first, to make sure this lifestyle is what you want.

 

First off, if you want to team, why keep the house? Sell the house and then all your money aside from food is spending money. You could easily make 80+ as a team. You could buy a truck after one year. If you do flatbed the numbers are even better.

 

If you had actually read the thread , you would see that he has a apartment, not a house.

And anyone with any knowledge knows that 80k is a VERY high number.

 

Hey Suppish, welcome to the forum!

What Lepton (and others,) have said! Before you go investing in this, you really need to see if you are going to like it or not. The vast majority of folks who try it, don't last a year! It just isn't what they expected, nor is it something they can adapt to.

There are any number of companies out here who will try to talk you into going to their school, then talk you into signing a lease for a tractor with them. This is a terrible idea, and very, very few folks who go this route are successful. Most of them wind up in bankruptcy.

Go ahead and invest in a decent driving school, then hire on as a company driver for a few years, until you learn the ropes. It appears that your wife is a bit young to be hired by most companies. While YOU are at a prime age to be hired, she will likely have to wait a couple of years.

This is a totally different life style than anything you have seen before. It is more than just a job. And you are likely to make a whole lot less than you make as a server for a while.

It is not an easy job. It is not a glamorous job. It is not a romantic job. It is a very demanding, difficult (at first,) job to learn, with a lot of responsibility, and in most cases a lot of physical work. That, coupled with all of the laws and rules and regulations that the DOT puts on drivers, coupled with company policies, can make it a night mare for a lot of folks.

Like to blow a little weed now and then? Forget it. Like to have a shot or two before dinner every day? Un-uh. Think you are going to make like a "paid tourist?" Ain't gonna happen. Sure, you get to cover a lot of country, but you don't have time to do much sight seeing. And a lot, if not most, of your driving is at night. What you see of the big cities, are the industrial areas.

I'm not trying to discourage you from trying trucking. A whole lot of folks love it and wouldn't want to do anything else. What I am trying to do, is to discourage you from jumping into a huge investment, before you have any first hand knowledge of the business.

Remember that folks work on commission. The folks I'm talking about, are the folks who will try to talk you into buying a truck. Or leasing one. Even the recruiters for the schools and the company recruiters who try to bring you on board with the trucking companies, work on commission. They have ONE overriding interest, and that is money. THEIR money, not yours.

You are at a prime age to come into this business, but take it slow, don't make any rash decisions. Look around, spend a lot of time on this forum. Talk to some drivers in person. Due diligence research is extremely important in starting out in this industry.

Good luck to you.

 

The first year in trucking as a team you will be able to save the same amount that you spent on the Apartment that you give up. If you sell your cars, you will save on the car payment and the insurance you give up. Your food cost will go up as no eating for half price at the restaurant. You will want to get a mailbox with a physical address in Texas to save on state income tax. Your license needs to be in Texas also. California state taxes are high. You will save that money also. I am sure you can see that by doing so saving $30,000 a year is very do able. If your dream is both of yours, you can do it. The second year your options will increase as does your pay. Husband and wife teams are the most desired by companies. You will get pay raises and have access to the best companies. As a waiter you will have all the people skills you need in the business.

Before you do this, there is one thing I would recommend. Each of you spend one night trying to sleep in the closet of your apartment with the other one banging on the door every five minutes or so. That will give you a good idea of team driving.

 

This could work,but you have to think about reality of the dream.And answer to yourself: Can I live in a truck?Can we get along 24/7 in a truck? Can I drive a truck safely? Can my spouse drive a truck?Shouldn't we just cutaway " Caulifonia" altogether and base off somewhere "cheap" like Texas,Alabama or Missouri to save more money?Cheaper to start a business also than Cali? Next time you see a Truck Stop talk to some truck drivers and ask them "If they're having fun". YES,its not as fun as it may appear and your "scenic views " of the country are usually from the interstate. Normally you're going 65mph trying to deliver that load before they go home.Trucking OTR is not for everyone.If you're really going to do this and you weren't just watching the 49ers game last weekend getting tanked on beer and one of you said " Hey lets go drive a semi ,it"ll be fun",save some fat coin,live large". Not trying to sound bad just saying if you're serious and dedicated,make it happen. It could be the best choice for you. Be pretty cool to own your own business.Good luck JMO