Some numbers for new O/O

I don’t have LCAP, and don’t know any O/Os anymore.

 

I’ve been getting Firestone 591s for about $950, from Southern Tire. Best price I can find.

 

Try Redburn Tire in Phoenix.

 

I need to get my front end completely redone. Right front gets worn on outside edge, won’t keep a balance.Still get good mileage from it, though. Truck has never had an alignment, ever. Parts are still good, except kingpin has some slop in it. Still getting 140 k on steers, and running them on drives for almost as long. I’m curious what kind of wear I’ll get, once it’s all new.

 

Broker a few loads from them and you can become a preferred carrier with access to llcapp and their fuel discounts. Or simply call bridgestone corporate and open your own national account. Wont be as good as land star's pricing, but still hundreds cheaper than retail. The only resurgent will be decent credit because they bill you instead of you paying the tire shop.

 

So would this also apply to some one trying to figure out how to go O/O in the fuel industry ?

 

I'd think that the fuel industry would have offsets. More pay per load, but more hassle and expense per load too. Restricted routes. Fewer safe places to park, etc.

How many places are there for independent operators to park loaded fuel trucks anyway?

I am remembering correctly that fuel trucks require locked and gated overnight parking, I think?

 

Couldn't agree more with both you and Dune. I work closely with new owner operators getting set up under their own authority and I can't tell you how many people in that position have no real business plan. A lot of times when I ask someone "so what is your plan for the business in the first year" or something along those lines and often times the answers I get back are something like "well, I just want to make as much money as possible." Well no s***! No one starts a business with the plan of losing money! The issue is that a lot of these guys have been company drivers for years and know everything about the ins and outs of the day to day on the trucking side of the business, but they have no idea how to actually *run* the business. Having a set plan before going active under your authority is critical. The last thing you want to do is have your authority go active and not know where you are going to be finding your freight, what your break even per mile is, and how you are going to navigate the net 30 pay terms. Like you said too, a lot of it comes down to simple money management.

 

Yep. I always say driving the truck is the easiest part of being an owner operator. Any monkey can drive a truck. Werner and swift proved that.

 

For some folks, that's not the case. How many o/o fail because they are the sort of person who needs someone to motivate them?

They can be a good driver, a good employee, but when they try to do it themselves, they decide to take 'just one more day off' too many times.