Starting out, first truck

mile marker 27 · Mar 31, 2023

It’s amazing how much time I spend breaking down and mounting rubber. It’s some money and time saved saved, so it helps.

Sub Marino · Mar 31, 2023

gekko1323 said: ↑

I bought a 2009 Columbia for $40,000 cash last April. It had a rebuilt engine with about 80,000 miles on it. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I haven't spent too much on it, and I've already made my money back. And BECAUSE I didn't get into a ridiculous loan payment, I run whenever the hell I want. I've been sitting for 2 months because I refuse to haul for these abusive rates. Also, the weather out there has been wacky this year. So I just said, "screw it". Why put up with the weather and all of the idiot drivers out there? So I've just been playing poker, playing the market and doing crap around the house. I just put in 4 new batteries and am heading to Cali this weekend to get the overheads done. After that, I'm going to run fairly hard for 3 months.

As far as I'm concerned, you have 2 choices when it comes to buying a truck: 1-Buy one brand-spanking new off the line, or 2-Buy an older truck with a rebuilt engine. If you know a little about mechanics then the old trucks are no-brainers. I would never buy a used emissions truck. All you are doing is looking for trouble. Unless I can pay cash for a brand new truck, I will never go that route. I've seen too many people go belly-up because they couldn't keep up with all of the overhead that financing brings. And when you are FORCED to run because you have to meet your monthly nut, it takes the fun out of trucking. Especially with the current state of the market.

Whatever you decide to do, try to pay cash and stay LEAN.
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Exactly.

Sub Marino · Mar 31, 2023

mile marker 27 said: ↑

It’s amazing how much time I spend breaking down and mounting rubber. It’s some money and time saved saved, so it helps.
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Do you carry spare tires with you? Where do you stash them? I was thinking of mounting boxes under the bed.

Sub Marino · Mar 31, 2023

roundhouse said: ↑

There’s a Lot of variables

I know new drivers two years out of CDL school at the community college ,
That made $97k last year , driving someone else’s brand new W-900 and were home every weekend .

Finding the right small
Company is up to the driver .

Id reccomend you get a few years experience in the biz and learn what
The in’s and outs and how to make a profit , working for someone else .

that said , in 1989 I did exactly what I’m trying to talk you out of .

I got my CDL at the community college and did a lease purchase no money down etc .
The company I leased with had their own fleet of trailers and their own dedicated freight customers . Hauled the trailers long distance on the railroad and had the lease purchase owner operators handle the 250 mile radius of the terminal .

I had no desire to work for someone else , I wanted my own truck and that was that , and no one could talk me out of it.

but I also was young and single and broke and had nothing to lose .

trucking is one of those businesses where when times are good you can make a lot of money . But then times are bad , you can lose a lot of money .

If you buy a truck with no business knowledge , you’re gonna struggle .
The brokers steal
All the good money off the loads .

brokers are flat out thieves .
If you use brokers , you’re always going to struggle

You have to find your own niche and figure out how to make money without competing against the Megas and without using spot market brokers .

id also reccomend a pre emission truck ,
Not to dodge the elogs, because as mentioned. The paper logs are over , the fedgov does whatever they want and asks for “comments “ to give the appearance that they care what anyone who is not shoveling millions in bribes to them really thinks .

Id want a pre emission truck for the reliability .

id want a truck with zero computers .
I’d want a rig with a 400 big cam Cummins mechanical injection pump and no computers at all .

A series 60 Detroit would be the second choice .

For you to succeed at this you’re gonna have to be a decent mechanic and fix the small stuff yourself .
And you’re gonna have to find a knowledgeable trustworthy mechanic to work on your rig .

that mechanic may be a source of finding a rig .
A good mechanic has regular customers and know which ones are thinking of selling their trucks and knows the condition of those trucks since he works on them regularly .
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Thank you. I was thinking along those lines. Retiree, or someone who took care of his equipment.

Sub Marino · Mar 31, 2023

Cowboy2 said: ↑

You should consider a lease purchase to get sone experience. Owning a truck is a big investment. You need sone experience otr before venturing on your own. You are going to need a 2000 or older truck for what you are looking for. You can find a decent 2014 or around that year truck for 50,000. But again owning a truck has its share of issues. With little experience in the industry you will be setting yourself up for failure.
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I think lease purchase is setting up a lot of people for failure. The way I see it, I need to be able to stop, recover, do it again without losing everything. But I am fairly confident. And I have backup plans if it doesn't work out.

mile marker 27 · Mar 31, 2023

Sub Marino said: ↑

Do you carry spare tires with you? Where do you stash them? I was thinking of mounting boxes under the bed.
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I typically don’t and kinda can’t. I’ve got a few hoppers and two are aluminum. I keep good rubber on them because if you have a blowout with an aluminum trailer, it’s gonna tear alot of sheet up. Friend had an outside rear blow out and it literally took off the back corner of his Pacesetter. I’ve threw a spare lowboy tire(low low pro) on the neck of the trailer if I’ve got something on like a Cat scraper or big dozer, if going far. Most of my tire issues come from my dump trucks. Knock on wood. Buy yourself a 3/4” and 1/2” cordless impact. I carry plenty air hose, to air up off the truck, maybe a bottle jack and a couple short 2x’s. Extra air line and quick couplers,……. . Just all kinds of stuff under the bunk. Tire plugs, I keep those too.

roundhouse · Mar 31, 2023

Sub Marino said: ↑

Thank you. I was thinking along those lines. Retiree, or someone who took care of his equipment.
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A lot of owner operators do NOT take care of their equipment.

ive looked at buying trucks from owners and asked about maintenance records and they said they didn’t have any .

maint expenses are tax deductible .
Any good businessman keeps all the records

roundhouse · Mar 31, 2023

Sub Marino said: ↑

I think lease purchase is setting up a lot of people for failure. The way I see it, I need to be able to stop, recover, do it again without losing everything. But I am fairly confident. And I have backup plans if it doesn't work out.
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Mine was a walk away anytime lease purchase , if you kept it two years , you owned it .

t totally depends on how the lease is set up

if the company wants you to
Succeed it’s set up that way

If the company wants you to fail
They will
Set it up to fail

thw company I was with wanted the o/o’s to succeed , since the o/o’s were much much much cheaper than the spot market drayage they were using to get their new terminal up and running .

they paid the o/o’s a combination or so much a day , so much a stop and so much a mile . Etc

xsetra · Mar 31, 2023

roundhouse said: ↑

A lot of owner operators do NOT take care of their equipment.

ive looked at buying trucks from owners and asked about maintenance records and they said they didn’t have any .

maint expenses are tax deductible .
Any good businessman keeps all the records
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FMCSA requires recording all inspections, maintenance and repairs.

Knightcrawler · Mar 31, 2023

roundhouse said: ↑

Id want a pre emission truck for the reliability .
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Theres nothing wrong with a post emission truck. As long as it has less than 300k on it

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