Thinking about becoming an o/o

I am considering becoming an o/o. My current job (nothing to do with trucking) is good but starting to show signs that I may not want to stick around. We currently live in CO but if we do this, we would be relocating to a red state in the Midwest. I do have a class A though I have not driven a truck in some years. I was OTR with Werner for 3 months and drove for a local water company for 3 months. So I have dipped my toes in the industry. I did like driving for Werner, the problem was not seeing my family for weeks at a time.

Here is my thinking. I could buy my own truck and work under my own authority. If we moved I would have about 305k to work with. With that 305k:
160k-House on about an acre to park a truck (No house payment)
40k-1 year living expenses

For starting my own trucking company
Truck-50k
Trailer-20k
Insurance-12k (already quoted)
Permits/Misc-5k
Savings for maintenance-18k

I would have 0 debt personally and in the business. My brother is a diesel mechanic and would help with maintenance. I figured I could do a 50/50 split with any loads I get. So if a load paid $3.00 per mile I would just split it 50% back into the business and 50% to me. With a paid off truck I am calculating $1.00 to $1.20 a mile to operate. I would not need to be out for weeks at a time. I could run for a few days (7-10?)and come back home for a week. As it is now, I do not see my family at all during the week due to my work schedule. So being gone a week is not a huge deal, if I can spend the next week at home. We will have a paid off house and monthly expenses will be minimal due to no debt. If I am stuck waiting for a load or something, no biggie as I don’t have a truck payment or lease.

Someone please tell me what I am missing here and if I’m totally off base.

 

Read through some of the older posts in this forum from the numerous guys that came here with the exact same thinking and you can get a good idea.

 

Following

 

50k for a truck in the current market means a high mileage emissions truck or an older truck that will require a mechanical inclination to stay in business.

 

Yeah I’ve found a couple of decent looking ones but not many. I could possibly up it to 65-70k but I definitely want to pay cash for something

 

General wisdom is don't become an O/O until you have about 2 years driving experience. You can use that time to learn lots of things you'll need to know about all this while you're driving on someone else's dime. But, to jump in with little to no experience is generally considered a fools folly.
That said, I'm a company driver with no intention of leasing or buying, so take it for what it's worth from me. I'm just passing on what has been repeated here many many times to newbies wanting to go O/O with little to no experience.

 

are you mechanically inclined?

 

Plenty of o/o out there that did the same as you are thinking. Do your homework talk to people, talk to local brokers. You can do it but it will take focus

 

Yup talking to everyone to see if I’m genius or crazy!

 

To become a O/O there’s nothing to it. I started with a 20k Schneider pumpkin truck at first and worked my way at age 23 years old after only 3 months of training I bought the truck. But make sure you are willing to get greasy and get your hands dirty, maintenance is the devil, and we all learn as we go. And we are still learning. Just make sure you have a plan and go for it.