Thinking about becoming and O/O, would like some feed back.

Me too. W/ one now and I am danged glad I went this route. I don't intend for this to be my last stop but boy oh boy it sure has been terrific experience. I "practiced" being Independent for years, and years and YEARS by running my company truck just like it was mine. Kept records, did cost control etc. It was STILL a huge eye opener when I jumped in and it's a whole different world. A good one mind you but I have made a lot of mistakes that I was able to pull out of that had I been in a conventional finance situation or worse - on my own entirely; I would be broke as a joke. I have learned a great thing here and that is . . . . I STILL need some more experience as an Independent before I put my life savings into going it on my own. This is a great way to get it.

 

I definitely don't want to lease a tractor. I have no problem spending $60-$70K on a nice used tractor (Don't need a chromed out Pete or KW). The company I currently drive for runs Internationals. I like the way it rides, look, feels and I have never had any major problems with it, so with that being said I would most likey go with a Prostar. I guess I could always lease a trailer instead of buying one (could always change my mind in the future and buy one). The issue I have with leasing on with a company is having them run you so hard that you sometimes have to run illegal (which I refuse to do, when I first got out of school I was threatened to be fired if I told them I couldn't take the load because I would be out of hrs). I also would like to be home every other weekend as I have joint custody of my son (I could work out different times with his mother if I really needed to), so again not sure if that would be an issue leasing on with a company. Definitely have a lot more reading to do and I'm sure I'll be asking a million more questions before I decide on which way to go.. Thanks for your time and advice..

 

contrary to what some may think, once you have your own truck, you never HAVE to run illegal

you are getting paid more for the same work that company drivers get paid pennies, so you take your time and get there when you are comfortable and rested

no dispatcher to demand anything, no one breathing down your neck

the only time i HAD to run illegal was with the megas, they demanded, demanded and demanded, and then safety would get upset that i was running hot all of the time

they played that good cop bad cop routine, i stopped playing it and left them

 

I'm not necessarily advocating for the megas. As a rule, I don't like them. I shouldn't have classified the company I'm w/ as a mega. They aren't. They are fairly big, but nowhere near a mega and they certainly don't act like a big company either. I like them. But w/ the prevalence of E-Logs, all these larger carriers are infinitely better at not pushing and they definitely don't push outside the HOS or dispatch outside HOS. Tight as a tick, yeah; but doable legal unless something comes up. Then you just let them know early and they repower, reschedule or swap. You wanna be run legal? Lease w/ a descent company that uses E-Logs and Qualcomm (or similar) in-cab comms. They are to scared of the "E-paper" trail to push you outside HOS. Like I said; tight is pretty common, but doable legal and as an Independent YOU set your speed. Your fuel, your business, road speed is a biggie on MPG. Just determine your speed you are willing to run and let them know and that's how they will dispatch you. Best of luck.

 

Before there was ever an elog there were guys self dispatching paid on percentage and independent's doing the same who were running legal if that's what they chose. I think that was always one of the draws to a company like Landstar then and now. People tired of being pushed around by unrealistic dispatchers. Even today you look at these elog companies and they are pushing to utilize every available hour on elogs. You see the elog trucks speeding thru parking lots to make up time? IMO elogs have made things more unsafe. Miles think is the core of everything wrong with this industry. You should not have to work every waking day to make a good living nor have to utilize every available hour per week. That is like being a factory slave.

 

peolple just dont see it that way

i have read right here on TTR, that guys like elogs, they ask, it isnt any different than punching a clock?

well, i didnt drive truck to punch a clock, if anything i drove a truck NOT to punch a clock