Truck for personal use

so are you a company driver at the moment?

how many years exp do you have in the trucking industry?

only reason i ask is that there is an awful lot to learn and most of that learning can only be gained through experience, dont get me wrong, i am sure there have been some ppl who have started out in the industry by buying a truck and making money......but not many!

either way...good luck in whatever you decide.

 

well first of all, if you are putting GAS into your fuel tanks, then YES you WILL HAVE EXPENSIVE maintenance issues...

since you are "tied" i'd say, stay a company driver, and save up your money, because in the first year or two, you'll be running your arse off, and that "lifted jeep" you have...?? you ain't gonnabe riding that much...and i also seriously think you will be going to any drive-thru windows in a big truck, so personal use will be cut down a bit there too....

 

as a non-experienced person such as yourself, do not become an o/o as you will not know how to take care of business till such a time you do. as for the jeep, say you want to buy your own truck, you WILL BE working LONG HOURS to establish yourself. newbie o/o's do not get cushy local jobs. you very well would have to go OTR and this is where you will most likely say good-bye to your toy.

is it worth being an o/o..?? no...is it worth being a company driver...?? no....

my question is, why do you want to even get into this business in the first place, you think that it'll save you from your problems and that you will get rich with out working for it..?? and then you say you would love to have a truck for personal things....you think you can go toting around town in a big rig easily, and not have additional maintenance costs associated with joy riding..?? you "love your home time"..?? then you may not want to be a driver, this isn't a pleasure ride, it's work. many people bust their humps daily, and you are making a mockery out of it wanting local, LTL and home daily stuff, you ain't even earned, this does not make you go to the head of the class with those demands....when others have earned what they got by years of hard work and sacrifices.

and you had better get thick skin right away.....cuz you though I WAS SARCASTIC...???

 

If you don't want sarcasm, boy did you come to the wrong forum!

Go get a company job before you jump into being an O/O. Or don't. After all, I'm gonna be looking for a truck before too long, and I bet I can nuy yours pretty cheap after you FAIL!

 

you should get a cushy office job like me. I work Mon-Thurs 0800-1630. It's really tough being me. I have to go home every night and enjoy my family and such, oh and the 3 day weekend sucks too.

I hope that helped, or at least made you hate me a little bit.

 

It's obvious by your first post that you haven't driven a truck and that's ok. At least you're honest where some are not. I do believe that just about everyone on this board that has any experience at all will tell you to work for a company first before you even think about buying a tractor. There have been some new drivers that have been O/O's but in their cases the truck was either given to them or they got in real cheap.

There's just too much to know right from the start in driving commerically and owning a truck is not easy. Nothing is easy anymore and you would be better off gaining experience on someone elses dime while you learned. After 20+ years driving for companies I wouldn't want to do it. Sure it's great that you only answer to yourself. However, it's really more than that, you have to answer to the bank too plus all the other cost. If the truck is not moving you're not making. Myself I found it more beneficial to work for a good company to have a good retirement and health insurance later on in life. But that's me.

If you want to be an O/O then you have to know it's beyond just a job. It's a way of life. If after you do OTR driving for awhile and you really like it then you can set up a business plan and go for it. But you can't just ask if O/O is the best way. It may be best for some and not for others. There are a lot of factors to consider like retirement and health plans which cut into the bottom line. So dollar amounts can vary also. If you match O/O's to the bottom feeder OTR companies then yes O/O's is by far much better. But if you plan your career out and have some good solid goals and then reach them with a good company then I would say it's hard to compare and it's what you like the best. Just my 2¢

 

..............double posting..my bad.

 

i hate you.......j/k...