WannaBe asking questions???

1.You could probably do better researching this on your own. I will say from experience that TN has no income tax, but a high 9.25% sales tax. My TN tag cost me $1410, but that will depend on how many miles you run and in what states, it's not a flat charge. TN does not charge sales or property tax on vehicles registered with an ICC/MC#.

2.I wish someone would tell me! Anything I said now would be irrelevant by the time you started.

3.The best money I've made trucking was few months I had pulling water in a food grade tank, and if I was starting over I would probably steer towards tankers (I pull flatbed). I've barely used my Haz-Mat, but why limit your options? There are some companies that require you to have haz-mat, and I've even heard of a few that pay you more if you have it, even if you don't haul it.

4.I don't know where to start on this-I'm with you on the maintenance over age/mileage thing. I drive a '98 International 9300 with 1.5 million miles on it, 600,000 on the inframe on the E model Cat, and my personal belief is that it is more reliable and gets better fuel mileage than a comparable new truck. New trucks can break down just like old ones, I've always thought those ten year policies were silly, and I doubt that most of the outfits that require this make you enough (if any) more money to justify buying a newer truck. By the time you are ready to buy a truck, anything newer than ten years old will have a post Oct '02 emissions engine, which generally are more expensive to maintain and get worse fuel mileage.

5.Generally, the more specialized something is, the better it pays. What's best for you will depend a lot on where you live and how often you want to be home. I would recommend going into something specialized like tanks or flatbed. This will give you more options in the future. In my experience, the more specialized skill your job requires, the more you will be treated like a real person by your company/customers. Check out the thread "From School to Superior Carriers." Excellent reading.

6.Ford, GM, or Chrysler? This depends a lot on personal opinion, and how new of an engine you're talking about. I will say for myself my Cat gets negligibly worse fuel mileage than a comparable Detroit, but is more reliable and cheaper to operate over the long term. I've never been a Cummins fan, they have expensive parts and get poor fuel mileage, in my limited experience with them, which is mostly second hand. From what I hear, the post Oct '02 Cummins are especially expensive to maintain, but I'm not a fan of any of the newer engines. There is lots of information on this already on the forum if you search for it, just be ready for lots of biased opinions. You really have to decide what is best for your application yourself.

7.I would suggest that you look into an older truck and 100% down financing program. There is a whole forum dedicated to financing at the top of the O/O page.

8.Yep.

9.Personally, I pay myself first. Keeping my house maintained and the mortgage current is more important than keeping this truck up, I'd rather live in the house. I pay myself what is leftover after deducting current and potential future truck expenses. Some guys pay themselves a fixed amount and put back what is left into the truck. When I am deciding whether or not to take a load, I calculate what I personally am going to make on the load after deducting my expenses(including future maintenance/wear and tear).

You probably haven't gotten many responses because questions like yours get asked here on a regular basis, and have already been answered in one form or another. I practically never post here, but your questions stuck out to me yesterday, and since you are in Iraq serving for me, I owe you.

 

Number 9 is different for me. If you don't pay for your ability to make more money, you won't be able to pay for any of your supposedly higher priorities either. Truck is first until and unless you are ready to find another line of work.

 

Dak, TN in general still has a low overall tax burden, it's just the sticker shock on that 9.25%(it's 8.25% on food). Vehicle registration and property taxes are pretty low, although that varies by county. As far as freight volume right now, I'd say the area east of the Mississippi, north of I20, and south of I80 has pretty consistent freight. There are definite exceptions to that, NJ and Eastern PA are awful for outbound freight right now, but I don't care for running up that way anyway. This is for flatbed freight, I can't speak for anything else. Are you trained as an aviation mechanic? If you could find something that's more than just a freight trucking job that requires another skill would be ideal, I think. At least where I'm from, guys that can operate AND haul heavy equipment make good money.

Pharm, I guess my answer to #9 is misleading. What I was trying to say is I will not haul a load that does not make a profit for both me and the truck. The way I see it, my paycheck is what I make after I deduct all expenses, including future maintenance and repairs. I don't work just to pay for the truck. I guess it's just a smart-aleck of saying "Just say no to cheap freight."

 

I highly doubt you'll see that kind of money as an O/O,....And most certainly not as a otr driver for most any company,.....Take the 18.50 an hour and get to go home after work,..........Just my 2 cents worth,...

 

DakFink, me and you are in the same situation, jus different countries.. but i'm most likely gonna go lease/owner route just to keep start up cost down. on monday i'm gonna call CT and see what their requirments are to lease on to them. if i get lucky i'll be able to snag me a regional spot and be home every weekend..