Wanting to transition from company driver to O/O

Once you time it and arrange your specialized cargo properly with the right contracts with your customers things should be alright. I learned quickly how Direct customers is what counts and in some ways kinda knew that which is why I went Lease on instead of running my Own Authority after driving for almost 3 decades. Even with my experience thing happen regardless in hard times. For me I don't believe in purchasing someone else's problem with a truck and that's why I bought mine brand new because you would have to find a mechanic and scoop out the best used deal with a truck. Prices have come down on used trucks but not so much on new. At the end of the day Direct customers is the key to success in Trucking.

 

My 2 cents..
There isn't secret method to trucking success. Customer freight, hard work and luck..lowest operating cost and a substantial sum that's liquid in a good economy.
My advice would be to take your savings and invest. Cut your spending to increase investment savings.
You have approximately 15 years to save for what could be a long retirement.
Spending that cash on a used truck in today's overrsaturated owner/op market doesn't make sense to me.
Start a retirement fund now.
YTD returns of 10-15%
Does your current company offer a 401 with a match? Find one that does and take advantage.
Failure rate is like 90% and authority is being lost like 4 to 9 thousand each month.
There has been good and bad times to own a truck but I'm not sure now would be considered a good time, just imho.
Good Luck with whatever you decide.

 

If you got the cash, it's a buyers market for equipment, likely will be for a while yet. It will turn around, eventually. Now, operating that equipment for better than you're doing now? The other posts about mass layoffs, hiring freezes (translation: we don't have enough work for the drivers we have now), equipment being liquidated in large numbers - it's all because there's more trucks than the current demand for freight. Blame that on whatever you want, it boils down to supply vs demand.

If you go forward, the reality is it's almost always an up and down market. You will accept the risk of repairs and breakdowns, whether you're on your own or not. Sign on with a carrier with contract freight? You're more insulated from the spot market, so your yearly income *should* be more stable, at least by a cpm estimate. Volume may still be up or down but your rate per mile should stay stable. Or go on your own and ride the highs and the lows, your yearly gross will go up and down. Either way you cut it eventually can look at it over a longer time period say 5 or 10 years, now you'll have a clearer picture of if you actually made more than if you were "just a company driver." So pick your poison, take your 300k gross as signed on, eventually you may need to buy an engine or rebuild or the major repairs and you may even spend 50, 75k+ in one year in repairs and therefore your pay will suffer maybe you'll even lose money some years.. So what you want, the steady 70-100 as a company guy, or accept the risk and some years you'll do 50, some 150, some you'll make none. Do you really want to assume this risk considering your age and your desire to now begin saving a large % of your disposable income for your retirement on the horizon? This could go very wrong, if you get a lemon of a truck, or can't find steady reliable decent paying work, what if you can find no work, you still have a truck note. Or if you paid cash for it what are you going to do now, fully deplete your savings now you're way behind compared to just driving and collecting. We just trying to let you know what you're getting into.

 

In my almost 35 years our here. During what was both the best of times and the worst of times.
I have never heard now, is the best time to start.
During good times I heard. Now is a bad time because it's going to get bad and sink you.
During bad times I heard, it its terrible right now. You cant even cover expenses and break even.
One common thing I have always heard was, is and continues to be.
To many (fill in the blank race) foreign or new drivers out here. Willing to work for cheap. They are making the rates sink.

Anyway I was a compnay driver for all of maybe 1.5 years. The rest if the time leased on. Never had my own auth.
But to me IMHO expecting to make $8000 per week on a constant basis. Is not realistic. Yes I have seen plenty of $10,000 settlements. But not on a constant weekly basis.

 

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Go to the bottom of that page and have a read - there's some actual factual for you.

Glad to hear you're contemplating and not in a hurry.

Good luck, hope it helps.

B.

 

Watch Trucker Todd's videos on you tube he went through the exact same thing your wanting to do right now. He bought a KW T680 about 4 years old and leased on to a company he said he loved and was doing great and making $115,000 to $120,000 a year. Then his truck broke down and he didn't have the $5,000 to pay for the repairs and it was under warranty however the warranty didn't cover any of the breakdowns ( never seems to cover breakdowns for some strange reasons ).
Since he couldn't run he couldn't make any money and was behind on payments so the finance company repoed the truck after a few weeks of not being able to make his payments. This coming from a guy who said he was a great business man , making great money and leased on to a company he loved.

These are the stories I hear most of the time. I never hear stories of " ya I did a lease purchase and it worked out great , glad I did it ".

But best of luck to you sir I hope you find what your looking for.

 

How would a team go O/O?