What am I missing?

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by BuggsTech, May 10, 2025.

  1. BuggsTech

    BuggsTech Bobtail Member

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    I’m in the research process of becoming an O/O, actually, I’m wanting to run 2 trucks.
    I’ve read the stickies here on doing this, and they provided excellent info in addition to some of the things I’ve found out on my own.

    (Cue the laugh track) I have 1.5 years driving experience and about a year’s worth of being a freight broker. Driving has been incredible (I do driveaway) but freight brokering SUCKED ###. Still it provided some good perspective on both sides of the trucking equation and I still have my DOT and MC number that need to be reactivated on the carrier side if I’m going to hit the road.

    So here are the questions:
    1. Is it possible for a 2 (used and paid off) truck operation to survive on a steady diet of Truckstop and DAT? “Surviving” = All the known truck expenses in the stickies x 2, plus $180k in salaries ( 3 x $60k; dispatcher & 2 drivers, one of which may or may not be me)
    2. If not, how did you go about securing a good paying contract(s) without brokers?
    3. Because of my relative inexperience and initial reluctance to dispatch myself/run the back end, etc., should kick this off or save myself a bunch of time and money and get some more experience?

    Let me know what you think. From my seat the way forward is not clear, but I’m getting some very specific vibes.

    Thanks!
    BuggsTech
     
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  3. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    First thought as an outsider looking in, with only two trucks you’d have to be driving one and dispatching both. Probably not enough money to pay people to do stuff you can do yourself.

    Second thought as someone who has only owned and driven one truck at a time, the people I know with multiple trucks have said you either need one or three or more. With three you can drive one and have two drivers. One of their trucks goes down you have a truck for them to drive while you sit home and wait on the shop. The only previous company job I had the owner got up to 10 trucks before he got out of the truck and went in the office full time.

    Your idea would’ve taken off during Covid but in times like this you’ll have to watch expenses like a hawk to have any hope of being successful.
     
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  4. Arctic_fox

    Arctic_fox Experienced mx13 execrator

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    That and hope and pray that none of the trucks experince a major blowup. Or one of the drivers doesnt do a dumb. Or someone doesnt do a dumb to them ect. Going from a 1 man band to a fleet is risky as hell. It can be done sure but right now its playing with fire. Best times to get in are in a total market crash just starting to recover. Or on a massive covid style upswing. Moat realistic time to get in is a year or two after a back to back same party election when things are fairly stable and you dont got a pres that for better or worse is shaking the entire global market up.
     
  5. BuggsTech

    BuggsTech Bobtail Member

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    Long FLD and Arctic_fox, THANKS for the insight! Those are the specific vibes I've been starting to get during the research phase.
     
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  6. abyliks

    abyliks Road Train Member

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    Have you priced insurance yet?

    start with one truck for yourself

    oh and a truck is never paid off, once the payments are done it’s time to start repairs, if not sooner
     
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  7. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    An o/o is one truck you drive, a fleet is more than one truck that is driven by someone else.
    We have stickies?
    Not enough time, I recommend you drive for 5 years.

    Being a broker?

    Really?
    So, I have to ask, how does this work?

    You go on a load board and scrape off loads to sell off?
    I think it is the worst time to be anything other than a driver. We should be seeing a tightening market while we have - STILL - over capacity and saturation of the driver pool.

    I also think people think it is easy to just find a driver and put them into a truck when they are clueless to how to hire people in this industry.
     
  8. Brandt

    Brandt Road Train Member

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    I remember someone saying a driver you hire will never drive or care for the truck like you do. They say it hard to find a good driver. You can get driver that runs over stuff and hit stuff. You will have pay to have it all fixed.

    Drivers never seem happy . If the sit on weekend without a load they will want to idle the truck 27/4 since it not their money or you have get $12,000 apu or maybe one of the electric apu but they don’t work in the summer daytime heat. What happens if they miss appointments and it’s 7 days before the next open appointment. I had that happen as company driver because shipper was 5 hour late loading trailer. My company had me take trailer 300 mile to drop are and they would send another driver next week to deliver it. The crazy part was they called customer before and they said they would take the load 5 hours late. The person who said they would take it was not same person in receiving office.

    lots of stuff can go wrong in trucking and stuff is not always fare. You can get the short end of the stick
     
  9. Iamoverit

    Iamoverit Road Train Member

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    1. No. This is essentially asked here seemingly daily.

    2. If you were a broker you already know how hard it is to land (and keep) a contracted customer. Why on Earth why would you expect your competitors to tell you their successful business tactics?

    3. You should already know the market is cyclical and the answer to your question is obvious.

    You sure you were a freight broker?
     
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  10. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    Yes that is very true.
    Yep, it happens all the time and drivers don't get things cost money to fix what they messed up.
     
  11. FloridaRetired

    FloridaRetired Medium Load Member

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    Excellent time to buy used trailers.
     
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