Finding work/loads for a new owner operator

[greg379]

Need some help:
Im going to be 22 in about a week, alot of comapanies require you to be 23 to get leased to them. Found this smaller trucking company in PA that said i can get leased to him so i found a truck and trailer to buy and got approved for the loans. Now hes telling me his insurance comapny wants me to drive his truck for six months to a year before i can work for him with my own truck, because of my age and i dont have that much OTR experience. I have about two years flatbed/stepdeck/lowbed local experience in CT, before that i was in a tri-axle dump for about 1/2 a year. I got layed-off from where i was working about three months ago, so ive been driving for this guy i used to work with, he has his own truck. did some OTR loads. His kid just turned 21 so he driving the truck now. Im already approved for my insurance if i lease onto a company or get my own authority. Want to do flatbed work.
would you guys reccomend leasing onto a comapny or getting my own authority and using loadboards/brokers??
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!ANY ADVISE WILL BE HELPFULL

[BigDiesel]

The " search " button on this forum has a wealth of information regarding this very subject.

Please use it before asking this type of question that is asked by starry-eyed noobs a dozen times a week. Thank you.

[NotSteve]

Fat, drunk and stupid is now way to go through life Diesel. Now your own double secret probation.

[GMAN]

Most insurance companies want a driver to have at least 2 years experience for those who are at least 23-25 years old. My insurance company will cover a driver who is younger with at least 3 years of OTR experience. Until you reach your 23rd birthday I think you will find it difficult to lease to most carriers due to the insurance restrictions. I would not give up. You just may be delayed a bit. As far as running your own authority, it takes a lot of money to get rolling until the funds starts coming in. Insurance will likely be high due to your inexperience and age. That doesn't mean you can't make it, but you should be aware of the risks and potential problems with running your own authority without any previous owner operator experience.

As far as which way you should go? My advice would be to get some more driving experience until you have another birthday. Save your money to get started. Do you have any idea of what it takes to run your own authority or be an owner operator?

[Walking Eagle]

All of what GMAN said but you said the guy you were driving fors son just went to driving for him at 21, would he let you lease on to him and drive under his authority ??

[greg379]

Most insurance companies want a driver to have at least 2 years experience for those who are at least 23-25 years old. My insurance company will cover a driver who is younger with at least 3 years of OTR experience. Until you reach your 23rd birthday I think you will find it difficult to lease to most carriers due to the insurance restrictions. I would not give up. You just may be delayed a bit. As far as running your own authority, it takes a lot of money to get rolling until the funds starts coming in. Insurance will likely be high due to your inexperience and age. That doesn't mean you can't make it, but you should be aware of the risks and potential problems with running your own authority without any previous owner operator experience.

As far as which way you should go? My advice would be to get some more driving experience until you have another birthday. Save your money to get started. Do you have any idea of what it takes to run your own authority or be an owner operator?

Thanks for the reply....I just found about four companies that said they should be able to lease me on to them. Ive been saving money since i was able to work to get my own truck, my truck and trailer payment will be about $1450 a month and $525 for insurance if i am leased to a company. If i have my own authority my insurance will be about $1200 a month, so i definatly want to try to get leased to a comany just starting out. A couple of guys ive talked to have a truck payments between $2000-$2500!! I wont have any other expences besides the truck/trailer/insurance payment and the cost of living on the road...Im going to have some back up money in the bank to be safe. what do you think of 85/15% split for being leased??

[greg379]

All of what GMAN said but you said the guy you were driving fors son just went to driving for him at 21, would he let you lease on to him and drive under his authority ??

Havent really talked much about doing that with him, His wife doesnt want to be bothered with the extra paperwork, But they said they would think about it...... havent gotten a yes or no yet

[GMAN]

Most insurance companies want a driver to have at least 2 years experience for those who are at least 23-25 years old. My insurance company will cover a driver who is younger with at least 3 years of OTR experience. Until you reach your 23rd birthday I think you will find it difficult to lease to most carriers due to the insurance restrictions. I would not give up. You just may be delayed a bit. As far as running your own authority, it takes a lot of money to get rolling until the funds starts coming in. Insurance will likely be high due to your inexperience and age. That doesn't mean you can't make it, but you should be aware of the risks and potential problems with running your own authority without any previous owner operator experience.

As far as which way you should go? My advice would be to get some more driving experience until you have another birthday. Save your money to get started. Do you have any idea of what it takes to run your own authority or be an owner operator?

Thanks for the reply....I just found about four companies that said they should be able to lease me on to them. Ive been saving money since i was able to work to get my own truck, my truck and trailer payment will be about $1450 a month and $525 for insurance if i am leased to a company. If i have my own authority my insurance will be about $1200 a month, so i definatly want to try to get leased to a comany just starting out. A couple of guys ive talked to have a truck payments between $2000-$2500!! I wont have any other expences besides the truck/trailer/insurance payment and the cost of living on the road...Im going to have some back up money in the bank to be safe. what do you think of 85/15% split for being leased??

That is a pretty good split for leasing on to a carrier, depending on their rates. Most carriers pay about 75% with your own trailer. Insurance is high at your age. It isn't inexpensive for any of us.

[RostyC]

Just out curiosity is that 1200.00 per month for 9 months or 12?

[greg379]

That is a pretty good split for leasing on to a carrier, depending on their rates. Most carriers pay about 75% with your own trailer. Insurance is high at your age. It isn't inexpensive for any of us.[/quote]

Yeah I saw some companies offering 75%. The companies I found are offering 80-85%. I found one company in Alabama, I think they were offering 80%. They haul Off Shore Drilling Equipment from Alabama to Louisiana and some to Oklahoma. I would be stuck down there but the loads are paying $4.50-$7.00 a mile. Requires hazmat. guy told me to wait till im 22 to fill out all the paper work. The other companies run the 48 states and most loads are $2-$3 a mile, sometimes there might be a better paying load but you might have to take a load paying a little under $2.00 to get out of that state they said

[greg379]

Just out curiosity is that 1200.00 per month for 9 months or 12?

Its for 10 months, annual cost would be around $13,200. $1,320 down and $1,188 monthly Thats whith my own authority
Non-trucking lil and collision annual cost is around $5,800. $580 down and $522 monthly.
What do you think of those prices for a 22yr old?????

[greg379]

GMAN
the guy i was driving for called me and told me that his kid doesnt want to do it anymore, asked me if i wanted to drive again. do you think that would be the smarter choice to do that for another year till im 23?????or should i just take the risk and buy my own??

[GMAN]

Greg, this is a decision only you can make. I will offer a few things to consider. The economy is in flux right now. Rates have dropped significantly the last couple of weeks along with modest savings in fuel costs. If you get your authority, you will pay a high insurance premium for your youth and lack of experience. If you lease to a carrier you will still pay a high premium, but not as high as running your own authority. At least tens of thousands of owner operators have lost their trucks this year. More than 1800 carriers have gone out of business. We are in a recession, whether the government wants to admit it or not. This is not a time to accumulate a lot of debt. On the up side, you can get a good buy in a truck with so many repo's on the market. If you wait until you are 23, you will find it much easier to get insurance or go with a good carrier. You could use this year to gain more solid experience and save your money. You will need a lot of money to get your authority. You may even be able to save money on your premiums with another birthday. I believe things will be difficult with the economy for the rest of this year and much of next year. If you get your authority you will need to buy a trailer as well as a truck. It is difficult to operate without a trailer and be successful.

Even if you lease on to a carrier you will be paying out over $2,000 per month when you include your insurance cost. That is a lot of money to obligate yourself for every month. When the economy is soft it can be tough to make those payments. Those with the big payments are the ones who are losing their shirts during this slow down.

If you are comfortable with risk, then you could take your chances. With the owner's son not wanting to drive, you have a good opportunity to gain more experience while you age another year and save more money. You could use that time as a period of learning.

Something I have found that makes difficult decisions much easier is to get a piece of paper and make two columns. One you write "PROS," the other write "CONS." Underline each word. Then start writing the pros and cons in the appropriate column. After you have written everything you can think of, the decision should be clear. The column with the most written is usually the best decision.