Setting a plan in motion (long sorry)

[dualterminal]

Hello All,

Let me first thank you for viewing my post. A little about myself, I am 45 years old I started a career in Emergency Services in1984, I spent the next 22 years married to a great woman and raising two wonderful kids. I took an early retirement in 2006 and started driving after attending CDL Driver training. I have driven accident, and ticket free for over 2 years, first for a mega company, and the last 14 months regional covering 4 states for a battery company.

My wife and I waited till our youngest daughter graduated college before I started drive. My wife loved to travel with me, and was almost constantly with me. We had plans to get our own truck, and drive this great nation together. However, as life goes sometimes, I guess; my wife of 25 years lost a courageous battle to an illness 5 months ago. It has taken a while, but I am now ready to put our plans into action.

My son lives on the east coast, my daughter in Denver, our plan was to lease on with a company stay on the road 4-6 weeks, and then route ourselves to one of our kids locations for a week or so of down time. Also, to route ourselves to locations throughout the U.S. that we wanted to spend some down time at. This is something my wife and I talked and dreamed about all the time, but never really got serious about. Like I said before, I now want to put this plan of ours into motion.

I have read post here for a long time, but this is the first time I have ever posted. I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people on this site, so here I am. Is this a feasible plan? Where is the best place to start? What companies should I look at?

I am sorry this turned out so long, thanks for reading, and I appreciate any and all help.

Thanks again,

DT

[Doghouse]

My condolences on your loss. Your plan will be a difficult one to put into motion, not impossible, just difficult. Most companies will send you where they want you to go. To find a company that gives you the true "Owner Operator" lifestyle (being able to go where you want when you want,... let me add that it sounds cool, but there might be a shortage of good runs to do this).

If I were you, I would find a company who has regular freight in the two areas you want to visit the most, and then work towards a dedicated route in those areas. Then take time off and visit the areas of the country you want on your own time. Take it from me,...I wandered the US for my first 6 months, and was barely able to spend any time in the areas to enjoy the scenery. The freight was hard to chase and the rates were putting me out of business. Seriously man I actually carry a small motorcycle with me to go see the sights,..... I hardly got the chance and I run under my own authority.

Good luck,



Doghouse

[solo379]

I'm truly sorry for your loss!
But I'd wait a little. Not a good time, to get in a business. In a mean time, you could figure out your options, freight, truck... The best would be to get your own numbers, but it's not easy, w/o prior experience. BOL!

[GMAN]

It takes time to get over the loss of a spouse. Some suggest waiting at least a year to make any major changes. I am sure that you have been reading how difficult things are in this industry. There is much uncertainty in the economy and that is reflected in trucking. In some respects this could be a good time to purchase a truck. You are likely to get a very good deal. However, if you have many bills and need to rely on your truck for your livelihood then this may not be the best time to venture out with something new. The positive side is that you have 2 years experience. That will help you with insurance rates. You know what it is like to drive otr. What you don't yet understand is how you are going to pay the bills with your new venture. I don't know if you plan on leasing to a carrier or get your authority but both offer new challenges for you. I don't know your current financial situation or how much money you have put aside but you will need a good stash to make a go of it especially if you decide to get your authority.

If you have followed some of our postings over the last several years, you know that those of us who have been running trucks for a number of years suggest you have a decent amount of money set aside for emergencies. With rates being what they are you may do as well or better running your authority as leased to someone, but there will be more responsibilities. It is often better to take baby steps than giant leaps. There is some safety in leasing to a carrier starting out as an owner operator.

If you can survive the next year or two you should be able to make some serious money. The key is surviving. We are in uncharted waters. This country has not seen a worse economy in 80 years. Trucking has NEVER seen an economy at this level since it wasn't much of an industry in 1929. That was before the current interstate system. Most products were either produced locally or shipped by rail at that time. Our generation hasn't seen such an economy for 40 years. That is about as long as most on this board have been in the industry.

You can see the country and do some sightseeing if you are not under the gun to deliver or pick up a load. There are carriers where you will have more freedom to run as you wish, such as Landstar, Mercer, CRST Malone, Jones, etc., These carriers pay percentage and don't try to force you to run hard. You pick and choose your loads and run at your own pace. Of course, if you are under a load you are expected to get the load delivered in a timely manner. You could take time of when you get to your destination but not so much along the way unless you have extra time to get there. You didn't mention where your east coast child lives but it should not be much of a problem to get by to visit either every now and then. It isn't usually difficult to get into Colorado, but can be challege to get out of the state.

Until the economy turns around you may find it challenging to go where you want when you want to go there. The money is very soft. This is likely to go on for at least much of this year and probably next year, as well. If your primary reason to buy a truck is to see the country and not need to earn much money then you may enjoy making the change to that of an owner operator. If you have many bills and need a certain amount of income to live then I would suggest waiting until things turn around.

My suggestion would be to wait, find a driving job with a good carrier and bide your time. Start checking The Truckpaper and similar magazines. Take your time. There are some good buys if you don't get in a hurry. There will likely be better buys as the year progresses.

[charged]

Why not just do it on your own?

My father got his cdl license, bought a used truck and flatbed trailer and got his authority I think it was in May of last year. He is doing just fine. He drives where and when he wants. Insurance was pretty expensive for him, but since you have two years experience that will be cheaper for you. He used to get jobs off the boards by himself or my mom or me. He now has a person who does this for him. He used to factor his loads, gradually he stopped doing that. He has connections with a manufacturer and takes a regular load nearly every week to the East coast which starts off the week. It isn't rocket science. As long as you keep costs under control there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to do this.

[tracer]

Few people realize this but you don't have to be limited to working for a u.s. based company. thanks to nafta, you can work for a canadian trucking company and haul loads between usa and canada. i'm a canadian trucker and situation here is much better than in usa. of course we're affected the slowdown but to a much lesser degree. the only drawback to being a u.s. citizen will be you can't haul loads between points in canada, but you can haul loads:

1) between usa and canada, and
2) between points in usa

i mention all this because in this way you can probably get longer runs. try celedon. this is a u.s. company but they have a big canadian division. they seem to look for drivers no matter what.

[Daytripper]

I was looking at some Canadian trucking sites, and kept seeing references to "AZ drivers". I'm sure they don't mean Arizona. What is it? Thanks.

[rank]

I was looking at some Canadian trucking sites, and kept seeing references to "AZ drivers". I'm sure they don't mean Arizona. What is it? Thanks.

Arizona drivers...I wish LOL. It means a Class "A" license for big trucks and a "Z" endorsement for air brakes.

[dualterminal]

Thank you all for your input and your condolences, it is appreciated. You are correct GMAN it will take a while to adjust, how long that will be I am not really sure. Just to give you all a little more info on my situation, financially I am sound, no bills to speak of other than utility, and auto insurance. We sold our house about a year ago and I now rent, I will receive retirement payments when I turn 55 ten years from now. When I do move forward with this, I do not plan to have a home so the rent and utility payments will be history, I can store my stuff in one of my son's storage facilities, and use his address as my home address.

As far as the running goes I am not looking for a lot of time off, when it is time for a reset of hours getting out of the truck and looking at the area I am in, and when I have enough time in to get a few days off route my self as close as I can to one of my kids, and spend a few days with them. Is this crazy thinking on my part or a possibility?

[GMAN]

That sounds like a plan, dualterminal.