looking to become a oo, and have ???s

[ao6376]

25 y/o female out of michigan ,looking to become a oo.can anyone help me?what is a good comapny? How hard is it to get financed? I love to drive.

[Mpneypit]

Well how long have you been driving a truck for. Why do you need a good company when you plan on being an owner operator. Do you plan on leasing on to a carrier. What do you want to pull if youre unsure about any of this then dont do it youre setting youreself up fo Failure.

[heavyhaulerss]

do you have a C.D.L ? are you currently driving ? a big truck ? how much experience do you have ? I cannot remember a worse time in history to get into o/o trucking. unless you have inside connections with a particular shipper/receiver. financing for big trucks is not easy. due in part cause of all the repo's .

[nightrider76]

25 y/o female out of michigan ,looking to become a oo.can anyone help me?what is a good comapny? How hard is it to get financed? I love to drive.

You're not planning on buying a lease purchase through a company are you ?

[possum]

DON'T DO IT. The way times are now I wouldn't even think about it. Drive for someone till times get better.

[Mpneypit]

Guys i think that this is a joke.

[GMAN]

25 y/o female out of michigan ,looking to become a oo.can anyone help me?what is a good comapny? How hard is it to get financed? I love to drive.

It is difficult to recommend a company without knowing something about the type of freight you want to pull and whether you plan on buying your own trailer along with a truck. As others have noted, this is not the best time to consider purchasing a truck. However, you could probably find a good deal providing you either have the cash or can find suitable financing. Most lenders seem to look for a credit score of at least 650 and a couple of years of experience pulling the type of freight you want to do as an owner operator. They prefer to see some sort of track record. You didn't mention how much experience you have but at your age I am guessing that it is limited. There are leasing companies who may loan money but may have higher interest rates than a regular bank. Most owner operators are having a difficult time. Many are sitting as much as they are running and those who are running seem to find it difficult to get decent rates. Things will turn around, but there is no way to know how long that may take. There are programs such as Select Trucks that will put you in a truck for $1,000 but they will also charge you about $20,000 over retail for the privilege. I suggest staying away from any of the carrier lease purchase programs. There have been some who have made a go of it starting out as an owner operator without much experience, but those are rare and most have a good nest egg to start.

As an owner operator you will do much more than drive the truck. There always seems to be something to do on them. I would encourage you to wait until the economy improves before jumping into truck ownership. In the mean time, save your money and gain as much experience as possible. Think about the type of freight you want to pull. Most carriers require from 6 months to 2 years experience as a driver before they will offer you a lease or contract. If you do decide to go ahead and buy a truck I would suggest getting into a truck with a very low monthly payment. Something around $500/month would be best. With the lower cost of used trucks that should not be a problem.

In any case your questions are always welcome. You will find a very broad range of experience on this forum. Most are willing to share experience and advice.

[ao6376]

This is not a joke.I have my cdl with all the endorcements.I drove with my x for 1 year.We resently broke up he was a oo and now i want to do it alone bc i know what kind of money we were making and i dont want my lifestyle to change i just sont know how to get started.I have good credit so getting a truck wont be a problem.I want my own authority and want to drive a dry van only. where do i start?

[GMAN]

If you want to get your authority then I suggest starting by contacting insurance companies and get some rates. With only a year of experience you may be limited as to your service area. Most insurance companies want to see at least 2 years driving experience. You need to plan on buying a trailer along with your truck if you want to run your own authority. Vans are pretty cheap right now. Authority only costs $300. If you want to do intrastate freight there are a few states such as Texas and California that require that require intrastate authority of you want to do that type of freight. Some brokers offer quick pay by discounting the freight bill. Most charge from 1-8%. There are also factoring companies. Rates can range about the same with them depending on whether your receivables are non recourse or not. You will need to pay your heavy highway use tax. It costs $550/year. Another cost will be your base plates and permits. Depending on where you base and run those should cost from $1,100-2,500. I usually spend a little over $1,600. If you run Kentucky you will need a KYU number. There is no charge but you will need it prior to running in that state. New Mexico requires that you purchase their permit which costs $2/year. New York also requires you purchase their permit if you run in their state. Oregon requires either a cash bond or you need to purchase a permit for each trip. Most states now require that you have a business telephone to prove residency. They may also require other proof of residency such as a mortgage statement or utility bill. That is required prior to getting your base plates.

To summarize you will need the following:

Authority, insurance, pay 2290 (heavy highway use tax), base plates, other permits. You will likely need your equipment before an insurance company will bind your insurance. Anyway, I think that I have covered the basics. Oh, one other thing. You will need to have registered agents in every state in which you run. OOIDA can do that for you at no charge if you are a member. There are also services that will do it for an annual fee. You can apply for authority on line yourself or hire someone such as OODIA to do it for you for a fee.

[heavyhaulerss]

i know what kind of money we were making and i dont want my lifestyle to change.


Expect it to change. I dont know a driver out here who has not had their lifestyle changed in this economy. Even those who may be doing well, have the concern that it may not last. folks that have been out on the road a while, know what's it's like to have all the freight you want & run bookoo's of miles. I will tell you the truth. that is not the case right now.


it's not just slow. some drivers- o/o are down 70 % of what they were doing. I talked to a guy last week. he loaded out of north AL twice 2-3 weeks ago. 1 load went to laredo TX. 1 went to OK. he had to dead head back to north AL, both times. sat for 2-3 days. he got nothing. except. .68 a mile loads going to places that would of been even harder to get out. I have been doing about 30 % of what I was doing just in oct of 08' I will not take any low paying loads. if drivers are far from home, some will take any thing at the lowest rate just to get back home.

if that's the case I wont leave the house in the first place.

you may very well make it.. someday. but if you get out here now & it don't work out, you may ruin your chance to do it later. having to turn your truck back in or have repoed because you cannot make the payment & ruin your credit can prevent you from getting into trucking when the time is right. BUT.. best of luck if you try it now.

[GMAN]

Heavyhaulerss is correct about the current economy. I have been around this business since around 1970 or so. I have a couple of friends who have been around the business for longer than I have. None of us can recall when we have seen business this bad. These are people who have run their own authority and leased to carriers. There have always been seasonal changes, but this is different. There is a lack of decent available freight. I am seeing rates 1/2 to 1/3 or less of what they were just 6 or so months ago. Thousands of carriers have gone out of business. Hundreds of thousands of owner operators have lost their equipment. I am fortunate that I don't have big equipment payments. Those with big payments are the ones who are losing their equipment. It doesn't matter if you lease to a carrier or run your own authority, you will be doing some sitting and running for rates that are lower than you may want. We have been seeing many of the costs associated with running your business continue to escalate. All of us have been forced to make adjustments. We will continue to make adjustments as needed. I don't know of any who have been around this business for any length of time who are making the money they really want or need. Most are doing good to make drivers wages after expenses. For years my average deadhead has been around 10%. Now it is considerably higher. When you look at rates you need to look at not only your paid miles but also your deadhead. Areas that have usually been known for having decent paying freight are no longer considered good areas. I base in an area that normally has a good amount of freight. During peak times last year we had around 3,500-3,900 loads within a 150 mile radius. During the last few months I have seen as few as 84 loads in that same area. I checked this morning and there were just over 300 in that same area. These are the realities of our current economy.