Thinking of going O/O..help me out

[P0rk Ch0p]

I've had enough of working for other people, the corporate nonsense, etc.

I know it will be rough starting out, I'm 24 yrs old, have had a CDL for about 3 years, but only a few months experience ( on paper experience)

I guess you could say I'm a 3rd, maybe even 4th generation truck driver.

Been surfing the Craigslist, finding decent trucks for 10k, some a little more some a little less.

My main concerns are:

1. How do i set up my company, LLC, etc?

2. Insurance, I'm sure it's gonna hurt, but it should go down with time? What insurance companies can i check with?

3. Finding the freight, I have no plans of leasing on with any of the big companies, mainly cause they want you to have years of exp, etc. I can drive, and i don't need some yuppy company to tell me whether or not i have the ability. So the best bet would be load boards,brokers?

Anything any of you O/O's can tell me, I'd greatly appreciate

[tracer]

2. Insurance, I'm sure it's gonna hurt, but it should go down with time? What insurance companies can i check with?

I'd call a couple of insurance companies who specialize in trucking (lots of ads in truck magazines) and ask them for advice. If you don't have at least a year of driving experience, your rate might be prohibitive. Ask them what they require for you to become insured as independent.

[Heavy Duty]

I've had enough of working for other people, the corporate nonsense, etc.

I know it will be rough starting out, I'm 24 yrs old, have had a CDL for about 3 years, but only a few months experience ( on paper experience)

I guess you could say I'm a 3rd, maybe even 4th generation truck driver.

Been surfing the Craigslist, finding decent trucks for 10k, some a little more some a little less.

My main concerns are:

1. How do i set up my company, LLC, etc?

2. Insurance, I'm sure it's gonna hurt, but it should go down with time? What insurance companies can i check with?

3. Finding the freight, I have no plans of leasing on with any of the big companies, mainly cause they want you to have years of exp, etc. I can drive, and i don't need some yuppy company to tell me whether or not i have the ability. So the best bet would be load boards,brokers?

Anything any of you O/O's can tell me, I'd greatly appreciate

I can tell you there are few or even less than few good $10,000 trucks it could cost $10,000 to get it ready to go.

What about a trailer?

[Orangetxguy]

You could do like Mackman, here on the forum did. Get yourself a dump truck and build. But....I do believe Mackman is 27 or 28 and had a couple years driving behind him before he took the leap.

Starting your own company is all well and good. If you have the pocket to do it...more power to you. But if you think that you will make a decent living working off of loadboards, you are mistaken. You would have to be "struck with lightning" lucky to hookup with a Gold Broker right out the gate, that kept you loaded with the best freight.

[Mackman]

I've had enough of working for other people, the corporate nonsense, etc.

I know it will be rough starting out, I'm 24 yrs old, have had a CDL for about 3 years, but only a few months experience ( on paper experience)

I guess you could say I'm a 3rd, maybe even 4th generation truck driver.

Been surfing the Craigslist, finding decent trucks for 10k, some a little more some a little less.

My main concerns are:

1. How do i set up my company, LLC, etc?

2. Insurance, I'm sure it's gonna hurt, but it should go down with time? What insurance companies can i check with?

3. Finding the freight, I have no plans of leasing on with any of the big companies, mainly cause they want you to have years of exp, etc. I can drive, and i don't need some yuppy company to tell me whether or not i have the ability. So the best bet would be load boards,brokers?

Anything any of you O/O's can tell me, I'd greatly appreciate

I went O/O at 26. around 10months ago. Right now i run under my own authority. I dont do OTR im a local bucket driver. I will tell you insurance is going to kill you. Thats if you can even get it. As far as an LLC? Im a sole proprietorship.

I can tell you one thing. If you can swing it i say go for it. There is nothing like owning and running your own truck. I love calling all the shots. lol. I dont think i could ever go back to being a company driver.

[Mackman]

You could do like Mackman, here on the forum did. Get yourself a dump truck and build. But....I do believe Mackman is 27 or 28 and had a couple years driving behind him before he took the leap.

Yea im 27. I started driving dumps when i was 18. So i have around 4 years with dumps. Then i drove a wastewater tanker for about 2.5 years. Then have around 2.5 in a tractor trailer. So i did alittle bit of everything. Have a clean record and insurance still killed me.

[P0rk Ch0p]

There are a few local places that lease trailers, so that was going to be my trailer source for now.

I wasn't implying to live off of load boards forever, but for the mean time, it gets me runs and make a little change.

Insurance is gonna be the biggest thing right now.

[rank]

How much money do you have in the bank? I used to say you needed $100,000 to go trucking but it started too many fights so I don't say that anymore.

[asdfghjkl]

Get a good accountant, hire a good lawyer, run your business plan by them and if you still think you can do it go for it. Develop your ability to sell your service(otherwise your just selling a commodity and can expect the same rates that are killing everyone else). I doubt you'll provide much better service than anyone else with a $10000 truck that is prone to breakdowns and expensive repairs. If you aren't discouraged go for it. I'd be happy to take bets that you'll fail. Now your probably pissed off at me for suggesting you might fail, however if you don't try you will never know! You will learn more by failing than not trying.

[Heavy Duty]

$10,000 truck, don't laugh, this one was working.

[asdfghjkl]

I have a $10000 truck myself that cost me over $25,000 in repairs last year. Instead of laughing I wanna cry.

[crb]

I've been contemplating O/O for a while my biggest holdup is I want hometime. I'm not doing anything till my wife gets off the truck to start our family. I live in NE Ohio and I'm starting to think maybe dump is the way for me to go.

[tracer]

I've been contemplating O/O for a while my biggest holdup is I want hometime. I'm not doing anything till my wife gets off the truck to start our family. I live in NE Ohio and I'm starting to think maybe dump is the way for me to go.

If you want home time, join Landstar like I did in the summer of 2010. I"m not making money but I call the shots and I'm home all the time

[crb]

I wanna make money and still make money!

[tracer]

I wanna make money and still make money!

then you'd have to divorce the wife and live on the road

[Steel Horse Cowboy]

If you want home time, join Landstar like I did in the summer of 2010. I"m not making money but I call the shots and I'm home all the time

Didn't u spend like 4 months out? Plus Landstar won't lease him, he has no otr experience

[crb]

I have 1.5 yrs otr and we stay out 5 days and run coast to coast we've been here 2.75 yrs.

[MichiganDriver]

I have a $10000 truck myself that cost me over $25,000 in repairs last year. Instead of laughing I wanna cry.

Thank you so much for posting that. I'm so very tempted to start with an el cheapo high mileage truck but there's a voice in my head telling me I wouldn't know how to pick out a good one and not get burned.

I know the sage advice from GMan and others is the $10k special, but man I'd be broke down on the side of the road again and again wondering how I could be so stupid as to think I could pick out a diamond in the rough when the guys that DO know what they're doing have passed it by.

[Orangetxguy]

Thank you so much for posting that. I'm so very tempted to start with an el cheapo high mileage truck but there's a voice in my head telling me I wouldn't know how to pick out a good one and not get burned.

I know the sage advice from GMan and others is the $10k special, but man I'd be broke down on the side of the road again and again wondering how I could be so stupid as to think I could pick out a diamond in the rough when the guys that DO know what they're doing have passed it by.

You find a decent cheap truck by looking. Looking again and again. You take vin numbers to your favorite shop and have them run. You call companies that owned the trucks and ask them questions. It takes a lot of time, but it can be time well spent.

[asdfghjkl]

I run a car hauler (truck and trailer). Have had no major repairs just a bunch of normal wear items. Looking at VINs is a great idea to check the history of the truck which I did not do. I bought this truck in March 2010 on the agreement that Coopersburg Kenworth in PA make the truck pass DOT and PA inspection prior to purchase.Since then I have had to replace 4 batteries, starter, alternator, exhaust from the turbo back, new ECM, replaced all fuel lines, replaced ac compressor,condensor and a couple switches,2 new drive axle wheel seals, new brakes on tractor,two brake chambers, welding on the headrack, more welding on the headrack, replaced the PTO and pump for the hydraulics, replaced numerous hydraulic line that ruptured, more welding on the headrack, and thats just the tractor not counting new steer tires with wheel bearings and an alignment and several new drives. Throw in PM's every 15k and having a truck payment on a new truck doesn't seem like a bad idea. I just paid another $1834.74 today for welding on the trailer and a brake chamber replaced two weeks ago and on Monday I'll be dropping off the truck for new trailer brakes. The shop that does the work for me the past six months only charges $70/hr labor and does great work but they won't treat your truck as a priority because they run 75 of their own trucks.
Sound like I'm whining about paying a bunch of money to run a cheap truck but in reality I'm just trying to pass along my experience. I have had two brand new truck and trailers 2001 freightliner and 2006 Sterling each with $3300 plus monthly payments. Now no payments and very little stress! You'll probably make more money with the cheap truck but you will have lots of downtime which is hard to overcome unless you can get good rates. I have been lucky to get two very good loyal customers of my own and work with 2-3 carriers/brokers to get loads to fill gaps.