Forced to be an O/O
#11
11-03-2006, 02:55 PM
ughh
I've checked into other companies.. With exception to USX every other co that has automatics expect you to unload/ld freight which I can't do or will ever be able to do.
Funny how there are drivers at USX that are getting a steady 3-4k miles a week even when it's slow. Just that no one told me where I need to go by these "knee pads" to get these miles. You can't live in NJ, pay current bills, + 8 months of medical bills and eat on $455 a week. (mind you I moved back in with parents b/c I'm broke) As far as getting me started, I've contacted the Small business Association. They said there are some loans where I DON"T need collateral (thats good cuz I don't own a damn thing exept a pick up truck). They said they could finance 200k which I figure to be just enough for truck/trailer, base plates, permits,ins, accountant, and money left over for emergencycs and fuel to start out with till I get my first settlement. I have a few reliable sorces for freight to keep me moving of all different kinds of commodies at a decent price to keep my head above water and to draw a paycheck out of it every week. 1 being CH Robinson which I didn't think was a bad idea to get me started with for a while sice I delt with 2 of thier people in my last company (which I thought to be good since they know that I'm a reliable driver for thier freight). Am I still seeing this all wrong? I'm not looking to become a millionare off this industry just enough to make a living and still enjoy the career. I need to do something b/c right now I have my USX truck where I live and honestly I don't even want to get back in the damn thing. My options are extreamly limited due to my foot. If it weren't for that I'd still be at the Company that I Loved that payed great, treated me great and gave me all the miles that I could handle. 
#12
11-03-2006, 04:31 PM
It sounds like you are in a bad spot. If you go through this, you will likely be in a worst spot. You don't need to borrow $200,000 to start a trucking business, unless you plan on buying several trucks and trailers. The worst thing you can do is start a business when you are broke. Work for US Xpress, or some other carrier and get yourself to where you can earn a living. You don't need to start a business when you have no money of your own. Unless things have changed, the Small Business Administration doesn't lend money to purchase a class 8 truck. I would talk to your dispatcher and anyone who would listen to make things work and stick it out until you have at least 1 year of experience. Most companies will change your dispatchers if you request they do so. You cannot borrow your way to prosperity.
#13
11-03-2006, 09:04 PM
Sorefoot,
I once saw a covered wagon parked in the handicap space at a TA and I thought, "What kind of lazy SOB needed to park in this space near the entrance" As I opened the door to the building, a guy is coming out with the crutches that brace around the forearms and he is pretty much dragging his legs. I held the door and watched him go to the covered wagon. I thought WOW!! I went over and asked what he was hauling, he had onions from California going to the east coast. I did not comment on his disability, but I always remember this guy when I dont feel like driving or one of my drivers has the sniffles and acts as if he is dying. I dont know your situation, but you need to get in a truck and live in it for a while save all of your money even if you do start your own company. Live like a hermit /miser. Do not start making some money and get hillbilly rich or ghetto fabulous because you will soon go broke. I have seen it over and over and over and over......... Do not make bad decisions, they cost dearly. Do your homework here, run someone elses truck to test your theories. Get back in the USX truck and request to run team or bacome a trainer, you will get the best of USX that way. You cant kiss ash or suck to get loads. The guys that get loads understand how to manipulate dispatch to make their fat paycheck, some of us dont know how to manipulate dispatch. Threatening, ranting and raving is not the way. Good Luck!!
#14
11-03-2006, 09:09 PM
Also,
Dont start a trucking company because you want a paycheck. Start the company because you have a valuable, dependable service to offer a shipper, not a broker. If you build it shippers will come, drivers and o/o's will come and so will the money. I know your parents want you to succeed and so do we. You're not living in our house though. 
#16
11-04-2006, 02:33 PM
I would definitely listen everything that these guys have told you, Load it and Mr.gMAn who has i think the kind of prospective about this job as i do. It has been said, DO NOT buy your truck if you are not ready for it, the fact that you have couple of connections here and there is good but to make it in this business you need to have allot more, these guys can confirm it a million times over. My suggestion is not to buy a truck if you don't have AT LEAST 10.000$ in savings!!! I ran 48 for 1 year and some five months to get to a point where i was confident enough to get into buying my truck, i saved 45.000 with trucking and what i had saved beforehand working in a grocery store( 5000), put down 30.000 on my 2007 Columbia and was left with rest to take care of my base plates and start up costs which no1 will tell you about.....I have a 100.000.0 in insurance coverage for which i had to pay two months in advance and 1 month down payment totaling around 1000. Also you have to be confident enough in yourself that you can pay all of this crap, working really hard and having to deal with allot of stress. When you run your own authority you don't have anyone scratching your back(dispatch), no1 to help when a tire goes out on that trailer at 2A.M. somewhere in Mojave and you're grossing 44 and no T.A. service centers to fix it, no1 to lean back on, its all on you!!! Dealing with the Brokers is something totally differed from what a lot of guys experience while driving under a company's DOT #, different kind of ball game for which you my dear friend, no offense, don't have experience for.. I do though like the fact that you are thinking about this earlyer in you carieer so when the time comes you'll know what to do, also, C.H. Robinson is a good way to go, i know some people who only run for them under their-own authority offcourse and are not complaining................Listen to these guys when they tell you to stick with USX for some time until you get your experience and some money saved up, you can buy a decent truck for around 40-50K, its just that first time buyer thing will kick you hard in beginning. if you have problems financing i can maybe steer you in a direction which can help you, if you decide to go that way that is, that's is if you have a good credit rating..
PS When i acquired about my own authority earlier in the year my quote for 750.000 insurance policy with 100.000 cargo and everything else insurance related was 1200 monthly which goes to show and confirm what these guys already told you about how expensive it is to run your own DOT...... Its on you....
#17
11-26-2006, 02:50 PM
sore foot
Just my 2 cents worth im currently with us xpress and you can take this for what its worth call and ask for karen stone shes out of medway ohio very nice and has kept me 2x busier than when I was with jb hunt hahaha, I now avg. 2,600 3,200 a week over jb's 1500-1850 a week.
tell her your story and tell her vince says that your a friend this may help cant be any worse right? good luck vince/ xracer
#18
11-27-2006, 04:32 AM
Does your experience include only 3 months of driving at USX??
Also, going to the top may have caused you to step on someones toes :wink:
__________________
Mud, sweat, and gears
#19
12-02-2006, 11:08 AM
Sore Foot,
It sounds like you have quite the chip on your shoulder. Getting your own truck is not going to solve your problems, it will probably make them much worse. I can tell you right now, a guy with an attitude will not go far in trucking, be they a company driver or a full blown independent o/o. It is to bad about your foot, but don't expect any pitty from anyone in the trucking biz. Clean up that attitude, find a company with an automatic truck that will hire you, and save up some money while getting some time under your belt. And quit the bitchin, which will get you no where. Just suck it up and do your job, with the intention of learning all you can so that you can own a truck one day or do something else. Hell, it took me 2 years to even see a paycheck over $500 net, and I lived in the truck. My ex took everything but my clothes and an old car, she wiped me out. The only reason I got into trucking was that it provided a roof and three squares a day, and the friend of the court took almost all of my pay. I now have my own trucking company, and one more child support payment! But back then, I was happy with what little I had, and kept a positive attitude that this to shall pass. And it did in a big way. |
