[Sore Foot]

Long story short. I severed my foot, and can't push a clutch and walk just enough to get me by (the way its going to be for the rest of my life). The only company that would hire me was US Xpress (they are the only co with clutchless trucks and dont have to unld or ld freight). 3 months later with them, no $ & more aggravation than I need and no miles after going up to the top to complain. I'm now looking to get my own truck. I am looking to get a small business loan (have meeting with the ppl tomorrow am) I'm trying to get all my facts and #'s straight.
Why can having your own authority be a prob? I've looked into leasing on with several companys but it just seems that your just a glorified company driver and back in the same position to depend on a dispacher and get constatnly get screwed or potentially get screwed.
I figure if I'm not bringing home the $ then it's no one elses fault but my own b/c I'm the one in charge of getting my own freight and keeping myself moving. Not some dumb no driving dispacher that sits behind a desk and doesnt give a rats behind if you get a paycheck or not just as long as they get to go home at the end of thier shift.
If anyone can help with links or info with obtaining authority, IFTA,Hut and ppl who can help with filing 1/4 taxes and state fuel taxes,that would be great.

[Red Clay Rambler]

You should consider joining OOIDA, the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association. They can provide you alot of help/info. I'm not yet an O/O myself, but many here can answer your questions and give you advice. I find this particular forum to have more objective, serious members as opposed to some of the others. I'm sure they will chime in soon. Here is a link to OOIDA:

http://ooida.com/

You can find every answer to every question you have within this forum. Just start reading the O/O posts and pay particular attention to anything GMAN has posted. Good luck!!

[Sonny Pruitt]

Right now I would go with leasing as an o/o to a company
The rates on the boards stink. big time and then we are going into a slow season

[sup]

Originally Posted by Sonny Pruitt

Right now I would go with leasing as an o/o to a company
The rates on the boards stink. big time and then we are going into a slow season

The rates are really horrible, 15 out of 20 loads are under 1.35/mile , then there are the loads paying 1.50/mile (from .85/mile).... PU fridays, deliver mondays..... :? it's unbelievable :shock: i dunno whats going on.....it's very frustrating!!!

[Sonny Pruitt]

I agree.
I expected some kind of Christmas rush or a reefer shortagte due to Thanksgiving turkeys,not so.
There is plenty of freight in the lanes I run but prices are off quite a bit over last year and what's even stranger is that most of the brokers I used last year don't have the same accounts anymore. Some of my favorite shippers have new brokers and cheaper rates.

I can give you this advice.
Having your own authority requires a lot of experience as a leased o/o.
This part of the industry is not for everyone and really is not the big money maker you would imagine.
There are an awful lot of problems that come up that you need to see solved by someone other than you.
Thats why when you lease to a carrier they take care of the headaches.
After you see how many things get screwed up on a daily basis as an o/o you may want to reconsider going on your own.

[solo379]

Originally Posted by Sore Foot

Why can having your own authority be a prob? I've looked into leasing on with several companys but it just seems that your just a glorified company driver and back in the same position to depend on a dispacher and get constatnly get screwed or potentially get screwed.

So, you'd rather be "screwed" by brokers? :roll: :wink:

[GMAN]

I am sorry to hear about your foot, sore foot. You may be able to get a prosthetic foot which may help you. I think I would have tried to stick it out with US Xpress, if possible. There are a few companies which have automatics. I don't recall some of them. It isn't a big deal to get your authority. It is financing it and making a profit that is the challenge. It is very difficult and expensive to find a company who will insure someone with less than 2 years of driving experience. Most carriers will require at least 6 months to 1 year of otr experience to lease on to them. I have leased to a couple of carriers and run my own authority. The problem you are in right now is that you want a quick fix. You are about to make a major business mistake. You don't have enough experience in this business to properly be able to evaluate what you really need to get started. You can do a search and find much of what you want to know on this forum. As someone previously mentioned, OOIDA is a good resource. It would be in your best interest to find a carrier that you can work for a year or two, so that you can get some solid experience. This is a business fraught with aggravations. Unfortunately, it is a business with a lot of turn over and failures. There are also a lot of success stories. I don't know you or your personal situation, but when you own a truck, you will break down. You will spend a lot of money. I have a truck that has less than 200,000 on an overhaul. I had a miss, which I thought was an injector. As it turned out, it was something much more serious. I have a lifter problem. Instead of costing about $700 to replace an injector, I will now need to spend $6,000. The engine is no longer in warranty. I keep my trucks up, but things just happen. I was under a load I picked up in California going to New York. When you own your own authority, there is no one to turn to but yourself. Fortunately, I own another truck. I switched trailers, left the broken truck to be repaired and am on my way to complete my delivery. While this is not something which happens every day, it can happen. About a year ago, I had a driver in in one of my trucks and the rear end went out in Nevada. The final bill came to over $4,500 plus putting the driver up in a motel. Fortunately, I had the funds to make the repairs. I had replace the front power divider the previous summer for much less at home.

There are some things you need to ask yourself before jumping into this venture. First, how much cash do you have in hand? You should have a good cash reserve (not borrowed) in hand along with money for a good down payment (usually 10-30% of the purchase price). If you run your own authority you will need to purchase a trailer along with a truck. Your authority only costs $300. However, before you will be issued authority, you will first need to obtain insurance. For someone with little or no experience, it can be rather expensive and will likely have limitations of a 300 mile radius. There are a few on this forum who have gotten their authority with no experience. You might address them with what they have gone through and some of the costs they have incurred. I have heard rates as high as $21,000 for liability and cargo insurance. A number of factors enter into an underwriter and their decision as to whether they will insure you. Steve Booth received a very good rate, for someone with no experience starting out. Some of that could be the area of the country where he lives, credit rating, MVR, age, etc., The area where you run will have an impact on what you pay. Most of those I talk with who plan on starting with no experience pay in the range of $8-12M. Keep in mind that you will have a 300 mile driving radius restriction, which can impact your ability to find better paying loads.

Banks don't particularly like to make loans on class 8 trucks. Some may make one to an individual if they have a good relationship. When most truck lenders look at those wanting to purchase a truck a number of factors come into play. Experience as a driver and as an owner operator will have an impact on their decision. Your credit score is certainly a factor. Previous truck purchases are a plus. You will likely need to have a lease with a carrier before they will loan you the funds, provided you will be leasing to a carrier. If you choose to run your authority, you may need to have shippers or brokers signed up so that they will have some confidence that you will be able to repay the loan. Without experience, you may also need to pledge additional assets, such as your home or other real estate. That would be a bad idea. If you fail, you lose everything.

One other thing. We are heading into a slow time of year for trucking. It has been unusually slow since July. While things have improved somewhat, things are still slower than usual. It is not a time to get into a lot of debt. When times are slow, you hunker down, hang on and lower any debt you have as quickly as you can. Things should improve around spring. This could have been the problem with US Xpress. Some traffic lanes are just slower than others. Carrier's don't like to deadhead trucks.

I don't want to discourage you from buying a truck, if that is truly what you want to do. I would like to see you wait until you are ready. From your posting, I don't think you are ready. There is much more to running a truck than writing a check.

[Twilight Flyer]

CFI runs automatics, too.

There are a couple of others that I hear are getting into it. As a matter of fact, I think I heard one driver say that Swift had a bunch of automatics.

My liability cost me $4,000 and my cargo was $1,100 for someone with no experience. Progressive is about the only company that will give liability to a newbie. They don't do cargo so you'll have to go some place else. The cargo was the hardest to get.