[FL2HOTT21]

A little about myself, iv been an OTR company driver for 2 years now, i'm in my mid 20's, no wife no kids. I'm getting to the point where i feel i need to make a move. I want to make more money and i want to be in control of my career/earning potential and personnel time/life! I enjoy what i'm doing but like i said i want more $$. At the company i work for i'm paid a percentage of the load also there is a quarterly bonus program which to me is a joke, also no benefits and no raises, so i'm basically tapped out on the earning potential! I look at the BOL for the loads i'm on and i see big numbers $$$, my truck grosses about $5k - $6k per week sometimes more. If i run hard ill make decent money, but with the amount of time i spend on the road its just not enough, you sacrifice a lot doing this job, so wheres the $$? Its not going to come to you by driving someone else's truck, your just making your boss rich! I see things for what they really are, don't get me wrong i'm thankful for my job that i was given and the opportunity to earn and gain experience, but all i see is a dead end job. I see a chew em up spit em out industry from the workers point of view "my point of view". I run hard for this company as do all the other drivers but i don't feel the respect, once i get home for down time the day i get home i'm receiving a phone call from my dispatch asking me to go right back out like i'm a robot or something, like i don't have family/ friends/ a life back home, and if i say " hey, i'm just getting home give me a few days to relax and ill get back to you" then ill get a not so pleasant response and with a wise tone of voice! And that's the part that i don't appreciate, ya i chose this career and i know now what comes with it (working for a company that is). If people like me the hard working Truck drivers didn't put in the hours hauling all this freight then where would there (office Personnel) pay checks come from??? ??? Because i know there not going to jump behind the wheel of an 80,000 lb truck and get the job done! I know i can do there job talking on the telephone looking for loads and messing around on the computer but can they do mine?!! You all get where i'm going with this? I feel as if i'm a puppet being dangled by the strings. They make it seem like i need them when it should be the other way around!

So now i'm thinking of becoming and O/O Independent Contractor, BUT, i'm not going to jump into this without knowing the in's and out's.. That's why iv started this Threat.. Hoping to get some help/ guidance.

I'm going to have to continue this tomorrow with the START-UP process/ discussion
it is getting late and i need to get a few hours of sleep.

[mndriver]

http://www.classadrivers.com/forum/o...tml#post529960


check out my response there. I have my own authority too. Truly an independent O/O. O/O for two years. Got my own authority on my 1 year anniversary.

I have taken about 12 weeks off both years so far just to spend with family/friends. Some by choice, some by mechanical failures.

[FL2HOTT21]

Originally Posted by mndriver

http://www.classadrivers.com/forum/o...tml#post529960


check out my response there. I have my own authority too. Truly an independent O/O. O/O for two years. Got my own authority on my 1 year anniversary.

I have taken about 12 weeks off both years so far just to spend with family/friends. Some by choice, some by mechanical failures.

Thanks mndriver for that info. Like my title said A-Z. Im going to start it off with Equipment then work up to loads etc. I hope you follow this thread so you can give your insight.

[mndriver]

There is no set model. No right way. No wrong way. Just what you are comfortable with.

There are things that will make life easier like having your truck geared correctly. Doing off road/dirt/heavy work, take your lowest gear you start in and your gear ratio and multiply. At or greater than 50, it should work good. If I ts a road truck, look at what you want it to cruise at for engine rpm. Running the Midwest and flat ground will be entirely different than setting up for running the rockies.

Its all trade-offs.

[FL2HOTT21]

This might not be the right order of thinking when it comes to becoming an O/O + IC. But i'm just going to start it off with the Equipment then followed by proper paper work for the equipment.
( If there's anything missing please let myself and everybody else know )

Start-Up
-EQUIPMENT-

TRUCK:
I have good credit, but iv been told not to buy something expensive because then you'll have higher weekly/monthly payment which will take away from profits.
The sooner you pay off the truck the sooner you'll start seeing the $$.
But if you buy an older truck with high mileage then there is a major risk of break downs, and do you have the $$ to take care of those emergencies!
If not then what are some options for paying those bills?

Lets say i have 30k saved, is that enough to give this a shot? If not then whats a good # ?

Is buying a commercial vehicle similar to buying a passenger vehicle (term of payment)?? For example i bought a car last year and the payment plan is monthly payment for 5 years.

What price range should i be looking at?

How much will i need to put down?

What type of warranty? Extended warranty?

I will finance the truck..

Whats the ball park on the interest?

Can i pay by monthly?


TRAILER( Reefer )

If i'm going to be hauling refrigerated freight then ill be needing something almost new to ease the stress level.

Used trailer?

New reefer unit?

Price range on trailers?

Price range on Reefer units?

Will the whole payment plan be similar to buying a truck or passenger vehicle?

Pros & Cons on buying a Reefer trailer vs renting or leasing a Reefer trailer?

If i chose to buy the reefer trailer then ill most likely need a back up plan if something were to go wrong, warranty / emergency assistance. For example ; driving down the road and all of a sudden the unit shuts off! Will i need to set up some type of contract with carrier for example? Sort of like how AAA works??
What am i looking to pay for this service?



This is all I've come up with on the equipment side!
Some of these question might seen a little poor or dumb questions but iv been told the only questions that are dumb are the ones you don't ask, and like i said in the opening of this forum " i'm not going to jump into this without knowing the in's and out's ".
And please if anything comes to mind then lay it out there.
Ill give this a day or 2 for peoples responses then ill move on to the proper paper work section.

Thanks again

[FL2HOTT21]

Originally Posted by mndriver

There is no set model. No right way. No wrong way. Just what you are comfortable with.

There are things that will make life easier like having your truck geared correctly. Doing off road/dirt/heavy work, take your lowest gear you start in and your gear ratio and multiply. At or greater than 50, it should work good. If I ts a road truck, look at what you want it to cruise at for engine rpm. Running the Midwest and flat ground will be entirely different than setting up for running the rockies.

Its all trade-offs.

Hey mndriver. If i bought a truck it would be set up as a road truck. Id try hard to not run the mountains as that kills your mpg and also puts ware on the rig. Id shift between 1300-rpm and 1400-rpm to get better fuel mileage, id also keep my speed between 55 - 62 mph!

As for the calculation on the gears and gear ration, that's tough for me to understand! I listen to Kevin Ruthfurd on the satellite radio and i heard him mention that a few times but i just don't get it, ill have to look up some info on that..

[mndriver]

first, I have TRIED to listen to Kevin Rutherford. I can stand him about as much as I stand Dave Ramsey. And I don't listen to either of them. For reasons. Namely, they both talk common business sense really.

I'll go to that calculation....

A 13 speed has a Low gear of 12.31 an 18 spd has a LL of 14.4
http://www.eaton.com/ecm/groups/publ...01.pdf#page=16

50/12.31= 4.06 if you run a 13 spd
50/14.4 = 3.47 if you run an 18 spd

the 4.06 and 3.47 are the gears you should have in your rear end. That's if you are going to run off-road like hauling dirt for a construction site. Just from the guys I work with around here.

As to truck, depends if you are going to California or not.

I bought a 2007 century and a 2003 great dane with a 2002 Carrier reefer. Yop, I have dumped close to $16,000 into them both getting them reliable again and addressing some nasty issues. Including a power divider last summer already. It should all be paid off come Jan this year or at least in the 1st qtr 2015.

I started everything with $4000 cash, a $7500 microloan from the SBA and "leasing" my equipment with a residual buyout at the end. in the first 10 days, I had to put $2600 into steers and kingpins and a bunch of other work on my truck. A month later, another $1500. That first 6 months was close to $10,000 in repairs.

Pick the drive line you want. Then look at the package it comes in. That's how I looked at it. I wanted a Series 60 with 13 speed and an APU. That's what I got. It was all packaged in a 2007 Freightliner Century. Including an air ride front axle. That was a bonus to me.

Past that, it's what risk level you are comfortable with, how much work you are capable of doing and willing to do and when you want to do it.

[Scottt]

You should be able to get a reliable truck in the $25K-30K range. A loan at your bank should be in the 7% interest range with 20% down. Will be more if you finance through a dealership. My first truck I financed through my bank with no down payment for 3 years and paid $1046 a month for 3 years on $35K. I paid it off in 2 years.

Reefer trailer depends on if you plan on going to California with it. If you do you will need a newer reefer unit to comply with the CARB laws. Newer trailer equals more money. Friend of mine just bought a nice 2006 Utility reefer trailer for $20K.

[FL2HOTT21]

Originally Posted by mndriver

first, I have TRIED to listen to Kevin Rutherford. I can stand him about as much as I stand Dave Ramsey. And I don't listen to either of them. For reasons. Namely, they both talk common business sense really.

I'll go to that calculation....

A 13 speed has a Low gear of 12.31 an 18 spd has a LL of 14.4
http://www.eaton.com/ecm/groups/publ...01.pdf#page=16

50/12.31= 4.06 if you run a 13 spd
50/14.4 = 3.47 if you run an 18 spd

the 4.06 and 3.47 are the gears you should have in your rear end. That's if you are going to run off-road like hauling dirt for a construction site. Just from the guys I work with around here.

As to truck, depends if you are going to California or not.

I bought a 2007 century and a 2003 great dane with a 2002 Carrier reefer. Yop, I have dumped close to $16,000 into them both getting them reliable again and addressing some nasty issues. Including a power divider last summer already. It should all be paid off come Jan this year or at least in the 1st qtr 2015.

I started everything with $4000 cash, a $7500 microloan from the SBA and "leasing" my equipment with a residual buyout at the end. in the first 10 days, I had to put $2600 into steers and kingpins and a bunch of other work on my truck. A month later, another $1500. That first 6 months was close to $10,000 in repairs.

Pick the drive line you want. Then look at the package it comes in. That's how I looked at it. I wanted a Series 60 with 13 speed and an APU. That's what I got. It was all packaged in a 2007 Freightliner Century. Including an air ride front axle. That was a bonus to me.

Past that, it's what risk level you are comfortable with, how much work you are capable of doing and willing to do and when you want to do it.

Hey mndriver
I like to listen to Kevin Futhford because he has a lot of good info which i need at this time, i'm a rookie so ill listen to anybody that has knowledge in this industry. I'm actually thinking of buying his audio book package to open my mind up to the business side , but its $247 dollars!! not cheap..


I would like to run California so ill need equipment that complies with there laws. So that mean a tractor with all the emissions components?? DEF etc ?? What about the reefer unit? it burns diesel fuel, do reefer units have similar emissions components?

From reading about all the $$ you had to spend on your rig id say its a good idea to have at least 10k - 15k to start in your maintenance account!

As for picking the drive line i want, i dont really know what to look for and what packages! What would be best for road driving? The company truck i drive has a cummins motor with a 10speed Eaton which i like, it hasn't given me any problems other then climbing the hills and mountain its a real crawl!

Whats so great about the series 60? and what are the benefits of a 13 speed over the 10 speed? APU i'm thinking its a must..

I'm capable of running hard, to get things going ill keep a steady pace. Ill be doing this for myself now not for a company but now for my business so i'm willing to do what it takes.. The problem i see is getting good paying loads at the start, dealing with freight brokers is my main concern, ill need to prove to them that i'm reliable and i can get the job done. I can get the rig get the required paper work, licenses, permit etc etc but then i need to put it to work and pay those bills!!
Once i establish a good reputation with a few brokers then i know from then on ill get constant work, good loads , good pay per mile!!

[FL2HOTT21]

Originally Posted by Scottt

You should be able to get a reliable truck in the $25K-30K range. A loan at your bank should be in the 7% interest range with 20% down. Will be more if you finance through a dealership. My first truck I financed through my bank with no down payment for 3 years and paid $1046 a month for 3 years on $35K. I paid it off in 2 years.

Reefer trailer depends on if you plan on going to California with it. If you do you will need a newer reefer unit to comply with the CARB laws. Newer trailer equals more money. Friend of mine just bought a nice 2006 Utility reefer trailer for $20K.

Hey thanks scott, your info about the reefer CARB laws just answered a question i had for mndriver.

i appreciate that.


question: so you bought a truck for 35K , what was the make model and mileage? how long did it run before you had any issues, and what were the issues? Thanks