want to be o/O
 

I'm a new driver (6 months) with an OTR van company and interested in becoming o/o. Really want a dedicated route out of S. Florida and back, not interested in running all 48 states anymore. I'm 40 and managed to hide a few bucks away from my daughters (they're in college need I say more) so i can afford to buy a truck. I enjoy driving and was thinking o/o would allow me to run the States I liked and put a few bucks in my pocket. I'm not trying to make millions just hoping to put food on the table doing something I like. Can anyone tell me if this is realistic and where i can find info about becoming an o/o. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

I'll start with the first anwser. Stay with your company for some time. You've got six months in, and things are going good I'm guessing. Good to know you have cash saved. Save some more, and when you think you've saved enough, save even more. Keep asking questions, and give it a another year or so to decide if you want to make an investment in the buisness.

I love to drive, but there are days were I'd like to throw my self through the front windshield. I'm still in the begining stages of becoming an O/O, meaing I'm still looking at my options of financing, or straight out buying a decent used truck. . And I've been driving for 6+ years, 5 of those wanting to make the change. Take your time, don't rush. :D

Same thing serbie said AND remember you need that 2 years exp in order to get ins. that does not restrict your driving distances. Also you will have a much better undrstanding of the trucking business in general.

tootie

You will need at least 1 year of experience to lease to most carriers. Some may require longer. Tootie is correct about it being difficult to find insurance without at least 2 years experience. Some carriers offer insurance to those to whom they lease on, but those may or may not be the best rates. Most drivers get in too big of a hurry to go out and buy a truck. You still have much to learn. At this point, you don't really know whether you want to stay in this business. Buying a truck is a much bigger decision than most realize. There are a lot of hidden expenses you don't know about until you own the truck. I don't want to discourage you from buying a truck, but would encourage you to give it some time. Learn as much as you can over the next year or so. You will need to at least wait until you get a year under your belt. If I were you, I would take this time to check expenses and some of the costs of running a truck. Write everything down in a composition book or ring binder. That will give you an idea of what you can expect running your own truck. If you blow a tire, it will need to be replaced. Unless you are able to purchase on national account, you can count on spending as much as $500 for a single tire. Repairing flats run from about $32-45. I don't recall any time when I have called for road service where it didn't cost at least $200. Most times it runs more than $300. I usually spend around $200 each time I have the oil changed. Dealers can charge close to $300. I try to change my oil at 15,000 miles. That means when I run as I should, I will change my oil between 4-6 weeks. When you purchase fuel, your carrier is likely getting discounts for which you may not qualify as an owner operator. It can be difficult finding discounted fuel with a single truck. There is much more to running a truck than putting in fuel and driving. We have discussed in detail about some of the costs. You may want to do a search to check some of the hidden costs.

You really need to pay your dues and 6 months isn't enough.

Come on is it really all that hard to make it as a o/o ?? Is'nt there plenty of work out there ??

No, there is not plenty of work. Unless you want to work for free. There is plenty of cheap freight. I have been sitting here since Monday (now Weds night) without a load this week. Albeit, I needed to stay "local" this week due to a commitment this weekend, next week I will long-haul.

Owner Operator? I have been one now, bona-fide and certi-fied, for one year. I just figured out what I made last year. NOT counting depreciation on my truck, I netted about $3,000 LAST YEAR. THAT IS MY WAGES FOR 2006. Which is not really, cuz that is without depreciation. Now, if you remove my truck payments, and remove my "meals allowance" per the IRS figures, I made about $15,000 last year. The truck payments are just that, payments on a quickly depreciating asset, which I will never see back in the way of "investment". So, if you take that away, and figure your meals you had to eat anyway, I made about $10,000 last year.

If you are a company driver, and you pulled down $35-50,000 last year, count your blessings, keep driving, and put your money in the bank. So why do I keep on as an O/O? For one, I had a DUI awhile back. Meaning, no one will hire me. Ironically, I CAN find insurance and work for myself, but not for anyone else. THAT is why I am an O/O.

This year SHOULD be better. I have my 350 mile restriction off and can run some long loads and Lord Willing, make some money.

But as to "plenty of freight"... sure, if you can figure out how a buck a mile will pay all your expenses plus pay you a living wage. :roll:

Its the good paying work thats a bit harder to find. Theres plenty of cheap work out there :)

I just got an offer for a nice haul from Dover NH to Sikeston MO. 40,000 pounds pays $1,450 for 1330 miles. Needs to be tarped also.

My email to this broker below.


Hi Jim,

Pretty funny. 1,330 miles for $1,450 is $1.08 per mile.

Don't call. Not interested in anything you have or may have!

Steve

If you are asking this question you have no clue. Now go back to watching the qualcomm

I've been doing it since November last year with no experience at all and have been doing fine. On the average I'm getting $1.60 per mile and never had a problem finding loads other than a few times I sat for 2 days.

If your willing to head out for 3 weeks and go anywhere in the U.S. you won't have a problem. If you want to be home every weekend I think you may find it hard to do.

There are good loads, and good paying loads, but there is also a lot of cheap crap being offered. It depends on the season, how many trucks are available vs. how many loads, and the city you run out of. I get good loads out of Reno, NV every time I go there, fore example. Here out of Boise, I am doing good to get $1.60 per mile out of here. From Portland or Seattle, I get about $1.80-$2.25 per mile,usually. From SLC, it varies from $1.50 to $2.25 depending on how many trucks/loads available.

Anyhow, if GOOD paying loads were EASY to find, everyone would be doing it. Just not the case. 8)

The said part is, some idiot will haul it. I've seen loads for less than $1/mi from L.A. to missouri (dry van).

The reason so many owner operators will haul cheap loads is that they don't know anything about business and they are under capitalized. If you have money set aside, you can afford to sit. If you don't and have big equipment payments, you feel that you need to run whether you make a profit or not. That is the reason so many owner operators fail.

Come to New York, lot of $4 a mile loads. Monday I did NJ to Philly. 117 miles, $500. Got a load back to Ronkonkoma on the Island for $675 for less than 175 miles. You do the math. I was home in time for dinner. You have to post your truck. It's better than looking for the ones published.
Tell the broker when they call a blown up rate and sometimes they come back with a decent amount.

Red Dog.....You really should drive as a Companyman for at least 2 years before you step into a truck purchase. You didn't say what outfit you are driving for. If it is a company that has decent equipment and keeps you running a livable number of miles, stay with them for the duration. if they do have a decent fleet...at the end of 2 years...if you still want to buy a truck, then sit down with the boss, and see what sort of deal you can make on the truck you are driving...if it is a decent truck.
Large company's, that buy hundreds of trucks each year (or quarter), will make a good driver a far purchase price offer. If you have the savings, pay cash for that first truck, that way..if doing the O/O thing where you are doesn't work $$$-wise, you can move on without worrying about that truck payment.

MountainFlyer...are you doing the O/O thing under your own authority? If so, do you live in Boise and what type trailer are you pulling?

Red Dog....if you go o/o now you will have a big commitment to make into trucking. 6 months is a decent amount of experience, but might not be enough to decide yet. I went o/o day1, because of the niche I'm in, but thats a special case. If you are already putting food on the table, why not keep a good thing going?

If you think being an o/o will make you signifigantly more money, you're misinformed. I'm not saying you can't make a good living at it, but you can do worse than a company driver if you're paired up with a crap outift to run for.

Its all relevant

thanks
 

I appreciate all the advice, one of the the main reasons for considering O/O was to get away from forced dispatch (man I don't like driving in New York). If i could get on with a company that offered dedicated that would be perfect till i get my 2 years in but it seems hard to come by. Glad I talked to you guys because I didn't realize you needed 2 years for insurance thought it was just 1 you needed.

If your only reason for wanting to become an owner operator is to get away from forced dispatch, then you may want to rethink your decision. Not all companies have forced dispatch. Some may offer several loads from which to choose. The problem you may run into is that there could be a problem getting out of where you want to run. I would be less concerned about where I ran than how much money I could earn. You can probably get insurance through a carrier if you lease on to someone if you only have about 1 year of experience. If you plan on getting your authority and doing something on your own, then you will need to restrict your operations to about a 300 mile radius of your base because of insurance restrictions, or wait until you get at least 2 years of driving experience.

Thanks again GMAN, sorry for the slow replies I only get on-line a couple times per week. Could u give me the name of a few companies that don't have forced dispatch.

Not a problem, Red Dog. Of course it depends on the type of freight you want to haul, but some non-forced dispatch carriers are, CRST Malone, Landstar, Mercer, Jones, Besl, Fikes and Kaplan are a few who come to mind. All of the ones I listed pay the owner operator percentage. Most of those I listed are flat bed carriers. Some, such as Landstar, have both vans and flats. You will need from 1 to 2 years of experience with any of those I listed, except CRST Malone, who only requires 6 months. There are other carriers who may offer several loads from which to choose.