Looking to get my own authority.
 

Well I am planning to get either commom or contract (authority.) Its kind of perplexing to me how, but there are a lot of fee baised agencies that offer help for a fee. What are the best in your guys opinion?. I will probably bneed some guidence through this procedure I am sure.

You can do the entire process on line yourself. It isn't that complicated. If you want to find someone to help you may want to contact OOIDA. I think they will do it for you for about $150 plus the registration fee of $300. You will need to join if you are not a member.

Thks G-man ; yeah been looking around a bit for companies which will give advice and help me through the process for a fee, yeah 500 seems about the fiqure I am coming up with for the needed help.
All the boads always mention OOIDA and speak highly of them hmmm they seem the best huh?
Quess you recommend I join?
Yeah calling on insurance today....ouch 15-20k fiqure seems steep that I hear thrown around.......ouch......about half of what Im planning to pay for the %^$%in truck lol

Go with OOIDA and try to get insurance etc. and as much as possible from them. You can always go with someone else in the future.
There are a lot of people who do all the paperwork on their own.
I believe that if you are in busness, pay someone who will get it right the first time.
btw
If you have clients lined up
That's a good thing

It is very important that you have a mentor or someone who is willing to give you their time tested brokers etc
It is very risky to think you can just work the loadboards full of unfamiliar brokers

I went through www.dotauthority.com and they did everything. I had my authority pretty quick and it was painless.

As soon as I started running in November of last year I went on the load boards and no problems getting loads and no problems getting paid.

I contacted OOIDA in the beginning and they offered nothing of value to me being a new person. They wouldn't even answer simple questions and ignored my emails. I called them and pretty much got the same.

As far as time tested brokers, forget it, you'll starve unless you know someone with about 10,000 names. Use the load boards like a lot of us. If they don't pay, they are reported and it reflects in there credit score on the board or they are thrown off.

This isn't rocket science, same principles as running a taxi, just more expensive but the basics are the same.

Steve you did this all on your own?
No one helped you?
No mentors?
You figured out everything all by yourself?
You are pretty wet behind the ears in my estimation.


Trust me, you need a mentor to succeed
To start out you need list of time tested brokers who pay quickly.
There are a lot of brokers who do not not deal with load boards!!
there is a whole world of non load board brokers who pay well
A couple of 7 day payers makes all the difference in the world.
A friend of mine gave me his brokers with days to pay etc.
and only 2 or three would occaisionally show up on getloaded
the rest had a good carrier base and did not need any outsiders
He set up a map
Then explained to me the ins and outs
eg take a load from here to Pittsburg
call this broker and get a load of cheese from Ohio
Or you can call this guy....
Without this kind of information
You are dealing with scraps

NOTE WELL
of the 10 or so guys I know and through other message boards
who had their own authority
and worked the boards "like every one else"
there are 3 of us left
and I stopped using load boards and deal direct with a couple of local trucking companies
I parked my reefer for a while.

My Load board was my little Black Book

Getting your own authority is easy with a credit or debit card and being able to read and follow instructions. No need to pay someone else to do it. When I did mine it was by snail mail 4 years ago. Now its point and click.

Steve-out of those 1122 posts probably 1100 are questions to everyone else here on how to get authority, how to drive, how to get loads etc. You cant learn this business from a message board its mostly trial and error.

pepe go to: http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ answer the questions for what kind of authority you need. Join OOIDA have them file your process agents (BOC-3) and then get your insurance (cargo and liability). That pretty much consists of your authority, which is the easy part. If you are not familiar with industry regs go to JJ keller's website they have alot of manuals and books that spell out the regs in layman's terms. Order alot of supplies and if they have a special running they'll throw a manual in for free.

Good luck

I got my authority a number of years ago. I did everything myself. We had to do everything by mail at the time. It is much easier today. You can do everything on line. You can pay someone to do it for you, but it isn't that complicated. You basically answer some questions and pay them $300. Your insurance will need to be in place before you will be given your authority. You are required to have a registered agent in every state in which you do business. OOIDA will do it for you at no charge if you are a member in good standing.

Hi all.....thks for the replies, mullin them all over and trying to digest them, and thinking of my next move.
So far the big warning has been about insurance, but thats is looking kind of a bright spot for me as I contacted a company I found refered to here on this board (they seemed a logical choice since they are only 30 minutes away) and the broker gal I talked too seemed very optomistic she could get me the coverage I need even though I have been away from the business 3.5 years (a big problem to all the carriers cuz of insurance)
Appreciate all the input, going to check ut all the suggestions I have here soon, after I get my quotes in a day or so and look at trucks :)

You also need a boatload of cash
Lets say you find a decent shipper/broker who pays well.
You do a load a week for them that pays $3500
They pay in 21 -30days
Your weekly expenses are $1000
In one month's time you have put out of your pocket $4,000
All your house bills come in and you have not been paid in 21-30 days
Someone you don't really know owes you 14k!!!!!!!!!!
After 21-30 days you start getting a check
and every week after that
.......But then you realize that you are still 14k behind.......
you need a boatload of cash

I think anybody that's thinking of getting into any business must realize that you will always be chasing money. Maybe not all businesses, I don't want to generalize, but I bet most. I don't mean chasing people down to get paid, I mean monies floating around that belong to you.

Yeah...already fiqured on canceling my trip to the Philippines to see my wife;so I have the extra capital to get this gig started :P Freights gonna be slow as I remember now too :p

or just factor a ton of invoices at first, take the hit on pay but at least you get paid, then after a month or two you see who pays quickly and who dicks around and you can pick and choose who you haul for.


at least thats what I did and I already had the initial startup money to survive.

I went to the DOTAUTHORITY website, and it says that their "package" cost $699.00. I read where I believe it was Steve Booth got it for $350.00? Does this seem expensive? Is there anything else that somebody needs (aside from equipment) other than their own Authority, and Insurance of course? Any other legal fees etc.? I have my own LLC, had it when I pulled for United so that is covered already. Can anybody think of anything else that someone would need to have in addition to what I've already listed?



Thanks,
Jason

I think I did pay close to the $699 when all was said and done. In the beginning it's all very confusing for the new person. It seems that different states have different steps to be followed in a certain order. Paying someone to tell me what to do and when to do it was very painless.

I did look at the forms and I must say many questions I had no idea how to answer. I don't think I could lead someone through the process myself now that I've gone through it.

DOT number
MC number
KY number
NM number
NY number
Federal ID
BOC-3
Single State
IFTA sticker

Yeah lil steep at over 600....been finding mostly 500....100 a bit to wana save. Think I will probably go with that OOIDA that everyone is so high on, usually a good reason if so many recommend them.

Hmmmm anyone not driving anymore care to kindly share any brokers names (kind of funny, I was considering doing brokering instead, seems easier to get going lol) If not Ill have to kindly ddo just well eating my, "scraps" for dinner.

Well justt an update, got my insurance quote back and it was good news indeed! 9,000 covers me for a mil and I can run aywhere, going over to Freightliner now to look at trucks,....hmmmm if I do go under as far as not getting enough loads aka too low paying, can I use these months towards leasing on to a company ?They seem to have their panties on to tight as far as my recent experience, or lack there of, but I know I can run for a few months b efore I went under with the capital I have, given I dont screw this up tottaly anf get loads where the broker never pays.

I'm sure you could use your experience, but if you go under, you'll prolly be sick of trucking :) Why not lease on at first then, after a few months, get your own authority?

More than 1 way to skin a cat! :wink:

Yeah Cuz...would have leased on somewhere, but they all said cuz my experience isnt recent they didnt deal with me, thats why I was wondering if I did go under if I could use the experience towards their recent Exp requirement lol...well as far as being sick of it..er ah no, just might be a terrible businessman, if I go under. I think many good workers go under cuz they worked hard, but didnt work smart, will see if I'm one or not?

Theres only one way to find out! 8)

BTW- a carrier will lie if they want you bad enough. I can't incriminate myself or others, but "2 years experience" or "250,000 miles verifiable" is a penstroke away :wink:

Hopefully you'll find the loophole, considering the fact you have a fair amount of experience, just nothing recent. Theres always good ol CRE- who will let noobs become o/o's right after training, but still require o/o's with their own trucks to have 1 yr :roll:

Say Cuz....ummm is that right that you can O/OP with CRE just out of school?....hmmm I called them and they were not interested in me (good God, I have rejections from every major carrier lol) hmmm maybe we missunderstood each other, because I did say I wanted to own my own truck, hmmmm maybe I should call them in the morning and see if they will let me on if I lease on with them with their lease trucks (hmmm am quessing thats what they mean?). Reason why, I would like to go see my wife for a couple of months overseas if I could swing it (I mean while freight is slow now best time to go n stay with her), because my own authority and truck seemed the only way I could go I was cancelling that trip.....since all I got was rejections from all the carriers :P

Ok Cuz....called CRE today, well not quite true they put new drivers right on the road adter school, you complete their school and have to go out with a trainer first (even if you have a CDL already still their school), lol they even were going to make me go with a trainer and their school, lots of companies just wanted me to go out with their trainer, their worse lol, as far as a deal for me. Well I am clearly better to just buy my truck, and get my own authority, since this insurance thing really isnt the issue these companies seem to want to make it, 9k a year for insurance seemed reasonable.
The only negative I see is if I want to take a long vacation, say 3-4 months during slow season, if there is any old hands, what do you guys do? I cant just cancel my insurance, I just eat that....right? Wont have truck payments at least :) just worried about the insurance situation if the truck sits.
Just something you guys might find humerous, the last company to put drivers, right out of school on the road, were the famed PST U-teams, which I was a proud member of LOL. Years latter I was talking with a fellow trainer, at my last big company about that experience, he just looked at me and said I have only 1 comment, Said U stood for unbelievable; I just started laughing hard!

No, I don't run for CRE, nor will I ever :)

When I said they put drivers on the road right out of school- its true. Sure they have to be with a trainer for like a month, but then they go into a lease deal. However, to come in from the outside as an o/o, they require 1 yr experience. i was NOT implying you go work there, especially if you want 3-4 months off (hell, you won't get 3-4 days off :wink: )

I think your expectations of getting your own authority are a bit misconstrued. My father shuts down for 2 months per year for vacation, and must work the rest. In freight, I don't see this happening for most operators. (Keep in mind, I said MOST). :lol:

How muich do you expect to make to be able to send the wife overseas, take off months at a time, and live/party like a rockstar? :lol: Owner operator doesn't always mean more money.

And not to offend anyone, living off getloaded.com is NOT how you'll stay afloat. Even on their website they boast its a tool to cut down on deadhead miles (to better paying freight that you've secured).

I think they should call it "backhaul.org" :lol:

Yeah, Sorry I quess I missunderstood you cuz...I thought you were saying they did that.
You missunderstood me tho too Cuz, the wife already is overseas, in her country I can live good on $6 US dollars a day (48 Pesos to 1 US dollar), hardly living like a rock star. If I could get 2 months off a year that would work. but since fright is slow usually for up to 4 was hopping for that,just not too sure what to do about the insurance, ummm quess I just eat it there?

Yes, you eat the insurance. You want your rig covered from hurricanes, hooligans, and theft.

If your wife is overseas, and on pesos, technically shes in mexico and not overseas?

Have you contacted any brokers or companies to haul for?

Similar; Philippines was a Spanish colony for 400 years. She in R.P.
Hmmm dont remember any of the many brokers I talked to when I was a company driver, damn then I just wanted them to stop bugging me lol (now I wish I wrote their name and # down) been too long...hhmmmm got any names you wish to share ..plz plz plz :D well cant blame me for trying eh?

Pepe..where you located..and what type trailer you gonna pull?

Dry van;
n well where...hmmm when i was a company driver my home was where the truck was, so home time was never a big issue and wont be again, i use my godparents house as a mail drop for a fixed address, and help her out financially when i am there, but point being i dont have a real concern to have to be there so distance and where is not an issue, but I am out of So Cal.

Say just wondering....whata you guys think of using these guys if you were getting authority for the first time? http://www.safetrucker.net/authority.htm

Hmm still hung up on the point of buying a truck tho....er or I am still negotiating....depends how I look at it I quess.....threw out some low offers and they were all rejected so far, but ifc the stock market keeps tumbling (and since I got cash in hand to pay) maybe they will reconsider, I am low balling how much they want by 4 or 5 K and I dont want to go up and so far they are not interested in coming down.

I think the $350 was just for the authority and on top of that I got NY, NM, KY and OR. I think BOC and a few other things were in there also so it may have reached the $699 mark.

Hmmm more for each state then to the government? Or was that because of the insurance you got Steve? I know when I recieved my quote for insurance 9K was for all the 48 states, I was specific about that

Not sure what your quesion is? You need a permit for NY, NM, OR and KY or you have to get a temporary permit when you enter the state. I have all 48 state registration and insurance for all 48 states.

Thks Steve, yeah that answered my question, yeah I remembered that once I didnt have the New Mexico card, n bought it when entering, and Oregon's n odd ball too, something about you need the License plate too, had to buy one of those once, yeah you just buy it when entering if you dont have it ahead of time (Doh) now i remember

New Mexico has a $2 permit you need to get from them each year. If you don't have the permit, you will need to stop and buy a permit each time you cross into the state. You must show your permit when you cross their scale. Kentucky has a KYU number you must have or stop and buy a permit each time you cross the state. New York has a HUT permit which must be purchased for a 2 year period. I seem to recall something about them discontinuing the HUT permit. I would check further before not getting it, if you plan on running in the state. Oregon no longer issues their PUC tags, but you still need the number and must put up a cash bond. They deduct what you owe from the bond. They use a weight distance method of charging carriers. The costs can be different each time you go into the state. Again, you can buy a permit to enter the state, but would do well to get it before crossing the state line. Oregon is a bit peculiar.

Say this is a little off topic, but I have to be under a load for this to apply.....ummm right. What I am getting at is I hope to buy a truck at auction, cross-country and drive it back, since for my own enjoyment (not buiz) I dont need my permits yet?....ummm right?

Just put a sign on both doors that says "NOT FOR HIRE" and your all set.
You do need to keep a log book though and follow the rules for your hours of driving still.

You need to see if you can get a temporary permit. If you can't get a temporary permit you may want to make a copy of the bill of sale and tape it to the passenger side of the windshield. I would probably log and stop at all of the chicken coops, too.