Cost of Authority
 

Well I was going to make this a private e-mail to Steve or one of the moderators, but what the hell.....thought I would open it up to you all and let you beat the hell outta me if I have been an idiot!
This is the deal, got my truck, and insurance, ....still need to buy a trailer and get my authority, problem is I have ony 26K at my disposal right now, do you guys think I have enough $ or better just chicken-out n go lease on to someone, well I want my own authority and gig, but 3 month wait "ouch" and so tempting to just pull in somewhere n lease on.
I have 10k more still owed to me somewhere, n I will eventually get it, but when is the problem. In Little Rock right now but probably heading over to Oklahoma City to look at trailers very soon.

I don't know squat about owning a truck.
But I spent 40 years in business, and I'm telling you that whatever you do will be the result of your own effort.
Do what your heart tells you to do. Make the decision right. Leave those who only want to make the "right decision" in the dust.

How much expirience do you have?

It doesn't take 3 months. Dot# instantly, MC# within 48 hours, authority certificate 7-10 days after they receive insurance filing. That's the time-frame you're looking at as far as the Feds go, assuming you do everything in the most expedited fashion. Getting your IFTA is often the slowest part of the process. If you've got all your ducks in a row, you're not looking at more than 3 weeks or so.

You have enough money for sure. Your authority will take about 30 days or so and that gives you plenty of time to get yourself and the truck squared away and find a trailer. When I started out it cost me about $8,000 before the checks started coming in. That money was for fuel, bills and a bunch of other stuff I wanted. I'm sure it could have been done for much less.

Thks Steve, just started to panick when I saw G-man mention it could take up to 3 months before $ coming in and wondered if I am shaving it a little to close....hmmm have about 26K left to budget and stll need some things, for sure trl about 9k, hmmm the $ for authority itself I budgeted about 3 k, leaves about 14 k left to work on, plus out of that at least 2k for insurance payments next couple of months.

Get the ball rolling on your authority. Sign up with one of those services now and bit the bullet and get it rolling!!!! My checks from customers come in on a regular basis no more than 30 days after delivering the load and some come in within 20 days.

Sign up today with WWW.DOTAUTHORITY.COM or any of the other ones and put that behind you. You have a lot more to do with IRP, 2290, inspection stickers, lettering for the truck and other stuff. The most important thing is to get the authority rolling NOW. Sure you can save maybe $300 or so doing it yourself but I don't think it's worth it for you to drag your heels at the moment.

Steve is absolutely right.
you are wasting a lot of time
From the bus trip (I still can't get over that) on
(busnessmen fly)

Just some food for thought
You got a good price for the truck but you are just sitting on an expensive piece of real estate.
You paid cash for it which is nice but...
If you pay cash for your trailer and the other expenses
You are an just a major repair away from having no money
(lots of things break on used trucks)
You will eat up $4,000-5,000 in fuel in a month.
Having your own authority is 100% problems
The ones who make money are able to somehow solve a lot of problems at once.
as an arm chair quarter back
you should have gotten your authority first
then got familiar with the load boards,customers etc
then bought a decent truck with a good mechanic at your side
Its nice to pay cash at an auction but putting all of it in a truck ....
You have to feel a little sick to glance at your bank account
and then look at the bucket of bolts you bought.
And you are no where near getting a first load.
You are bleeding.


Trust me the $$$$ is not going to be rolling in with your own authority
With your inexperience
(You actually considered buying a Sterling?)
I would definately lease on with someone.
Here you can take your time to find the right company.
They pay the cargo, maybe plates, do the fuel tax and keep you busy every day.

The 3 months is for you to get your authority back with all the proper paperwork, pay your 2290, get the IFTA, base-plates, find, book, haul, bill and collect on your first loads, etc., You will need to have your motor carrier authority before you can do any of the other things, such as getting your base plates, IFTA, etc., Once you have your insurance and authority you can walk your base-plates and get your IFTA set up the same day, if you want to go to the appropriate offices. One reason it takes some time to get your authority is that there is a waiting period for them to advertise that you want your authority. When I originally applied it took about 6 weeks from the time I applied until I got my authority back. Steve is correct, you should apply for authority NOW, if that is what you want to do. If you are nervous about getting into this on your own, there are plenty of carriers who will lease you on with experience. OOIDA will assist you in getting your authority, if you don't want to do it yourself. There are also a number of services who will do it for you for a fee. I believe it took me about 2 months to get my permit from New Mexico. You can still travel through New Mexico, but will need to stop at their port of entry and get trip permits each time you enter the state unless you have one of their state permits. It takes time and lot of effort to jump through all the hoops to get your authority and get up and running. I am sorry if I upset you concerning the time frame, but I prefer being realistic in my expectations. If things run smoothly, you may be able to get money in sooner, but I would prefer to expect a longer time frame and be pleasantly surprised if I got money in sooner. Some brokers offer quick pay for a discount on the bill. Those could pay you in 1-7 days from the time that they receive the bills. Unless you opt for quick pay, I would expect payment to be made in about 30 days from when they receive your bills. Some will wait for about 45 days. Not to scare you, but you should look at this realistically. If you check out brokers or shippers prior to taking a load and clear up their billing and paying policy, you can plan better. When I first got my authority, I already had a few shippers set up so that I could start hauling immediately. Some of them were COD. For the type of freight you are planning on hauling, COD is probably not as likely. That has also been several years ago.

Your order of operations sounds like good advice but I am still questioning about leasing on with someone. That is, assuming he can somehow make it through until the first checks show up. Thanks for posting that one.