Am I Crazy!
 

Here Goes!!

After 15 years of punching the clock and boss man after boss man breathing down my throat I am think of quitting my job an becoming and 0/0!

Before I got this job I drove for Boyd and Maverick. I have also driven for a couple of 0/0 and STI on my days off over the years!

I make any where from high 5 figures to low 6 figures yearly. But I am beginning to hate this job more and more!

Ironicly I load flatbed trucks with a Taylor forklift for a living. LOL

My plans are to take some money out of my retirement and purchase in full a late model Pete and a flatebed trailer (in full).

I have heard and read all kinds of trucker stories about the pay. Anywhere from making $150 -$200K yearly (before expenses) to just barely making it. Without a truck and trailer payment can I make a good living?

I am a little nervous and my wife is also very concerned to say the least!

I have alway LOVED trucks and trucking since I was a litlte boy and at 46 cannot seem to shake it.

I figured eventually I was going to have to drive again. I believe that as the work force starts to age, my current company is going to either become hard to deal with or start forcing some of the old hands to retire!

I am a big boy and I am open for a opinions!

Thanks!

I am working on doing the same thing.

I am putting everything together on paper before I spend a dime. This week I got the help of a small trucking company here in town that called the brokers for me and got rates. I went to the demo version of internet truck stop and and planned my week off it. I then went to the small trucking company and they called and got the rates for the loads I had picked.

I could of made 3 runs of 321 miles out that paid $450 each. The return trip paid $425. To get the return trip there was 50 miles of deadhead to pick up the load, there was a 60 mile deadhead to get back to the orginal pickup to do another round. I haven't sat down and crunched all the numbers yet to see where it all ends up dollar wise.

I was approved for insurance with a 300 mile radius restriction. I am waiting on a call back from them to see if they will increase the radius to 500 miles. There are alot more load opportunities within the 500 mile range.

I had a truck picked out to buy but after a few pointers from the good people here I decided to keep looking for a truck a little cheaper to start out with.

Good Luck and Do Your Homework First!

If you are making 100 Large now, you will be taking a cut in pay.

Don't take money out of a retirement account to buy a truck. The early withdrawal penalties are substantial.

There are better (more cost effective) trucks than a Pete. You pay a lot for a name.

You might as well start looking for a new wife as you look for a truck. :shock:

Remember, It's not what you bill, it's what Sticks

Re: Am I Crazy!
 

That $150-200k figure is gross and can be misleading. With a paid for truck and a sharp eye for the bottom line you will be able to retain 35-45% of that as net.

As a benchmark I'll earn $40k this year working 40-45hrs per week as a dockworker/yard goat driver in LTL land. The other guy I trained with is earning ~$60k as a night line driver. Some of our senior line drivers who work 60-70hrs/week gross $75-85k.

Unless you have your own authority you are merely trading dollars and buying yourself a job. You net take home after all expenses will be in the range of what a company driver earns. By owning your own equipment you are taking on significant additional headache and risk.

Paccar makes a good product but you will pay a significant premium of it; they are the Harley Davidson or Toyota of Big Rigs.

Use the search feature to read most everything by Steve Booth and GMAN on here. Read the "Desk to own authority" threads by Steve. Samuel also has a good thread & blog on here about running for Swift flatbed.

The Steve B school of jump into the deep end (O/O with own authority) to learn to swim is not for everyone.

If I were you I'd look into hiring on with a good 1st rate flatbed outfit like TMC to A) See if you and your spouse can adapt to the lifestyle B) Get some quality training and make some of the inevitable N00B mistakes. Going that route if you and/or the Mrs. decide its not for you you're able to just turn in the truck and walk away no harm no foul.

If you go and take $80-140k from retirement savings for a shiny new Petercar you could easily take a $25-50k hit if you decide this is not for you.

Good Luck.

Ian

are you me?
 

how can there be so many people have the same story as mine? i have purchased a '95 t600 in pretty decent shape and i'm still sitting with the local power company trying to get enough nerve to take the plunge to leased owner operator. i guess i'm asking too many people the samequestion,,,part of the people are positive and part negative.

[quote="usedup"]

Don't take money out of a retirement account to buy a truck. The early withdrawal penalties are substantial.

quote]

The penalty for early withdrawl from a retirement account is a 10% penalty plus you have to claim the distribution as income on your income taxes.

Take $50K out and pay a $5K penalty and talk to a CPA and see if you can write off enough with a new business startup to offset the income tax due.

Borrow 50K from the bank at 9% interest for 5 years and you pay $12,275 in interest with a monthly payment of $1,040

I think you have a better chance of making it going in without any large monthly payments.

Got kids?

If not I say you may as well go for it. If you hate your job as much as you say, you're going to get fired or quit anyway. And at 46 you don't have much in the way of new career opporunitites.

Be careful...a divorce will make a Pete look cheap.

That or sell the wife on the idea and run team. Having the ability to move the truck 22hrs/day vs 11 makes it far easier to cover your fixed costs and turn a profit.

Yes, I jumped into the deep end right off the bat. Got my license, bought a truck, trailer and got my own authority. In early 90's I was making $190,000 but the job was incredibly difficult going for 6 to 9 months at a time without anything to show for my efforts. Some of the problems that were given to me took all most a year to solve. This took it's toll on me and I quit to work in a laboratory environment doing research making $115,000.

After doing the same thing every single day for over 30 years I realized I just wasn't happy and took the plunge. I've been on the road on my own since November 19th of last year.

I am making very decent money and average about $1.70 per mile and about 3,000 miles per week. Some loads are over $2.00 per mile and some are as low as $1.40.

If your willing to head out for 3 or 4 weeks at a time I think you will do fine pulling a flatbed like myself. I can't speak for van work or anything else though.

I paid cash for my truck and trailer and don't really have any bills to speak of. As of today I have a little over $20,000 doing nothing in the bank. It was $28,000 until I bought a Rigmaster a few weeks ago. I will continue to bank all my money and would suggest anyone else getting into this to do the same until you have a sizable amount to withstand a major set back.

You really need to commit staying out for that 3 or 4 weeks and going wherever is necessary.

I agree with Stve on this. If you need a cheapload back every Friday and a cheap load out every Monday...you are done. Unless you live in OH.

Yes thanks everyone for the good advice! I am still doing my homework and plan to put my 2 weeks notice in after the Christmas holiday.

I am a very hyper person and still have drive in me! I really believe I will be okay!

Need be I will have around $140k to work with and the wife makes $50k a year! Kids all grown and just a fat Maine Coone cat that is not worth killing (LOL)!

I live 10 mins from down town Memphis and 70 miles from major Steel Mills. There is freight everywhere around here! I figured I could get back hauls from Dallas or Chicago coming this way! Anyone know of any good brokers in Dallas or Chicago?

Thanks again for your replies!

To start with, there is no such thing as a backhaul. It doesn't exist in my vocabulary. There are some decent brokers in Dallas and Chicago. Freight coming out of Texas has been very cheap for about a year or so. It takes a lot of work to find the better paying loads. You are fortunate that you live in a good freight lane. Coming into this business during January is probably the worst time for flat bed freight. That doesn't mean that you won't find loads, but your options will be limited, and rates will usually be lower during this time. If you have read some of our posts concerning this subject, then you know your primary expense will come from insurance premiums. Without at least 2 years of recent experience rates are high and insurance is difficult to obtain. There are a few, such as Steve, who have managed to find insurance and seem to be making things work for themselves. This industry has a high failure rate. If you are good with details and have decent management skills, you stand a much better chance of making a go of it. Paying cash for your equipment is always preferable to financing. However, there will be some costs involved with taking money out of your retirement. I would stay away from the Pete's, starting out. Instead, I recommend something more aerodynamic which will save you thousands in fuel costs, in addition to costing tens of thousands more to purchase.

Before quiting your current job, I suggest going ahead and get your authority, if that is the direction you plan on heading. It takes several weeks to get authority back. You won't be able to book any loads until you have your authority and insurance. You must have insurance in place prior to authority being granted. If you quit prior to having your authority, you will be without any income until you do. It also takes time to find a good used truck and trailer. I suggest NOT buying new, starting out. It is your money, but from a business standpoint, you are much better off buying a good used truck and trailer. You spend less going in and should you decide this isn't for you, then you will be able to get more of your money back when you sell it. I would start looking for equipment now to get an idea of what you will get for the money you have to spend.

As a good example :shock: ,..take what I did.
I bought my truck a year ago ($9,000), and started going through it to make sure it was road worthy.
4 months ago I applied for my authority, and have been paying insurance ever since ($2,300 down $750.00 per month).
Now I am finally ready to go out in about a week, and I have been paying loadboards,insurance, and every other cost involved,..because I thought I was ready 4 months ago. So as you can see I've spent alot of money just sittting at home doing posts here and finding things to fix on my truck (you can go through a lot of money very fast).
There is a ton of great advice on this board,...I don't think I could have gotten this far as easily as I did, without the help I have recieved from this board.
I went with a really,really used truck, because I wanted to start from an empty box and build it the way I wanted it.
So far I have about $25,000 invested in this truck,...but it has everything, and I do mean everything. From an APU and a motor oil cleansing system, to a bathroom w/shower/toilet, and a full kitchen.
But there are great used trucks in the $20,000 to $30,000 range that should not run you into the ground.

My plans are to get my own authority before I quit/retire (retire sounds better). Get my name on the shipping boards of the local Steel Mill around here. You have the have your authority, insurance and all your paper work in order before doing that.

Keep in mind I used to drive for Boyd and Maverick. I am a flat bedder, but from January until April I was going to get with one of the van companys, (Swift, Scnhieder, CFI or USA truck) an go out with a trainer to get some practice on a van to open up more options.

I was thinking of buy my unit first, leasing with a company for a little while just to get my feet wet, then buying me a trailer.

There are at least four trucking companies around here (Eastern Express, Utley, CRST and McClure trucking that are constanyly loading running to Chicago and back, Texas and back, or out east and back. I have coming to know alot of those guys personally and they seem to keep very busy!

"BY THE WAY EXCUSE MY SPELLING/GRAMMER AND THANKS ALOT FOR THE GOOD SOUND, COMFORTING ADVICE AND LISTENING TO ME BLAB ON!" AND ON ABOUT MY PLANS!"

I try to be as open as possible because I believe you cannot get good advice if you don't be open about the situation!

Ha ha ha, that was funny.

I know,...I know, but the closing is today for my house and thats what held me up,...so :? :? :shock: :lol: maybe :?:

Well, we better see pictures soon or we'll hunt you down like the dog you are and put bumper stickers on your truck like

"Mexican truck driver, GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY"

All I can say is that its been a long time coming. If I had bought a newer truck and wanted to go without the comforts of home (wait till I post the full list of goodies) I could have been out a couple of months ago. The house has been for sale since January, and with its sale I get to slide another $20,000 into my repair fund. That makes me real happy because I didn't want to be under financial pressure during my first few weeks out. I'm the kind of guy who likes to do everything my way, so if I don't want to run,.....I won't run, and having $$ in the bank gives me the ability to say "So you want $1.35 per mile,.......well,..... call me back when your serious"
I can actually say that I like the way the truck turned out, and it should provide me many years of good service. Its no show truck like yours(no chrome,few lights, faded white paint, white steel wheels),..but it will certainly do what I need it to do.
I drop it off at the decal place on Tues. there will be many,many photos shortly after that.

Good Luck and happy trails

Is your bed made, truck stocked with water, coffee....etc....Full of fuel and clean clothes......yada yada yada????

Make sure that sucker is ready to roll when you post it for the next day. Then get ready to throw up a few times and stay up all night. I did.

I remember the first time I drove a semi for Stevens,...it was through the mountains of Pennsylvania, and my neck muscles were so tense that it felt like my head would explode. I stopped after 100 miles and ate a bunch of Ibuprofen,....stopped 50 miles later and threw up at a rest area.
The trainer then scammed me into unloading a truckload of unpalletized cases of meat (on no sleep for an overnight 10 hr shift),...and then pocketed 3/4 of the lumper fee.
I wanted to call it quits right then and there,...but I stuck it out for 11 more weeks.

This time around it will not be like that, though I suspect I will be a bit more prepared from my first experience. It feels good to be the captain of my little ship. That truck and I have already been through quite a bit.
I'm not kidding when I say there is not on single system that I have not had my hands on, and not one single wire or hose that I don't know where it goes or what it does.
Its been a learning experience, but I dig that gear head stuff, its like a challenge to have a problem, and then figure it out.
I am looking forward to being back on the road,..going to the places that you have described,...I would have eaten up that long dirt road (just my truck,.....well lets just say that its hard to tell when its dirty), and the different weather around the county. I have always been a traveler, and trucking suits my personality well. I spent a bit of time doing research for Outside America magazine,...loved that traveling job,(crummy pay though) I still have all the rock climbing/camping/hiking gear from our 21 day kayak trip from Green River Utah to Phantom Ranch Grand Canyon.
Point is I like to be on the move, and that's why I got into trucking back in 99,....this time sure I'll be a nervous wreck, and every sound will be a new adventure inside my head,......but at least I'll be working and driving for myself, and that makes this nomad,..... a happy trucker.

Did someone say "little ship" ???


Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a Dog House trip
That started from this Florida port,
Aboard this big huge truck.
The mate was a mighty Rotewiller,
The Skipper barked and growled,
Five doggies set the sail that day
For a bone hunting tour
A bone hunting tour

The weather started getting rough,
Doghouse hid and licked
If not for the courage of the rest of the pups,
The Big Truck would be lost
The Big Truck would be lost.

The truck set ground on the edge of this
Uncharted well groomed lawn
With Rusty, the Dog House too,
The Mini Pins and his Poodles,
A Rotewiller, and a pug, the Bulldogs and a Terrier,
Here on Dog House Isle!

Steve, I'm starting to think your mama dropped you when you were a baby. :shock: :lol: :lol: :wink:

It's OK though, she said I always bounced. I don't there was any real damage....Wait...What were we talking about?

That was a good one Steve,...it made my girl laugh like hell.

I totally agree!! I believe steve is a bit "touched"

At least you got Gilligans Island and NOT Beverly Hillbillies!! 8)

tootie

Hey....and just WHAT is wrong with those lovable folks that loaded up their truck and moved to Beverly....Hills that is

You go geomon,....tell'em like it is :lol:

Oh....nothing.... :wink:

I can totally relate to Steve's comment. Even though I had some experience and the truck was ready, I still felt unprepared. I finally just took a low paying load to get the truck moving and reduce my anxiety.

There was a great sense of relief after we delivered the first load with no problems....