can anyone help me?
 

I am 34 yrs old single with no family. I want to buy a truck and go into buisness for my self ( yes I know I'm crazy ) but I have grew up around trucks all my life and the thought of life on the road exites me. My dad did it for a living between that and farming and I have always had a love for trucks, It's in my blood. I have driven tractor trailers starting at the ripe old age of 13, ( grain to the mill from the farm ) and had my A lisence since 18. Grandfathered in before CDL went into effect in 92'. I'm not looking to drive for a big company because I don't want to be just a driver, I do have the financial backing to buy my own truck and trailer now but before I do I would like to work for someone who would show me the buisness side of driving as well as drive for them. I have a perfect MVR, never had a ticket, not even speeding. CDL class a with tanker endorsement but no Haz Mat. no felonies. no drugs. Home time is not important to me. I want to work hard and learn the buisness. I treat all equipment that I run as if I owned it myself. I have a love for all machianery it is art to me. I am looking to work and learn for about a year or so before I dive into the game for myself. Is there anyone out there that can help me? I am Located in Maryland. any advise ( other than don't do it ) would be apprciated as well.

Sorry for the bad spelling,

Go learn the business on someone elses dime before you lose all of yours first.

X2

Not that it can't be done the way you want too. Many including myself did it just like that. Got a truck and figured it out one mistake at a time. It ain't brain surgery.

Even 6 months or a year you would get a good vibe of how the industry works in someone's truck. 2 years and a good plan and I doubt you would fail.(if you are at least halfway smart)

You got a right start in the attitude area. Just make sure that your business game face is on at all times. Run any truck like a business and be a real bean counter. I would concur that learning the in's and out's of the industry on someone else's dime and then moving up to owning would be a wise move.

There are a lot of excellent small outfits that cater to taking someone on as a company driver then helping them move up to O/O. I am with one of them. I also like being called by my first name and not an employee number or truck number. But, be it with a large outfit or small, if you don't run it like a real business and manage it, you could end up road kill in the financials.

Things are going to be a little tougher in the near term with the economic stress that is going on, but a hooking up with a good outfit that has a broad based core of good customers will make the going a little easier. It almost takes a real grasp of the industry to find those good small carriers that have a solid, well rounded customer base that will weather the tough economic times.

It is going to be a rough ride for many O/O's in the near future, even those that have been at it awhile. But there are small carriers that are doing quite well even now because they had the foresight to broaden their base and hook up with solid "ression prooof" customers. No matter how bad things get, there will still be freight that needs hauled. Some in the industry heirarchy feel that maybe we are getting ready to head into an upturn in rates and freight volume. But, only those that run even 1 truck like a major fleet and manage the profit and loss margins will succeed.

I am a firm believer that the days of "smokey and the bandit" truck driving are dead and gone. That doesn't mean that you can't still enjoy the more free environment of trucking. I have been at this game for a quarter of a century, and, even with 3 college degrees, I would not go back to working in a corporate office setting if my life depended on it.

Good luck in whatever decision you make.

from the original post:

"I do have the financial backing to buy my own truck and trailer now but before I do I would like to work for someone who would show me the buisness side of driving as well as drive for them"

There are so many owner operators who fail because they jumped in without having any idea of what it is like to run a business. They go out and buy (or lease) a truck with little or no capital or experience and expect to succeed. There may be some who will defy the odds, but most will fail. This industry has a very high failure rate. There are few who can enter a business without experience or money and make it. There is nothing wrong with wanting to become an owner operator. It is the next step for many drivers. The reason many new owner operators fail is because they don't want to take the steps to learn the business and save their money first. They think that if they buy a truck they will get rich. They don't expect anything to go wrong with the truck. Murphy's law is alive and well in trucking. There is always something that will go wrong or break on a truck. It costs a lot of money to operate. It is easy to spend $2,000 or more a week just on fuel. And believe me, there is much more to consider and spend your money on than fuel. I would advise anyone who is thinking about coming into this business to save their money and lots of it. I would also suggest that they work for a carrier to gain experience and see first hand what it costs to run a truck. We don't pay much attention to expenses when someone else is paying the bill. You gain a much different perspective when you are the one writing the checks. It is always good to have a contingency or back up plan. Always plan on something going wrong. If you plan for the worst that can happen you will be prepared should that happen. I think many go into this with rose colored glasses. Take your time. Find a good job working with a carrier to see how they operate. You will probably learn more from a smaller carrier than a large one, especially if your goal is to get your own authority. Conditions will NEVER be perfect, but if you have money in the bank and experience your chances of success are greatly enhanced over starting out with little or no money and little or no experience.

kb7274,

I don't know where you live but craigslist sometimes has ads from owner-operators or small fleet owners who need a driver. Go to the JOBS section of your city's craigslist page and then scroll to the section that says "transport". You might find someone there who will give you a start.

If you live near a truck stop, there are trucking magazines at most that list companies who have jobs available. This website had a company listings section, but since the change I have no idea if it is still available.

Thank you guys for all your input. I did look on craigslist, hard to sort between what would help me and big company recruiters. Did speak with a guy on the phone on friday. he said he would hire me but some things kinda threw up some red flags. He wanted me to sign a paper saying that when I left I would not try to take any of his buisness with me ( wich I can understand. ) He is in the prosses of trying to lease the truck he wants me to drive on with a local company that hauls chicken, Perdue. He wants to pay me 25% of what the truck makes. maintain the truck, if the truck breaks down I do not get paid anything. but the truck he wants to put me in is a '92 International with close to 2 mill on it. I have not seen the truck but man that just sounds like a breakdown waiting to happen. He did say he would show me how to run the buisness but how good are you if you still depend on a '92 international to make you money lol.

I know this is not an easy buisness, Everyone would do it and be sucessful if it was. I also know that know that you are not going to get rich doing this buisness no matter how good you are. You gotta take a lotta steps backward to progress forward in this buisness. I learned all that from my daddy who I lost 18 yrs ago ( him on the left in the picture with his truck and me on the hood. ) I know the work is hard but it is honest and I am very proud of my Poppa for being a O/O truck driver and wanna be just like him.

The truck is getting some wear on it. However, I have seen some old trucks that are in better shape than some newer trucks. I would not necessarily discount him due to the age of the truck. He is willing to show you the business. If this guy can keep older trucks going then he is doing well (depending on how well he is taking care of his trucks). When you look at his equipment you can usually tell if it is well maintained or not. If his truck looks all ragged out then I would not waste my time. You don't want to spend half your time sitting on the side of the road broken down. He knows that you plan on basically competing with him once you learn your way around the business. It is understandable that he would not want you to take his business after he has shown you how to run your business. On the other hand, if he is leasing his truck to another carrier then it is irrelevant. In any case, it might be worth looking into. Once you meet him and check out his equipment you should have a good feel if it is a good situation for you. In situations such as these I think your gut instinct is your best barometer.