I may have found an option in the bulk cryogenic arena. It'd be a lot less chancy if they pay.

This may be off-topic, and some people may disagree with the guy, but: If you have XM or Sirius and are thinking of becoming an O/O, you should listen to Kevin Rutherford, weeknights at midnight eastern, weekends at 4pm. I only found his program less than a year ago, I wish I heard of it 6 years ago! I made the terrible mistake of buying a brand new '09 truck in fall of '08. It's paid for now if you'd call it that. I now have tens of thousands of dollars in new debt (credit cards, etc.). If you do decide to buy a truck, buy a used pre-emission truck and you'll have a more reliable truck than a new one. These companies that want a truck 5 years old or newer need to be educated.

These companies want a new truck so they mak sure you are in debt, tell them you paid cash for a new truck, and dont want to work that hard, and they tell you there not hiring

If you are hell bent on being an O/O. I would not buy a brand new truck, i would find a used truck that has been inframe with papers. You want to start out with less overhead, having a big payment will put you in the hole. Owning a truck is a 24hr cycle, you are going to have bad weeks and good weeks. You have to remember if you have a bad week, those truck payments and insurance payments you still have to make. When i started out i was paying over 10k a yr for insurance.

Hi Dave,

Decisions like this can seem overwhelming, but if you do you research, you will have more peace of mind knowing that you are not making a rash decision. You should check out www.wefinancebigtrucks.com to see what they can do to help you. You may qualify for other options than having to put your house on the line.

In reading through the posts, no one has mentioned the lease/purchase option to Creepshow.

Creepshow, are you only interested in staying local to be home with the family every night or are you willing to do whatever it takes to make this work?

My hubby just became an O/O through the lease/purchase program. There are many companies out there that offer it and I won't lie to you, it is a bust your tail situation when you sign on the dotted line. The company hubby signed on with made promises that they did not fulfill (no surprise there) and their dispatchers maintained the attitude that hubby was a "company driver" and "we have you over a barrel until you pay off this truck". However, when you sign on that dotted line, you are an O/O as long as that truck payment is made. Yes, it takes some sucking up to the dispatchers to get the paying loads, BUT hubby did the research before he walked in the door on lease/purchase, truck costs, etc. He ended up with a truck that had less that 500,000 miles and was still under warranty. That first year under lease/purchase that warranty came in handy and the bugs were all worked out of that truck before it was paid off.

I will tell you that sometimes his paychecks were less than what you make now a week. Sometimes they were double and triple what you make. During his time under the lease/purchase we had the advantage of my income to carry us (Uncle Sam pays well in my job). Now, with the truck paid off, that $1500 a month truck payment is going in the bank with the rest of his paycheck.

I would under NO circumstances suggest that you mortgage your home when there are other options out there that may work for you. Your home that is paid off is your sanctuary and your security in the tough times we have experienced and the ones that are yet to come.

If you need to borrow from your home, do it just to cover the down payment of the truck. This way if things don't work you still have your house.

I agree, if your going to start out in the hole, it best to start out with the least amount of debt possible. The loan is not a bad idea if you feel like your going to ride this out. WHat I would do is get 50K on the home, Purchase a truck for $10-15K run a in-frame if needed thats another $10K, If it doesn't need it why bother, but I would do it anyway this way I know what I have. If your plan on pulling a dry box get a decent van for 5k. At best your looking at a total of 35K to get rolling. You still have 15K give or take to handle any problems that will occur. If you had that motor in-framed and tranny redone before you hit the road, NO need to worry truck is in great shape. This is a business plan I would follow if I had the means you do. With that said Good luck!!

so where are you sitting with this?

Always be careful when making such decisions. You can get screwed pretty bad if don't read carefully the papers that you are signing. I have a friend that bought an apartment 10 years ago and he is still paying for it. I think that he paid its value 3 times already. Banks are like the devil. If you are going to sign with them, you better come with your conditions, because their conditions will ruin you. I've been using https://www.finpedia.id for a while now and I must admit that I am pretty satisfied with it. There is no such thing like a perfect bank, but there are some that are willing to help you