Quote:
Originally Posted by dualqwad
I have been a company driver for the last six years both local and OTR. Lately I have been considering buying a truck and going at it as an O/O.
Am I crazy for even thinking about this?
You have enough experience to understand what this profession entails. I will caution you that owning a truck is much different than driving one for a company. One of the most important things to remember is to have a good nest egg saved. A major break down can occur at any time. If you don't have the money to make the repairs, then you are out of business. You need to look at this business realistically. I am not trying to discourage you, but one reason so many people fail as owner operators is they fail to plan and look at their investment as a business. A business must make a profit or it ceases to be viable.
Things are slow right now, so it would be better to wait until the economy begins to improve before buying a truck. That should happen around spring, depending on what you haul. Some types of freight are not as affected as others. It would be a good time to begin checking around to see what is available and what you might need to pay to get what you want. If you take your time, you can usually find a good buy.
I suggest starting out with a good used truck. You need to keep your overhead down until you get a feel of how you will do. If you keep expenses down and operate your business at least as well as you do as a company driver, then you stand a good chance of doing well.
One other thing to consider is what type of freight you want to haul and to whom you would like to lease.