Quote:
Originally Posted by ratface
In a few months I will decide wether or not to buy a truck, for starts. Im looking at 05's now. i will be putting 20% down and have a 5yr loan or less. I will be looking to pull dry van. My choice of freight lanes will be between Houston, TX and the NorthEast. I will have 5k after truck purchase as my safety net..
What I need to know our some good carriers to sign on with, such as Land Star and so on.. Also What is a good formula for Fuel Surcharge? And the going rate of the mile? Ive done some math base on 120,000 miles a yr and have broke down mileage pay, to certian areas of operation.. And to be honest Im not sure if it out weighs a company driver. Please give me positive input.. Or negative... just be honest.. Thxs!
This is not the best time to jump into becoming an owner operator. I am sure that is not what you want to hear, but you did say to be honest. You should be able to get a good deal on a truck and trailer. There are tens of thousands of repos on dealer lots. The problem may come in when you try to make those payments. Freight is sparse and cheap. That means that you will do a lot of sitting and when you do get a load it will likely be for much less than you may want. You have made your calculations based upon running 120,000 miles per year. What if you only run 80,000? What if rates drop to less than $1/mile? What did you use as a base line for your calculations? When doing calculations and projections you need to plan for the worst that could happen.
I am glad to see that you will have some money set aside for an emergency. One thing is certain in this business. If you own or drive a truck it will break down. It doesn't matter whether it is new or old, it will break down. Unless you have the resources to make those repairs you are out of business. We have a lot of people who come to this board and are very enthusiastic about buying a truck and becoming an owner operator. Those of us who have owned trucks try to offer honest advice based upon our experiences.
I prefer owning my own trucks. Some people are better off driving a truck that is owned by someone else. If you do choose to enter this business at this time you need to look at the whole picture.
There are some good carriers. I would look for one that pays percentage. I have always made more on percentage than mileage. Any suggestions as to carriers would need to be made based upon some assumptions about your work experience. I assume that you have at least 1 year of over the road driving experience and a good work history and clean mvr. Most carriers want to see at least 1 year of driving experience. Some want more. If you want to pull a van then Landstar would be a good one to start. They won't hold your hand. Nor do they have dispatchers. CRST has owner operators and vans. Schneider is another carrier who has a lot of vans, but I believe they only pay on mileage. Mason Dixon and some of their sister carriers have vans and pay percentage. They may require more experience than a year. There are about 8 carriers in their group. Jones has some vans as does Perkins. There are a lot of carriers. Most pay mileage. Some people prefer mileage rather than percentage. There are a handful of carriers, such as Landstar, who don't have dispatchers. If you are accustomed to having a dispatcher it may be difficult to make the transition, but many have done so successfully.
Things are very difficult for most of us in the trucking business these days. I would advise you to wait until the economy improves, but that is your decision. If you decide to proceed there are many on this forum who are willing to offer advice.