First let me say great forum - plenty of excellent advice.
Here's what I have been considering - do I continue to work for cfi/con-way at .36 cpm or buy a tractor.
Here is the deal with my job.
Possitives
1. They leave me alone - I can take whatever route I want as long as my out of route miles are not more than 8% of dispatch which is never a problem.

2. They never, and I mean never, call me to complain about anything regarding the truck or how I am running...ideling, fuel milage, log hours ect.
I like to see how long I can go before I have to phone them up for any reason. I can run over a month without calling them. They send me the load via qualcom ..I go get it, and deliver it....they send me the next one, and I do the same..on and on..
3. Nice equitment - newer t600 (Kinda small though)
4. I get consistant 2,400 to 3,200 mile per week
5. health insurance
AS MINDLESS AS IT GETS - I don't have to think or worry about anything - just drive shower and eat.
All that will change if I buy a tractor (I would wait till the economy picks up)

Negitives of job
1. I have to run 15 days before I get a day off
2. forced dispatch
3. set earning pay 1 cent a year raise

HERE IS WHAT I WANT
I want to make more money and have the freedom to not run 15 days in a row

Question - Will the responibilties of managing and running my own truck..... out weigh the benifits of being able to take more time off???

I guess I and tried of working constantly.
working 15 days straight is like some working 3 weeks straight with out a day off (14 hour days)

I sold my house and have 60,000 in saving. I have no bills except phone and internet. No kids and single so I am pretty much free to do whatever. I have a cheap motorhome i base in Laredo at the terminal and run out of there.
Thanks for any advice

Would you continue with CFI or find another carrier for whom to lease? If you have $60,000 in cash and no bills this could be a good time to buy. I don't usually suggest that to most people but as long as you don't over spend on a truck you should be all right. An auction would be an excellent choice of where to get a good buy in a class 8 truck. I would expect that you should be able to find a good truck for under $20,000. In fact, you might get lucky and find one for half that depending on the number of people bidding. You will still have enough to keep you going should you have a major breakdown. Hopefully, that will not be the case. If you have money during a depression or recession you can find some really great buys. Make sure you have a good business plan. Some new owner operators get into trouble when they buy a truck when they don't treat this like a job or business. You don't want to be in a situation where you are taking money out of savings to make ends meet. You should be adding to that money when you get a truck.

Thanks for the reply
I don't want to lease on to CFI because I would be in the same situation - running 15 days straight. I want to be able to run say 7 - 10 days and take a day or two off while on the road - you know ..just be able to quit running and take a break when I feel the need. After the 10 days out I am tired and just need a day of sitting to recharg, but they keep sending me loads. The truck would be paid so I wouldn't be under pressure to run all the time - which is what I am looking to accomplish.

What do I need to do to have the freedom to run as I please (as little or as much as I feel like at a given time)??????????????????????????
T
he acution sound like a good idea - even if I bought one and let it sit till I figured out and took care of ther details to run it.

good luck with your decision . i bought my first truck 3 months ago . IN the last 3 months ive dumped about 16,000 into a truck that I thought was a good deal.Alot of it was preventive maintance but i want a perfect truck.IM just getting to the point where i can start collecting a real check.I was lucky enough to have enough in saving or i would have been done for.i hooked up with a company i worked for 17 years ago and they treat me well and looking to go all owner operator.all in all im happy i made the move. IM already lookin ahead at buying a couple of tractors.I run regional and im home any time i need to be no questions asked

Get your own authority.




Rarely a good idea to just "let it sit". Maybe it's necessary sometimes, but in your case it's not. Good trucks will always be available. Buy it when you're ready to drive it.

There are a couple of things you can do if you want to run when you want. You could run your own authority or lease to a carrier that is agent based and has non forced dispatch such as Landstar or Mercer. Since you have been pulling vans you may want to go with Landstar or another carrier who has a lot of van freight. There are other carriers who don't constantly call to see if you are running. Running your authority would offer the most freedom but there are costs attached, such as for insurance, and there is also additional paperwork and compliance issues with which to deal.

Landstar

I talked to a fellow the other day at the pumps in Mississippi who is with them,

He loved it !

He is essentially a solo act and had an older Freightliner.

Happiest driver I have seen in quite a while out here.

May not get rich...but alot can be said for calling the shots yourself.

The way Landstar is set up is very similar to running your own authority. You will spend a lot of money with them on fees. They seem to have a fee for about everything they do. Their freight is off as is everyone else. It has been quite a few years since I leased to them but I don't recall anyone calling and trying to push me to run or take a load. I ran when and where I wanted. I have always been a strong runner so that wasn't usually an issue. I think Landstar works better for those who have ran their authority or worked with a carrier that was agent based system rather than having a dispatcher. You will spend a lot of money on fees with them. That can be said of most any carrier that you lease on with. As with many carriers you could pretty much run your own authority and spend about the same money on insurance as you would on fees with some of these carriers. The advantage to leasing is that they take care of most of the paperwork. All you need do is drive. With an agent based system such as Landstar you will also need to find your own loads as you would running your authority. If you run for agents who have all of their own freight then you could do pretty well. If you get involved with agents who broker freight from other carriers or brokers then you will not make as much on those loads.

I am not trying to sell you on Landstar or any other carrier for that matter. There are some good carriers around such as Mercer and Jones. No matter which carrier you lease on with it will take a few months to learn your way around their system. If money isn't a major factor then it could be an easier transition. If you run your authority then you will have the cost of insurance whether your truck moves or not. When you lease to a carrier you usually only pay a fee when you are running.