I am a 26 year old male about to finish up my army service. I am going to be going to Iraq for a while as a contractor. When I return I will have substantial funds and I am looking at businesses to invest in. I am not married. I was thinking that when I got back I would use my GI Bill to get me through trucking school and be a company driver for a year to see if I want to make such an investement. I have read enough on this board to forget about ever doing a lease purchase, but if I had 80k to put down on a truck, would a new one or a low mileage used truck be better? I have to say I am a little suprised at the amount of doom and gloom on this board. I would like to pay of the remainder of my truck within 1-2 years. When the truck is paid off is it fair to expect a 6 figure income?

 

Be thankful that you are getting the "Doom and Gloom" here; it's FREE!!
Far better than someone whispering sweet nothings into your ear!!!

I'm not an O/O, so it's hard for me to say for certain, and I do not wish to be confused with the O/O's who truly know what they are talking about, but I would say that if you plan on hauling freight, then your prospects for expecting a six figure income per year are not very realistic.

Are there some exceptions?? Yes!!

Bandit's Cousin and Rev. Vassaggo are bed buggers, and seem to do pretty well. G-Man can also give you the 411 on what you are wanting to know.

Be careful in Iraq,
Useless

 

I guess what I meant about the doom and gloom was really just suprise at my ignorance about the industry. you hear 1.27 a mile and hear about 3k miles a week X 4 weeks, thats over 15 grand. I knew that was minus expenses. I just had no idea all the bullshit involved till I started reading. I need to company drive for a while and see if the lifestyle and the bullshit is worth the money. It seems like a free lifestyle to me, but again, my only experience is road trips with the buds. Not the same thing to say the least. Maybe all you hear on these kind of boards is the horror stories, but it seems like some people really struggle to make 60k a year. (o/os)

 

If you want a quick snapshot of how far your $80k will go... Look for some threads in the Owner Operators section by Steve Booth. If you play your cards right and buy a good used truck, a good used trailer, get it all road ready, permits, licenses, certs, inspections, and have your emergency money your $80k will be gone. You will however own your truck and trailer, and be in good shape starting out.

Just remember to go to the OOIDA site and get some of the spreadsheets, and begin calculating your truck maintenance escrow, truck replacement escrow, and the misc expenses that are easy to overlook. I would hit up Gman and some of the other OO's and ask what it costs them to run the truck and things that they feel are important.

EDIT: Here is an interesting thread on costs to run a truck:
http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...ic.php?t=21327

I know I have made sever Word documents and Excel spreadsheets detailing out all the fantastic stuff that these guys share freely. I am going to go the same route as a company driver for a couple of years and then decide on the OO gig. Gman is so good at detailing out this stuff I would love to pay him as a business consultant to help me launch my business when I am ready... He is that good!

Good luck on your Iraq gig, I hope we get to see you come back and execute your plan. Thanks for you service to this wonderful country of ours, God Bless, and Best of Luck... Good Hunting!

Longsnowsm

 

Thanks for the encouragement. The 80k I will put down is not counting money set aside for emergency repairs and savings. The more I read the endless information on these boards the more I am convinced I need to be a company driver for a while. There is a lot you can do with 100k investment wise and I dont even have any idea if I would like to drive long term. I had no idea how easy it was to fail at this business. It seemed simple, buy a truck and drive, maintain and save some for repairs. I have a lot more research to do. Good thing there isn't shit to do in Iraq, I will have plenty of time to look at this choice in depth.

 

I dont know anything about the trucking, but I do come from a long line of family owned businesses.

If it was me I would not plunk down $80k of my own money with no prior experience in an industry. What happens 4 years down the road when you dont like the trucking business? I think it would make sense to get a feel for the industry first and get to know the ins and outs of it.

Good luck in Iraq. I hope you get to hand out a few lead anemas to those terrorists over there

 

Welcome to the board, acranger. I have owned trucks for a number of years and would suggest you not spend the entire $80,000 on a truck. You can find a good used truck for under $20,000. If you plan on leasing to a carrier, you will probably only need a truck. If you pull a flat or go with some of the percentage carriers like Landstar you may also need to buy a trailer or rent one from them, depending on that type of freight hauled. Most carriers will want from 6 months to 1 year of recent driving experience before leasing you on with them. If you plan on running your own authority, you will find it a very expensive learning learning experience without first having some driving experience. I suggest you drive for a year or two before buying a truck. You have much to learn. Besides, you may not even like the business. Trucks depreciate very quickly. Even with experience, I think it would be a mistake to spend that much money just getting started. As far as income. You can gross six figures, but it is unlikely you will net that much without being in a specialty area of this business. It is very difficult to get into a specialty area without a few years experience. You should be able to net from $50-75M if you are diligent in your work habits and don't haul cheap freight.

I don't try to be discouraging to new drivers, but want them to take a realistic look at what they are getting themselves into. You can make an above average income. It is all up to you. Those who seem to have found the most success have taken it a step at a time, learned the business and found their niche.' If you skip some of the basics, such as learning about the business while driving for a carrier, you are less likely to be successful than if you took your time and learned about the business first. That doesn't mean that some won't be successful, but most will find a difficult road. Making mistakes on your own nickel can be very costly. It is much better to do it on someone else money. Good luck.

 

GMAN I see a couple of times you mention cheap freight, what exactly does that mean?

Thank you.

 

Cheap freight is a rate which is not sufficient for the owner to pay expenses and make a fair profit. I consider anything less than $2/mile as cheap.