I'm 21 and I'm currently with my trainer for CR England. I'm seriously interested in becoming an owner operator soon. Relatively as soon as I get the experience and cash to support myself before I take the leap. I want to know if lease purchase is the route I should take with CR or is another company a better opportunity? Will the truck they lease me be dependable and reliable? Would it be a better deal to buy a used truck from a reputable dealer and finance it? What specs do you recommend? I'm also interested in getting my own authority, is there a specific business model that I should follow? How do you find freight? Is it possible to be successful O/O driving solo, or is hiring someone to run team with a better deal? What truck dealers do you recommend? What type of truck do you recommend? What company would you suggest i O/O for? Can successful owner operators give me tips and tricks to the DOT loop holes to make more money running more miles? All reviews positive and negative will be greatly appreciated.

 

At your age, I would suggest you get a few years experience before thinking about buying a truck. Most carriers require owner operators to be at least 23 to 25 years old. I would also suggest staying away from lease purchase. Very few lease operators actually get the title to the truck. Payments are extremely high and it is difficult to make it work. If you want to eventually become an owner operator start saving your money from day one. Start looking around at trucks and get a feel of what is going on in the market. You can buy a decent used truck for $20,000 or less. If you apply yourself, you can stay a company driver and save enough in two or three years to pay cash for your truck. It is nice to NOT have a big truck payment hanging over your head. If you have decent credit you might find a lender that will finance a used truck but will usually require 20-25% down. You should also have some money put back for operating capital and for emergencies. Many insurance companies will not insure drivers who are younger than 25 years old. Before you buy a truck, you need to make sure you have a carrier that will lease you on to them.

There is much to learn. Be patient. It is difficult to recommend any carrier that you can lease to without knowing the type of freight you want to haul.

 

Thank you. I'll definitely keep that in mind as my age will limit exactly what I can do right now. But I'm kinda interested in heavy haul. Hauling heavy equipment.

 

If you want to get into heavy haul, you may want to first get into flatbeds. With flats, you can learn about securement. Typically, it takes several years to get into heavy haul. I know when you are young you tend to be impatient. But, heavy haulers must be patient in order to effectively do their jobs. There is much to learn. I would first get a year or two experience pulling vans around. There are flatbed carriers that will train you on basics to secure a load. There are also carriers who start drivers out with flats then move them to steps, double drops and then into heavy haul. I am curious as to why you want to get into heavy haul?