Ok, after my little adventure I was thinking I sure wish I had the time to read every post on this board and GETLOADED so I know what to expect and what to do and not do.

So I figure I would make it easy for some and post up some things here.

Please add to this what information you have when you can so this can be an all informative thread for the rookies to learn from. Things that should be posted up are links to sites and ways to check shippers out and brokers. Also if some one can post a step by step out on what happens after a first phone call.

If we don't help each other no one will and there is no actual class you can take to prepare you for this business, unless GMAN decides to open a small school. LOL

I will be the first to post up some info. I will also copy and paste some info in this thread from other threads. Not to take any thunder away from other threads but maybe it can save people time for searching specific topics for specific answers.

Read everything you can on this web site. It's free and teaches you to do things right.

You need to have at least 1 yr OTR experience to get any kind of decent rate on insurance for your own truck. Insurance company will turn you away if you don't have 1 yr at least. Sometimes local work for 2 yr's will cut it also. But it needs to be in a full size class 8 not something smaller.

If you start a trucking company you need to treat it like a company and nothing less.

You can not start a business without reserve money and expect to make instant money and pay your bills as you learn. Until you start seeing money from loads it will be a few weeks if not months in some cases. A good number to have in a bank account is at least 10k cash and unspoken for ready for you to spend in case an emergency.

Before you buy a truck HAVE IT DYNOED by a reputable shop and even a shake down test. Freight liner here in Portland does a shake down test for like 80 bucks. Thats were they put your truck on a machine and shake each individual axle in different directions to simulate going down the road. They can see warn out bushings and many other things that regular inspections can not catch. Expect to pay some were to the tune of 500-1000 for a FULL and I mean full on inspection to have every little thing gone over with a fine tooth comb. Have it dynoed first and a basic inspection that costs about 300 total and then decide if you want to buy it or not. If you do buy the rig then have a more detailed inspection. Expect to dyno a few trucks before you finally buy one. Tell the seller if its private party, to have it dynoed and inspected before you pay a cent and if it fails you don't buy it or pay for the inspection and dyno and if it passes you buy the truck and cover the bill. This way it shows you are serious about buying and the seller will have a chance to stand behind what he said. If he doesn't walk away because the market is FLOODED and I mean flooded with trucks for sale.

If you buy from a dealer, shop around for interest rates on the truck and do not take what they give you right off the bat for rate or price of truck. EVERYTHING and I can't emphasize it enough, everything is negotiable. Dealers will buy a loan from a bank for a lot less then what they turn around and sell it to you for. Example: F&I manager will get your loan bought at 7% and he will add on 5 points just cause he needs to make money. You do not need to accpect the dealers finance company loan. You can get your own loan on any truck they have in inventory at any dealer or private party and if banks see you have a dyno sheet and a full inspection that shows the truck is good and up to snuff it will help your chances of getting a good loan with a good rate. I can get in to alot more detail about this if somebody wants to know just ask. I have had my own dealers license as a wholesaler and also worked retail auto sales for 5 years. So I feel I can answers some of your questions.

There are a lot of web sites that you can get loads from like Getloadeddotcome (thats what I tried using) . For 25 a month fee you have access to a lot of info that is priceless.

There are factoring companies to help you get paid for loads you shipped but are 30 days out of getting paid. (some one please explain how those work and whats good and bad about them. I never used one.

Also here is a link I copied and pasted from another thread that I think you need to know if you wanna be a "super trucker" http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...ic.php?t=29585


One more thing I need to add: Learn to say NO. NO will help you save money. Say no to cheap freight and save your self the headache. I know its hard when your hurting for money but it needs to be done. If your not making money then find a real job and sell your truck cause you don't need to be working for nothing just so others can get rich of you pulling cheap freight.



Please add info as you see fit. This should help alot of people out.

 

Buying an aero truck with good specs is paramount nowadays. A good fuel mileage truck vs. a bad one can be a 25k+ a year difference.

Also, to add to your dyno and "shake down test", start with ECM reports and oil analysis.

 

sage advice.

 

How did I forget that!? Oil test is paramount to the life of the truck and ECM is a must! And if it don't have a ECM don't buy it cause its a old freaking truck.

 

I would suggest getting if possible a credit card (or two or three ) with 0% interest for 12 months. It's hard to have so much in reserve but good credit lines will help.

Just as an example, I just check my Amex account and the bill came out. It was $22,262.68 ($20,000 I used to buy the trailer and then just use the rest every month for the fuel and everything else except restaurant purchases with go on another card for 3% back). This is 0% for 12 months and this amount due for that was $430.

Now to be honest I made a total of $6,800 in payments this month as the limit is only $28,000 and these fuel purchases add up and I want to keep using the card to get the cashback. But if I didn't buy a new trailer I would have had plenty of room to pay for fuel and just pay the minimum while I wait for the checks to come in if I so chose to.

Of course it must be noted that this is a very risky thing and this strategy can put you in the hole real quick especially if you aren't the type to take the money you receive and pay bills first.

By the way I just checked the cashback section, I made $5891.54 in "gas" purchases and got a total back of $294.58. Man that's like one free tank of fuel a month.

 

HMMM! I might be naive or crazy but that post sent chills down my spine!!

The heck will credit cards!! I might have to sign a wavier or something but I will see if me bank will increase my debit card limit before I take the credit card route.

You just made yourself a slave to your credit card!

IF I AM WRONG DON'T SHOW ME ANY MERCY!

 

Personally I need one because nobody down there will take Canadian debit cards.

 

Unless you are extremely disciplined in your ways and habits of spending money, don't go the credit route. IF YOU NEED CREDIT TO START A BUSINESS YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T START THE BUSINESS.

For some people it works and works good. For others it can be the nail that sealed the hatch. The interest and late fees those things accour when your late is outrageous.

Now this is strictly for credit cards. I do know it is close to impossible to buy a truck and trailer cash out cause if you had that money you probably are not going in to the trucking business and sticking with what helped you make that cash to begin with.

There is nothing wrong with having a card for emergencies but you better only sue it then is my advice.

Bottom line is you need cash in bank and a credit card will help, SOME PEOPLE, others it will hurt you.

You be the judge cause its your business.


Also before I forget.
You will need a complete office in your truck.
Expect to spend 1-2k for that.
Lap top
printer, copier, scanner and fax all in one.
Also you will need all that to work when you are mobile so expect to pay fees for wireless and wireless cards cost money also. Steve booth is the man to post more in detail about that subject. Your office is your truck and your home.


And then You should get a generator or some kind of power supplies so you don't need to idle your truck. That cost money. If the motor is running your burning money. A decent one is 400- 1000 from what I seen. I could be wrong. But it is well worth the money when you consider what you save on idling and wear and tear on engine.

i will think about this more tomorrow and see what else I come up with.

To all others please throw in your 2 cents so we can save someone a buck or 2 :wink:

 

10K won't cut it. If you are single with no bills you need at least $30,000 in reserve. Twice that if you have a family.

 

I probably had around $15,000 in cash when I first started to head out on the road. That paid my fuel and personal bills until the checks started to roll in. I think if you have to factor your already behind and under the gun. I'm at the point where I can go out for as long as I want, still have plenty of cash left over and when I do get home I can expect over $10,000 in checks waiting for me.

You do need a mobile office for sure but I think that does go without saying. There have been many times where I'm out in the middle of nowhere and able to book a load and do the paperwork instead of trying to hunt down a nearby truck stop and pay $20 to fax 15 pages of a contract.

You also need to be self sufficient on the road and be totally self contained with food, water, clothes and anything else you may need for at least 3 days at a time. Knowing that a blizzard can come at any time and be the storm of the century is one thing I do not have to worry about especially since I have an APU now. During the winter months I fill up A LOT!!!