First post, so here we go. I was looking at Getloaded and some of the other loadboards. My question is this, if there is a slow down, why are there so many loads, or is it they just pay so bad?

I am interested in becoming an owner operator, have been a company driver for 35 years. I've got alot of homework to do, but let me give you some stats so I can get some pro and con info. Ive been looking at this board for sometime, lots of great advice, so here we go.

As I said eailer, ive been a driver for 35 years. I am collecting my Teamster pension that is a very good pension, but still love to drive and would like to be my own boss.

I was thinking of a truck for about 35,000 used obviously, I dont need to kill myself but would like to work and pick the loads I would like to go and see with my wife. Not sure as to lease on with a company, or go with my own authority, if it is a lease o/o then I would want to go with a non force dispatch

I currently live in so. calif, but am seriously considering moving to Boise, Idaho, might like to get a run from to Calif to Idaho, so my wife and I could see the family that is still here in so. calif., if we moved to Idaho

Not sure about what type loads, as in flatbed, reefer, van, etc, I retired from Sysco Foodservice, so very familiar with reefer units.

Any constructive comments are greatly appreciated !!!

 

The loads probably don't pay much. A lot of rate cutting going on right now. If you have a good pension get a motor home and see the country, you'll still get to drive and you can go where ever you want.

Trucks are cheap right now though if you want to go that route, just be very selective, get all the maintenance records.

 

It sounds to me as though you really just want to see the country. There are much less expensive ways to do that than buying a truck. Running your authority would offer more flexibility as to where and when you run. Leasing to a carrier would be much less expensive and if you go with one that is non forced dispatch it would be similar and you would still have the support of a larger carrier behind you. If you get your authority you would need to also buy a trailer. When you lease to a carrier you can use one of their trailers.

As far as the load boards are concerned, there is much more freight this quarter than in the first quarter. Rates are much lower than they should be right now and many owner operators and carriers are hauling freight below their actual operating costs which keeps rates low. Normally, I can check some of the load boards and see about 3,500-3,900 flat bed loads within a 150 mile radius of my home base. During the last 6-8 months I have seen as few as 84 loads in that same radius. There are seasonal peaks and lows for freight. We should be seeing higher rates this time of year. In some cases, we are seeing rates drop further. This at a time when fuel costs are escalating. I would be prepared for some uncertainty and some ups and downs. I would NOT go into heavy debt. There is no need to spend $35,000 to find a good used truck, especially in this market. You have an advantage in that you have an income to pay the bills rather than having to rely on earning your livelihood from the truck. That offers some flexibility. If you decide to pursue this then I would start with something in which I was familiar. You mentioned that you have experience with reefers. I would start with either a reefer or van. It will make things much easier.

 

As stated, trucks are cheap right now. Even the company I'm with is "updating" their fleet to "CERTIFIED CLEAN IDLE". Being from CA, I would expect that you know far more about the effects of CARB on your used truck, and what you'll have to do in order to be able to run CA. (I look at the new regs coming out and I'm glad I don't have my own truck anymore)

If you're leased on with a carrier, they will send you where they want you to go, and give you an appointment time. With a company such as Universal AmCan or Landstar, you can go online and pick the loads you want. You'll get to see what each load pays and know your cut of the take. If you pull for a company that does not post their loads online, and you have to contact dispatch, the load you want may have been given to another driver, and you'll be told they don't have one.

Gman and a few of the others can tell you about having your own authority. I never went that route.

 

many times, there will be a particular load available, but that same load will be listed a dozen times. this makes the load board look as if it has lot's of loads. that get's folks interested in subscribing. also. a broker can & some do list loads that never exist, so when you call he say's.. oh I just moved that load, but hey I got a load going to blah, blah. what he did was get you to call him. this is not something that happens all the time. just keep your expectations low to avoid disappointment. I am an o/o leased to a co. no forced dispatch. I go where & when I want. some co's will lease you on & will let you find your own loads & also load you. I kinda like that cause you have dispatchers looking for loads thru all there contacts & you also get your own to build up a future list of shippers should you ever get your own authority.




you are in a good position to get into trucking because of your pension. you have steady income. that is better than going for broke, when starting out. I would not pay more than 20 grand for a truck. ESPECIALLY in this market at this time. I would look at several different carriers. decide where & how you want to run, before you decide what you want to buy. for example. if you want to be home frequently & not run your butt off, then dont buy equip so expensive that make you have to run booko miles to make the payments on everything. I am very picky. so I dont do well at times. that is my choice. if you will run anywhere & dont mind living in your truck, you can turn some great miles & money.



if you start off with inexpensive equip & things go real well, you can always upgrade. dont go out on a limb & then hope you will do well. shiny chrome & good looks dont make you more money. be frugal on purchasing truck/ trailer. take your time. if it takes a year or more to make a decision that is fine. it ook me 2-3 years before I decided what I wanted. B.O.L.

 

Yes. You are the perfect candidate.

You asked why there are so many loads in a down market? Because the trucking companies that have the freight can post it on a load board and move it cheaper than putting it on their own trucks. I am a shipper and a private carrier and right now I could make way more money by parking my trucks, laying off drivers and brokering out the freight. But I would lose my best driver plus I risk showing my competition who my customers are.

 

Thats why I like this board some great info, as I stated I am just now doing research on owner operator, just curious is 500,000 miles about the norm before major repairs? I know there are preferences like Cat, Cummings, etc, but is this about right for most engines ?

And my next question is , are all engines by 2013 going to have to be "clean" or is this just california?
Thanks for the info!!!!!

 

Major repairs can happen at any time. A friend of mine had to rebuild his Cummins with around 600,000 miles on it. I have a CAT with almost 1 million miles on it and the engine still runs strong. Several years ago I spoke with a local Detroit engine distributor. He told me that the average rebuild for a Detroit at that time was around 750,000 miles. I have known of engines that had a rebuild with as few as 150,000 miles on it. I think the average mileage for most in-frames is around 750,000 miles. A turbo can go out at any time. The first turbo on one truck went out at 150,000 miles. The replacement went with well over 800,000 miles. I paid $2,700 to have it replaced which included labor and parts. CAT parts seem to cost more than Cummins or Detroit but it seems that you don't need to work on a CAT as often. Personally, I think CAT makes a better engine. I have a friend who thinks the same about his Cummins.

It is very difficult to tell anyone at what point they are going to have a major expense. Maintenance and the driver has more to do with having a major expense on your equipment. Some people are simply hard on a truck. Some don't even do a proper pre trip much less regular maintenance. I usually try to change my oil at 15,000 miles. I have known of a couple of owners who change theirs at 10,000. On the other end there are some fleets who will run their oil 40,000 or more miles unless the viscosity breaks down. They don regular oil analysis and add but don't change until they have 40,000 or the oil stops doing it's job. Those are the trucks that you don't want to buy. They are most likely to have problems in the short term. One reason a turbo will go out is due to improper oil change intervals. Grit can get into bearings and chew them up. It doesn't take much to kill a turbo.

It would be great to say that you will have a major component failure at a certain point. You can find those on both ends of the spectrum. If you keep an eye on your truck and do regular inspections and correct problems before they manifest themselves you are likely to do much better in longevity than someone who doesn't do much to their truck.

One other thing to keep in mind are other types of costly failures. Rears, transmissions and clutches are also not cheap. Anything to do with the drive train can be costly unless you do the work yourself. It is a crap shoot. Even with a new truck components can fail.

 

The "clean engines" are a federal requirement. California seems to take the lead when it comes to anti carbon emissions, but it is the feds that have forced engine manufacturers to meet certain emissions requirements at the national level. California has their own rules for those trucks based in their state, especially going into the ports. They also have their own emissions requirements on reefers.

 

+1 on the major repair at any time. I bought an older truck and it did well for the first 5 months with no major issues. Then BAM! Within the last two months I've had
cracked oil pan $1,000
two cracked front rims $750
Drive shaft from trans to rear all new $1800.
New front suspension (mine was shifting around it was so loose) springs, hangers, kinpins, tie rod ends and the drive shaft between the two rears needed replaced as well. $3700
New fifth wheel $1100.
Power steering gear box $900
o-rings to the fuel pump (haven't gotten the bill for that yet)

Truckin's fun :lol: