I've been doing it since November last year with no experience at all and have been doing fine. On the average I'm getting $1.60 per mile and never had a problem finding loads other than a few times I sat for 2 days.

If your willing to head out for 3 weeks and go anywhere in the U.S. you won't have a problem. If you want to be home every weekend I think you may find it hard to do.

 

There are good loads, and good paying loads, but there is also a lot of cheap crap being offered. It depends on the season, how many trucks are available vs. how many loads, and the city you run out of. I get good loads out of Reno, NV every time I go there, fore example. Here out of Boise, I am doing good to get $1.60 per mile out of here. From Portland or Seattle, I get about $1.80-$2.25 per mile,usually. From SLC, it varies from $1.50 to $2.25 depending on how many trucks/loads available.

Anyhow, if GOOD paying loads were EASY to find, everyone would be doing it. Just not the case. 8)

 

The said part is, some idiot will haul it. I've seen loads for less than $1/mi from L.A. to missouri (dry van).

 

The reason so many owner operators will haul cheap loads is that they don't know anything about business and they are under capitalized. If you have money set aside, you can afford to sit. If you don't and have big equipment payments, you feel that you need to run whether you make a profit or not. That is the reason so many owner operators fail.

 

Come to New York, lot of $4 a mile loads. Monday I did NJ to Philly. 117 miles, $500. Got a load back to Ronkonkoma on the Island for $675 for less than 175 miles. You do the math. I was home in time for dinner. You have to post your truck. It's better than looking for the ones published.
Tell the broker when they call a blown up rate and sometimes they come back with a decent amount.

 

Red Dog.....You really should drive as a Companyman for at least 2 years before you step into a truck purchase. You didn't say what outfit you are driving for. If it is a company that has decent equipment and keeps you running a livable number of miles, stay with them for the duration. if they do have a decent fleet...at the end of 2 years...if you still want to buy a truck, then sit down with the boss, and see what sort of deal you can make on the truck you are driving...if it is a decent truck.
Large company's, that buy hundreds of trucks each year (or quarter), will make a good driver a far purchase price offer. If you have the savings, pay cash for that first truck, that way..if doing the O/O thing where you are doesn't work $$$-wise, you can move on without worrying about that truck payment.

MountainFlyer...are you doing the O/O thing under your own authority? If so, do you live in Boise and what type trailer are you pulling?

 

Red Dog....if you go o/o now you will have a big commitment to make into trucking. 6 months is a decent amount of experience, but might not be enough to decide yet. I went o/o day1, because of the niche I'm in, but thats a special case. If you are already putting food on the table, why not keep a good thing going?

If you think being an o/o will make you signifigantly more money, you're misinformed. I'm not saying you can't make a good living at it, but you can do worse than a company driver if you're paired up with a crap outift to run for.

Its all relevant

 

I appreciate all the advice, one of the the main reasons for considering O/O was to get away from forced dispatch (man I don't like driving in New York). If i could get on with a company that offered dedicated that would be perfect till i get my 2 years in but it seems hard to come by. Glad I talked to you guys because I didn't realize you needed 2 years for insurance thought it was just 1 you needed.

 

If your only reason for wanting to become an owner operator is to get away from forced dispatch, then you may want to rethink your decision. Not all companies have forced dispatch. Some may offer several loads from which to choose. The problem you may run into is that there could be a problem getting out of where you want to run. I would be less concerned about where I ran than how much money I could earn. You can probably get insurance through a carrier if you lease on to someone if you only have about 1 year of experience. If you plan on getting your authority and doing something on your own, then you will need to restrict your operations to about a 300 mile radius of your base because of insurance restrictions, or wait until you get at least 2 years of driving experience.

 

Thanks again GMAN, sorry for the slow replies I only get on-line a couple times per week. Could u give me the name of a few companies that don't have forced dispatch.