Hello,

I am a oilfield hand out of Oklahoma that is thinking about making the jump into OTR trucking. However, after making 75k-90k for the past 6-8 years working in the patch, the thought of working for less than 50k is a bit discouraging. Especially, with all the negative comments about how hard and rough company drivers are ran.
That is why I am posting on the owner operators forum to ask for advice. I have enough set back in savings to purchase a decent truck, and to cover the obvious operating costs such as fuel, plates, insurance, and the like for the first 90 days. However, I know nothing about OTR trucking. I have been considering hiring on at a one of the carriers for six months to a year, and eating the pay cut to get some knowledge of the business. Then purchasing my own truck and leasing onto one of them as an Owner Operator.

My question is if this is a dumb idea all together. I have a basic understanding of trucking, having driven oilfield equipment and have had my cdl for the past 5 years, but I haven't even been through a dot stop or scale house and know nothing of the freight hauling side of it.

 

I would recommend that you find a company driving job for at least 6-12 months before buying a truck. You may not even like driving otr. If you want to stay in the oilfields, there are opportunities with some of those companies as an owner operator.

 

It can be done, I did it. Read everything you can on here and ask alot of questions. If you have any business sense it is not that hard. Out on the road it is more common sense that anything.

I bought my first truck when I was still in a 6 week truck driving school. Backed into my first dock when I took my first load. We only used cones in school to back up.

It has been 7 years and I am still going strong.

 

You have a pretty solid plan.
Your gut is telling you straight, to learn the trade, and gain valuable perspective, that can save your business butt one day.

Tradesmen who can cross over into business, don't do any better, if they don't learn business skills first as well.

These days, I wouldn't venture into business as boldly as I did myself years ago.
I barely made it out alive … I was a better tradesman. heh heh

I did learn, it's lonely at the top. I think I worked less hours as an OTR company driver.
...slept better anyway, with the sound of a reefer drowning out those nagging voices in my head. Well, that's another story.

 

IMHO Yes, it is! Unless you about to loose your job, or some other things, that requiring desperate measures. Of course, you can do it, everybody does, but very few making that kind of money you've mentioned.