Expediting Or OTR For A Couple?

Hello All -

My first post in the forum, but I'm having a great time reading the site. Solid information. After 34 years in the military, my wife and I are researching 2nd career choices. We're both in our early 50's and in a couple of months we will be "empty nesters." We're getting a retirement from the military and have no mortgage, so we're in a lucky position to not have to totally rely on an income from a new job to survive. We're not lazy people and we both want to work until we can't anymore. I've been trying to learn as much as I can about the trucking industry with a thought towards both of us becoming team drivers. Actually, this was the wife's idea, but I'm 100% onboard. We're trying to decide which way to go: OTR or Expediting, either one as team drivers. Here's a few questions:

1. Which segment would be easier to initially find jobs? Either way we go, we plan on getting our CDL A's and paying ourselves for school. Luckily, mine will be mostly paid for by the GI Bill. We plan on being company drivers for at least a year or two before we would ever decide to buy a truck.

2. For a married couple (we've worked closely together before and it was a good experience), which segment would you recommend and why?

3. I've lurked around on both trucker and expediting forums ~ both are fairly negative on the industry right now. Over-regulation and slow freight seem to be the common themes. Honestly, is this the right time to get into trucking? Is there a "right time" in your opinion?

4. What part of the trucking lifestyle to you find most challenging and why? What's the best? I'd be interested to hear from any female drivers to see what their perspective was on these issues.

5. If you had it to do all over again, what would you change in your decisions concerning your trucking career? What would you do to avoid big mistakes?

We're both willing and able to work hard in the industry, and we're not trying to take shortcuts. I know these are newbie questions, but honest answers from you all will really help us make the right decisions. Thank you for your help.

PS ~ Thanks for the site Brett! What a great resource.

Welcome aboard!

Honestly, I don't know much about the expediting side of things, but I know my opinion on buying or leasing a truck is black and white - never, ever, ever consider buying or leasing a truck. It's a commodity service so profits (if there are any) are razor thin, it's a ton of financial risk that will never turn into any more money than you'd make as a company driver, and you'll never have the freedom and control over your business the way pretty much any other business owner would. And at your age with your fantastic financial position, why risk it when you can remain company drivers, run as a team, take on no financial risk, make great money, get the best equipment, and be treated well? You wouldn't. And I know a lot of expedited companies are owner-operator or lease fleets so I would stay away from that segment unless you can find a job as company drivers.

Teams are highly coveted in trucking because team trucks utilize the equipment most efficiently, turn the best profits, and service the customers with the fastest delivery times. So running team will be a huge advantage for you.

Honestly, is this the right time to get into trucking? Is there a "right time" in your opinion?

If the sun comes up in the morning and there is oxygen in the atmosphere it's a good time to get into trucking.

The slowest time of the year is coming to an end so the hiring is starting to pick up quickly but that has very little affect on teams. Pretty much any company hires teams as hard and fast as possible all year round. The fuel prices will have no impact whatsoever and even though nobody would call our economy robust right now there's tons of freight moving so there's no concern there.

Here's an article you'll find interesting:

Trucking In A Bad Economy With High Fuel Prices

4. What part of the trucking lifestyle to you find most challenging and why? What's the best? I'd be interested to hear from any female drivers to see what their perspective was on these issues.

For teams I would say being crammed together 24/7 in an area the size of a walk-in closet is incredibly challenging even for the best relationships. You will have to be super focused on compromising and getting along. Keep little quarrels from turning into big ones and set a policy of going to neutral corners and keeping quiet when things are starting to boil over.

Being away from home, family, and friends is also a major hurdle for most people.

Sleeping in a moving truck is tough for most people to get used to also.

The best parts for me were:

1) The beautiful scenery

2) Every day is completely unique - you never know what's in store

3) Getting to take a little time off in fun places - Vegas, New Orleans, etc

4) Being able to drive a big, beautiful rig is just really, really cool. A lot of fun.

If you had it to do all over again, what would you change in your decisions concerning your trucking career? What would you do to avoid big mistakes?

For me, I have no regrets. I tried a lot of different types of trucking and I'm glad I did. I had a safe career and that is always the most important thing. I saw every inch of this country about 1000 times over and that was an incredible blessing. But I honestly don't know of anything I would do differently.

If I were you two I would run team as company drivers. Although dry van would work find also, personally I would find a refrigerated company to run for because they have the most coast-to-coast freight, their demand for teams is always through the roof, and refrigerated companies tend to stay busy all year round because they're hauling so much food.

Since you're planning on going through private school you'll have a nice choice of companies when you graduate so do some looking around at various companies. But you have plenty of time for that. No hurry.

Lastly, although it seems counter-intuitive, do not worry much about which company you start out with. It seems like that would be a really, really big deal and almost everyone obsesses about "finding a good company that will treat them well". You know which company is a great company that will treat you well? The company you do a great job for.

Every trucking company makes money the same way - hauling freight efficiently. If you work hard, you have an awesome attitude, you're safe, and you're reliable, any company will load all the freight out you they possibly can. You'll have great equipment, tons of miles, and fair treatment.

If you do a lousy job - you're unreliable, unsafe, and maybe even throw in a lousy attitude to complete the picture - no company is going to want you around.

So do not stress about the company you start out with. It's easy to change jobs, especially for a team with even a few months of experience. So you can jump ship anytime you like but it's best to stick with a company for a minimum of one year. Get to know the people, get to know how things work internally, and establish an excellent reputation for yourselves. If you'll do that, you'll be happy at almost any company in the nation.

We appreciate your reply and your honest opinion. It's pretty hard to cut through all the hype surrounding the industry for a new driver. At this point I think we'll follow your advice, particularly on not buying a truck. Even with my limited exposure to the industry, I've studied the numbers enough that I can't see a great profit margin in truck ownership, unless you're in a position to own several and employ drivers. Even then, it seems very risky ~ lots of downside with very little upside. I'm a complete newbie, so maybe I'm missing something. There are sure a lot of O/O's out there...

Believe us, we didn't survive in the military for 34 years by being unreliable or non-committal. If we sign on to a company we will do our level best to provide the best service we can. I'm sure we will succeed. We're no strangers to hardship or hard work.

I'll keep everyone posted on the forum as we proceed. Sequester doesn't make things easy right now for us in the services. Thanks again for the note of support and hopefully we'll see you all out on the road in the future!

Welcome! Thanks for your service! I'm currently in the marines but good luck to ya'll and hope everything works out!

Even with my limited exposure to the industry, I've studied the numbers enough that I can't see a great profit margin in truck ownership, unless you're in a position to own several and employ drivers. Even then, it seems very risky ~ lots of downside with very little upside. I'm a complete newbie, so maybe I'm missing something. There are sure a lot of O/O's out there...

The average profit margin for the industry is 3%. It's a commodity service - everyone operates on the edge of break even all the time. And it's incredibly risky. For those who make big money in trucking, they usually wind up doing it by either:

1) Becoming "asset rich and cash poor" - over time they accumulate trucks, real estate, inventory, and anything else they can use as collateral to maintain their financing for ongoing operations. They never accumulate much in the way of cash for the company, but they can live like kings off the financing.

2) Providing services outside of owning trucks and hauling freight. Owning trucks and hauling freight are the least profitable area of the trucking industry. Providing logistics services, software, brokering services, warehousing, consulting services, parts & repair services, financial backing, and reselling things like tags & insurance are where a lot of people make their money. And of course they make their money off of the people that own the trucks and haul the freight.

It's definitely very risky and no, you're not missing anything. There are a lot of lease drivers and owner operators out there because all you have to do is say you'd like to buy or lease a truck and you'll get a stampede of people ready to make it happen for ya. Heck, they'll finance it, pay you money up-front to fund your escrow accounts and the whole deal. Whatever it takes to get someone else to buy the truck and haul the freight, they'll do it.

Not to mention, who doesn't think it would be awesome to own your own big rig???? That would be awesome!!! People just can't resist. Especially people who have never owned a business and don't know how difficult it is being a business owner. They think, "Hey, I'll just buy a truck, haul freight, and make some cool cash!" Yeah, and it's just that easy!!!

There are a ton of trucking companies out there that will lease or sell you a truck and then provide you all of the support services you need to run that truck - freight brokering, routing, fuel discounts, tags, insurance - the whole 9 yards. Basically they'll do whatever it takes to get you to own or lease the truck so they can book freight for you, take their cut, and give you what's left over - which will be next to nothing. And then you'll take that next to nothing and give it back to the company in the form of repair bills, escrow funding, and whatever else they can come up with.

If you want to make good money driving a truck, do it as a company driver. If you want to make money in the trucking industry as a business owner, find a niche that you feel suits you well and go for it. Just don't buy or lease a truck - let someone else do that.

There are a ton of trucking companies out there that will lease or sell you a truck and then provide you all of the support services you need to run that truck - freight brokering, routing, fuel discounts, tags, insurance - the whole 9 yards. Basically they'll do whatever it takes to get you to own or lease the truck so they can book freight for you, take their cut, and give you what's left over - which will be next to nothing. And then you'll take that next to nothing and give it back to the company in the form of repair bills, escrow funding, and whatever else they can come up with.

Well, it makes sense then why I see all the ads in The Trucker, Overdrive, Expediter Online, etc., almost pushing trucks on you. Just another angle to make money for the companies. I was wondering why they were all selling or leasing tractors, all with 400,000 to 500,000+ miles on them. Seemed a bit odd. Now I understand ~ probably the fleets getting dumped before the big repair bills and maintenance items hit. I read somewhere also that something like 70% or more of leases never get completed and the O/O walks away or can't pay the remainder of the lease. What a great way for companies to dump older trucks! Instead of selling it at a loss (after depreciation), you can lease it to a driver and have them take over responsibility for all maintenance/fuel and insurance while the company is still getting paid for the truck. Brilliant!

Thanks for the warning. It all makes sense now... Company drivers for us!