Co Owning A Truck Forming A Partner Ship

Philly Fan's not sure:

Not sure why you linked a cartoon. Certainly has nothing to do with what I'm asking about. Actually inappropriate.

So you didn't watch to the end? Think you won't get caught up in something it's almost impossible to get out of? (Bre'r Fox and Bre'r Bar are just side characters in this fable.)

Thanks. Didn't realize it would be frowned upon. I guess I could un post it.

No prob. As the thread gets cranking and the discussion gets contentious - the entire thread usually just "disappears".

Rick

So Rick you have been driving for a company for four years you have never "day dreamed" about being independent and how to get there? Your profile says your in training. LOL I guess everyday is a training day for us drivers. Be safe sir.

I don't think Errol was trying to be inappropriate, we really do not do that here. He was just trying to make his point with a bit of humor.(Lots of that here).

tar ba·by nouninformal

a difficult problem that is only aggravated by attempts to solve it.

Philly Fan's not sure:

Not sure why you linked a cartoon. Certainly has nothing to do with what I'm asking about. Actually inappropriate.

So you didn't watch to the end? Think you won't get caught up in something it's almost impossible to get out of? (Bre'r Fox and Bre'r Bar are just side characters in this fable.)

True Erol I did not watch the end of the cartoon, didn't make it past ten seconds. I do get what you are saying about getting entangled.

Couldn't you structure it with an end date in mind. Prepare a realistic budget and have a reasonable amount of money invested in a truck after a certain amount of say 3 years, that you both could put money down on your own truck. I'm thinking there may be some solid enough accounts like mail, seaports, milk, fuel or the like that you could budget on. Create a limited partnership.

Regards.

I don't think Errol was trying to be inappropriate, we really do not do that here. He was just trying to make his point with a bit of humor.(Lots of that here).

tar ba·by nouninformal

a difficult problem that is only aggravated by attempts to solve it.

Noted.

THanks sir.

No harm, no foul.

A partnership that doesn't run as a team, I would say no.

Philly Fan, I'm sorry about the delay. I had looked at the forum just as I was about to leave a rest area, but needed to get rolling to get to my consignee.

It is true that we try not to discuss being an owner operator or lease operator in here. The reason is just as is already being demonstrated in this thread, the person inquiring usually starts getting "testy" with the comments they receive. When you started out with that statement I quoted earlier, I could almost see the writing on the wall. You have reacted to Errol quickly without really trying to see what he was saying, and that just seems to be the typical way these things go. You seem like a reasonable person, and you already backtracked a little with Errol, so I'll continue the discussion, but you just won't find much support in here for your idea.

A little background is due, since you don't seem to be aware of our many previous discussions on truck ownership. I get the whole thing about "dreaming of owning your own truck." I am a pro-capitalism entrepreneur to the core, Brett is also. We both are, or have been, business owners. I was in a custom manufacturing business for thirty years. I had my own fleet of trucks to move our very large projects to onsite locations to be installed. I had six class 8 Big Rigs at one time, it was during those years that I learned the harsh realities of owning your own trucks. A truck, and especially one that is affordable, is usually a money pit. Fun to own, fun to drive, but usually very costly to feed and maintain.

If you are dead set on this idea of a partnership, which in my opinion is one of the worse possible business models, (I'm not going to go into this whole thing, but suffice it to say there are way too many things that can go wrong when there are two different people attempting to navigate all the manifold problems of running a business) Then I would recommend that you just try to put a business plan together as a sole proprietor first. Buy a truck, operate it with just you as a driver, and learn the difficulties of this business without entangling a friend before you lose your money and your friend in the whole process. This is a commodity business, therefore the profits are slim to none at times. Have you ever paid attention to how many trucks are out here on the road? That's how many competitors you have, and most of them are big time players at this who can afford to make contracts that actually lose money while you are out here like a maverick trying to make your way against really difficult odds. This business succeeds on an economy of scale, which is something you are going completely against by being an independent operator, and then you are even dividing the pie slice even thinner by trying to have a partner/driver with whom you are going to be sharing a part time job. I see no way that either one of you could make a livable wage with this approach.

As a company driver, you get the lion's share of the money that is kept on each load. Most of the other money is cash flow, with a large emphasis on the word "flow." If you are a driver, then pay attention out on the interstates to the owner operators who pass you on the road. I do this all the time. In fact just yesterday I was in Savannah, Georgia where there are a lot of owner/ops pulling containers from the ports. That is a good paying gig, and probably one of the safest ways to get into ownership, but man I'm telling you those guys are running some ratty looking trucks that have a big D.O.T. target on them for inspections. Why is that? Why aren't they driving nice new shiny trucks like me and most other company drivers? They simply cannot afford them - they are robbing Peter to pay Paul. So many people in small businesses are actually stealing from themselves without ever realizing it. What I mean by this is that they are having to take the money that should be set aside for maintenance and replacement costs just to keep operating and paying themselves so that they are creating a looming disaster just a few years down the road. I learned this the hard way, and lessons learned the way I did don't leave your memory very easily. I know you said you were going to insist on some escrow accounts, but what are you going to do when your mortgage is due and their is no money? Or any other such scenario like that, and trust me they will be happening on a regular basis.

I'm glad to have the discussion with you as long as we can be civil and realistic. I have a lot of experience in both business and trucking, but I cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel you've painted before us. If you wanted to do it by yourself, I would say give it a whirl, but for the sake of your own sanity, please don't drag a good friend into this with you. It will be far better to keep the friend in the end if things go the way I am fairly certain they will. Being an owner operator can be accomplished, but it is a perilous journey fraught with many problems along the way. I am quite confident that I am making about twice the money as a company driver that I could make as an owner operator who was putting everything he should into escrow accounts for future business needs.

So Rick you have been driving for a company for four years you have never "day dreamed" about being independent and how to get there? Your profile says your in training. LOL I guess everyday is a training day for us drivers. Be safe sir.

Why get contentious?

This is why these threads get deleted, and why discussion such as this - are the same as discussing religion or politics in a bar.

"Cobbler stick to they last" (google it if you're curious). It's just not what we're good at here - which is, helping people get into the industry, get trained and get employed.

And for the record, I not only "day dreamed" - I put together a solid business plan, along with capital and financing.

I opted NOT to do it - for a number of reasons, many of which OS described in his post above.

Best of luck with your venture - hope it works out for you.

Rick

Little word of warning o/o and leasing is a taboo on here. I learned the hard way lol.

Thanks. Didn't realize it would be frowned upon. I guess I could un post it.

No problem i figured others could learn from my mistakes lol