Time For An Owner-operator Update

Maybe the ones that have come through here and went on to build a successful owner operator business don't have the time to frequent your forum anymore

Oh my friend you don't know truck drivers at all I'd say. They'd swim across the Atlantic just to say, "I told you so!"

Heck, if I thought there was a ton of money in it I'd be doing it myself! Wouldn't we all?

My mistake I apologize. I read your post wrong. I at first thought you said you had 6 trucks. I missed you retiring from your manufacturing business. The trucks were a part of that?

That's correct!

Gotcha. So this trucking thing is your second career then and your not doing it for the money. That's my plan too, I probably wouldn't try it if I needed miles to pay the bills

Maybe the ones that have come through here and went on to build a successful owner operator business don't have the time to frequent your forum anymore

Oh my friend you don't know truck drivers at all I'd say. They'd swim across the Atlantic just to say, "I told you so!"

Heck, if I thought there was a ton of money in it I'd be doing it myself! Wouldn't we all?

Im glad you consider me your friend. Wish I knew how to use those cute little avatars.

Not everyone is in it for the money

I don't have any fancy business credentials or multi million dollar nanana that I left to "have fun driving a truck". I'm a grinder that has taken people's "toys", business "tools" and personal "transportation" devices due to the American Dream of "I'm gonna spend next months money today cause I wanna". Now with that said any one who is willing to put in an honest weeks work and save 1/4 of that money, what ever the amount earned, will be in my mind successful in their "business". The idea of saving a quarter of my weekly earnings is what im driving too. That's why I left the repo business and the wrecker industry and the food service slop of the work force of America. So if Steve can honestly tell us that after all his " business" expenses, the 40+k for whatever the 12+k for taxes whatever, then hey he is a success in my book. It's not the idea that he has too earn 200k per truck per year in profit. It's the idea that he is happy, living a good life, enjoying his family and getting to do what he loves. For himself. And saving some of what he makes for FUN later when he's not busting his tale.

Now me on the other hand I'm co dr all the way. I ran a company for three years couldn't afford to pay my wife,myself or another employee yet I was expected to work 24/7. Recover, release, deliver and answer the damn phone whenever it rang....WOW ptsd a little bit there...sorry!!!

Congrats Steve keep moving onwards and upwards. Just remember Murphys Law "what can happen, will happen" prepare for it and it won't knock u down. I think that's the gist of what the guys are trying to communicate to us.

Not trying to step on anyone's toes I just can read through the fuzzy math and mild boasting and understand that the man is happy and feels like he is winning. He doesn't have all his bases covered but he is "get in er done".

Oh and I am doing this for the pontential of earning a good living. I went OTR so I could see the country I've lived in for 25 years but never traveled.

I'm putting in 3,000 or so miles a week so I can help my kids through college cause I didn't go and get a degree and make a million dollars and quite all that cause I didn't like what I was doing.

I'm driving a truck cause I love to drive.

I don't like people shooting at me or trying to punch me in the face. I hate jump starting cars and changing tires. And I got tired of smelling the dead bodies that had been pulled out of the cars from the accidents I was picking up. It's nice to go somewhere and be greeted with a smile and then go somewhere else and be thanked for getting there. Hope my nubie self hasn't offended anyone. I just wanted to add a little to this.

Now I have tried to stay out of this, but feel compelled to add to this conversation.

While I was at Prime, I spent most of my time there as a Lease Operator. Made some pretty good money, had lots of fun traveling all over the country (which is one of the reasons I decided to drive these big trucks). The only reason I left was because things changed here at home, so had to change with it.

I have spent the last almost 1.5 years at JB Hunt as a company driver, but because of some medical issues, have been off the road since the beginning of May this year. I will be going to drive for Steve once I have my clearance from my Dr's to go back to driving. I was one of the folks that helped Steve to get started on this journey he is presently on. If I thought for even a moment he was doing something wrong I would have told him a long time ago.

I have pulled reefer , flatbed and dry van trailers so far, and I think that Steve is doing quite well with what he is doing. Did he somehow ruffle a few feathers with his initial statements, yes he did but has gone on to clarify some of the hidden costs with doing business.

Now is doing what he is doing for everyone, ABSOLUTELY NOT. It takes so much discipline to run a business and keep all the factors in line to make it a success. Old School & Brett are absolutely correct when they make the statement that running a company (especially a trucking company with the razor thin profit margins) is not for everyone. And because of their experience and convictions, they stand behind what they have been telling folks for a lot of years now.

So I am about to start on a new journey into a segment of the trucking industry that I have never been on, so I am looking forward to see what the container side of this is all about. Who knows, I might like it enough to stick with it, but then again maybe not. Time will tell.

Ernie

I don't read, "Don't go O/O or lease" from any of Brett's or OS's warnings. I read them as a plea to please learn the industry before making a decision with that much risk. I read them as a plea with O/Os and Lease/Ops to please be more transparent instead of it sounding like they are making bank without the risk.

and that is exactly what is being said.

Steve, I really am glad to see you doing well. It's just that some of the numbers you threw out are a little unsettling to me. Really glad to know about your hefty maintenance account - that is important. My concerns are that you keep telling us about what the loads pay, that is typical talk for Owner Operators. As a former business operator I was more focused on my costs. That is where most new business owners stump their toe.

If you don't really have a good accounting system set up yet I highly recommend that as a priority. It will help you to see things in a different perspective. A good accountant is also important, especially if you can find some one who is familiar with the trucking industry.

There are a lot of expenses that I would think you should have that you don't mention, but I'm not expecting you to give us the whole picture. I just don't want to see you get squashed or blind-sided unexpectedly. We wish you the best, but we try our best to keep folks from falling prey to some pit-falls we recognize. When we see someone coming in here saying they are making five or six times what they were as a company driver, we feel compelled to sound the alarm. It just doesn't happen like that, and if it did we would all be running our own trucks. But the sad part is, that if one person says something like that in here, then there are a couple of hundred hungry truck drivers wanting to get on board that train who are going to fall flat on their faces. That is why we start raising red flags.

I guess the whole picture is this. When I bought this Truck in December last year I only had about 2K in my maintainence account. In 9 months I'm a week away from having 40K in it. I have also paid myself 500 every single week this year. I have also paid 3000 towards my Truck 9 times this year. I have also paid my quarterly taxes 3 times so far at 7500 each time. I have also spent several thousand dollars on oil changes and misc. . Plus my federal (2290) highway tax. Plus insurance (which ain't cheap) and those other things I failed to mention. So I guess your probably right. I am falling. Sorry if I misled any body. There is no money to be made as an O/O

Steve- Could you provide a weekly fuel cost?

I made a chart of your income/expenses- to help me. I appreciate you sharing. I also appreciate others sharing the RISK and many other factors.

The cost of fuel has many different factors and how much is bought during the week. The terrain that was driven. Weather conditions. And yes the temperature during that time does have an effect on MPG. The weight of the loads.

All these have an effect on the cost of fuel for the week. If any of these change if can drastically change how much fuel is bought and used during that time.

When I had my own trucks there were times I spent $1000 a week and the following week it could be $800 and the week after that it could be $1200 a week. This is one of the Variable Cost that changes week to week. It is also a drivers biggest cost every week also.