Profile For Matthew D.

Hi, name is Matt.

I am currently bouncing around careers atm and finally landed a job making good money moving dirt around with equipment, installing septic and storm and a variety of things for this company. As a quick learner and the only employee I am very close to being the foreman if the boss chooses too expand, however going from zero too doing everything I have had a impasse with the equipment...

I have no stinking idea how to drive clutch or have a cdl and the boss gets charged 300 bucks each time to move these machines around I use. I just got a hefty raise and he is encouraging I get a CDL so I can start hauling loads with the promise of more pay. Honestly I have always been good with equipment but its strange to install a whole a storm system and get told " better drop in that L1 today" over the phone. Only bashed it a few times against the pipe leading to the drain field I put in, easy fix by cutting it back and truth be told just several months later I have never had a problem setting a L1 again due too " never again". I plan on taking the CDL truckers course here in WA in just several months so I can move around equipment. Its a bit strange, I have this massive yard I work out with lots of semis, dozers, and excavators and I am the only employee. I really do need the CDL.

I want to start a trucking career

The reason Im posting here is for some advice, and maybe a link to a thread about someone who started their own business. But why trucking?

This job is killing me, I hand truck 6 yards of topsoil in a wheel barrow and spread it out in a single day, I am the ditch guy who hand digs the trench if the boss doesn't want to bring in the machine, always physically exerting myself. I am pulling off jobs by myself now, but just the last one was particularly hard. Customer was a savvy single mom who I sold the bid too but she was super picky. I bid her backyard job in 3 phases in case she didn't pay which was smart but god she was a tough sell. Constantly moving stuff around for her which I thought was needed to *keep her level*. Phase one was simply 650 for concrete removal, about 7500 pds. She didnt want to pay a thousand, so I hand loaded it myself with no machine which is 1200 ( i told her 400 bucks for labor charge and did it in 2 hours but no machine! your getting charged a full day of labor no matter how long it takes). Still cheaper, Phase two was sod rip. Used the machine for 2 days and only charged for one, and had to hand pick every little root out of her yard. Phase 3 was 70 yards of fill dirt and she wanted it laser leveled at exactly 2 % to have water flow off her property. Sure not a problem A extra 600 bucks for a venue for my OCD and usage of my brand new laser. Wasn't a problem, whole yard was less than a half inch off ( 60x75ft) and it looked like a million bucks. Still a lot of stinking work for 25bucks an hour. Too top it off, got a upsell and she wanted 3 yards of gravel for the last bit dumped in a particular spot, so of course my trailer tire got shredded on one of her posts and I hand trucked 3 yards of gravel in less than 2 hours. Treated her with nothing but respect and barely got out of their alive, I kept thinking I am busting my ass here but IF i dump this load anywhere but where she wants it she'll sue the boss for bumping that post. Long story not so short, I cant keep hand trucking this much, on and off the machines, digging with no machine. I'm getting raises so i dont leave

So I want to buy a truck in about a year and half, I should be able to drop 40grand on it. Here my big questions,

Should I work for someone else first?

How new of a truck should I be aiming for? I should have about 40 grand for a down payment.

Did this work for you? being a owner operator.

Im going to buy a book on trucking tonight and bounce around this forum a bit. I have severally hurt the muscles in my hands, and i cant keep this job forever. Trucking is where everybody goes whos injured. I should be able to spring into this career, would love to hear your comments.