Looking For Advice

Diggin your own grave sir.

I totally agree. Think about it - if it was that easy, there wouldn't be anyone in America making less than $80k. Look at the numbers for owner operators over the past few decades. They've dropped dramatically and continue to do so. If there's so much money in it, why aren't we all doing it?

It's a commodity service. The average profit margin in the trucking industry is 3% and the average driver salary is around $40k. So basically that tells you if you owned your own truck and drove it yourself, you can expect to make about $41,200 instead of $40k as a company driver. That's a 3% difference - the equivalent of the profit margin.

I worked for US Xpress a few years back and I got to know the operations manager pretty well. We had a talk one time and he told me the average profit the company makes on a 500 mile run is $50 after all expenses, including driver pay, IF nothing goes wrong. Blow out a tire or damage a brake chamber or anything like that and they won't turn a profit from that truck for a week, maybe more.

The profit margin is 3% and thats why companies push that owner op thing because it raises that profit margin up plus gives the company a few more advantages. Think about it, the driver pays for the maintenance and upkeep of the truck while hauling the company's freight. It reduces the company's expenses.

a lot of times the expenses for the o/o will be more than he makes so hes going negative and going into a deeper and deeper hole as time passes. Some have made the analogy that an o/o is like YOU the driver paying the company to work for them.

and when you cant take it anymore they will repossess the truck, cut you loose with something negative on your DAC and you will be unemployable. Then they find another guy to come in take over the truck and the process starts over again.

I hear what you guys are saying you would know a lot more than what I do from experience all I know is from what I read. I have seen a few places that say your truck can bring in between 200-300k a year driving a flatbed. Thats driving between 2500-3500 miles a week and from that money you take home between 100-150k a year. There has to be some truth to it I think or you wouldn't see quit a few o/o driving 90-150k dollar semis also when I was in the car business I sold a few o/o cars and we have to see there taxes because they are business owner and on the ones that I saw take home was between 80-130k so that would be after all truck payments fuel and any other business expenses.

When I had my own truck the best year I had gross(before taxes) was $275,000. After my settlement and paying everything I need to I only brought home around $68,000. What you have to know is I ran a team truck operation where the truck rolled pretty much 24/7 and I stayed out 3 to 6 months before I went home for hometime. After expenses I averaged $1.30 a mile.

Those that make alot more have made themselves standout from other drivers which is a very very difficult thing to due in the trucking industry since the only thing you have to offer is safety and on time delivery which is exactly what everyone else is offering also.

So what in your opinion makes you stand out from 4 million other CDL holders? Until you can answer that I don't think you want to go anywhere near owning your own truck.

I know it might seem rather depressing that the idea of making 80k, 90k, or more a year driving a O/O truck isn't really that realistic. Wish it was and more of us would be considering it or doing it. Working on getting things in order myself to go to school, get my CDL , and get a job as a company driver. I would never consider the O/O route, have ran into too many drivers that are or have been and told me the truth of it all. Quality trucking companies are going to spend a good deal of $$ making sure their trucks are in good working order and safe, nobody is going to be making any money (company or driver) if that truck is broken down or put out of service for a DOT safety violation. When you are the owner/op of that truck those maintenance costs are all yours, and when your sitting on the side of the road in the middle of who knows where 100 miles from the nearest city/town on the map waiting for a mobile mechanic or heavy duty tow truck to come rescue you its all on your time (time that you aren't getting paid for).

Have talked to many drivers who are now owner/ops and they keep doing it because they can't afford not to. They could never sell the truck for what they owe on it and they couldn't afford to take the loss. Truck driving seems like an awesome career / lifestyle and has many positive aspects to it, however the chance to own that rig and pay for the expenses associated with it just isn't one of them. Let a company (big or small) deal with all of the maintenance, emergency repairs, licenses, permits, insurance, and most of all securing your loads.

I really think truck driving wouldn't have the high turn over rate that it does if every driver that started out had a realistic view of what he was going to be doing and what the pay really was. I think too many guys (and probably ladies) don't realize what the lifestyle is and what they will really be making until they are in the middle of it and then they realize it just isn't for them. Too many new drivers will be lured in by the prospect of making the money you were talking about and then they find out its just not a reality, at least not for everyone. There are going to be a lot more former drivers that thought they were going to be making 80-100k a year than there actually are.

I hope you do plenty of research and ask a lot of questions before you decide to make this change in your life and decide if its right for you. I have, and I know I can't wait to be on the road with my first load where ever it might be going.

Lets say a company has ten trucks. 9 are doing really good but one truck had a break down that week. Well the cost of that break down and be split between the other 9 trucks and it does not hurt the bottom line that much cause the revenue from the 9 good trucks covered the cost one the break down on the one truck.

Most O?O's are 1 truck operations. They can not defer the cost over several trucks. They have one and it will hit that one trucks bottom line very hard.

You may say that this does not happen all the time and you would be right BUT one break down and cost you up to $30,000 for an engine replacement. Banks don't loan out money to truckers the way it used to.

Lets say a company has ten trucks. 9 are doing really good but one truck had a break down that week. Well the cost of that break down and be split between the other 9 trucks and it does not hurt the bottom line that much cause the revenue from the 9 good trucks covered the cost one the break down on the one truck.

Most O?O's are 1 truck operations. They can not defer the cost over several trucks. They have one and it will hit that one trucks bottom line very hard.

You may say that this does not happen all the time and you would be right BUT one break down and cost you up to $30,000 for an engine replacement. Banks don't loan out money to truckers the way it used to.

Well not only are you going to be out the $30,000 for the cost of the engine, but your also out of work the entire time it takes to replace the engine. So that's like a double wammy, you have to drive twice as hard once the truck is back up and running just to pay off the new engine and try and make up for the lost time.

Guyjax knows his stuff

anything that breaks it costs 10 times to replace that means you have to do 10X the traveling or selling to make up for the lost costs

Joe, we were O/Os...just sold out. And I'll tell you, the only other think more magical than our log books, was the magic our CPA did. In 2010 we grossed $180K...and after he did his magic, we showed on our taxes a $20k deficit.... Recruiters will tell you whatever you want to hear. I don't know how they sleep at night. Being an O/O is only wise if your independently wealthy, or you need a tax dump bucket. The profit margin is ghost thin, and not getting any better. But if you have the $180K that it will cost you to buy a truck, and get set up...go for it. I can't think of a better way to pay for a REALLY expensive education...............

Oh, and for the record...our engine blew....$27K...which I MADE them honor the warrenty. BUT our truck was down for 9 weeks...do you know what 9 weeks without any income stands for ??? 2 months of truck payments, 2 months of insurance payments, 2 months of household expenses, etc. Its usually a death blow to an O/O. But I had managed to put a little $$ in savings...and it was just enough to skim by on the bills and payments. We know alot of O/O's and they all are just living from paycheck to paycheck. If I'm gonna do that, I don't want truck payments in that bag that I'm packin'.