Prime Leasing Questions

To be honest I'm dead set on becoming an otr trucker, no matter what it takes and how hard I need to work. Becoming an o/o in the end is myour hard goal and the path to get there I'm willing to give and take in order to get to that goal.

To be honest I'm not deadset on the lease path which is why I wanted the info and opinions. You all have been. Tremendous amount of help with your experiance and knowledge.

Rick I had no intention to anger you or get on nerves. I honestly am completely new to the lease idea and I've only known take a loan buy a truck and work with that. I do not wish to buy a used truck because of the age and abuse trucks are known to take it can't afford repairs on a 35k tractor if theyou consistently happen.

I guess my whole end point is I'm dedicated to the lifestyle, willing to do anything it takes to make my dreams come true. Whether that means running long and hard and I take the break minimum time off that federal regulations require, then so be it. Trucking is in my blood, heart, and soul.

Not angry - it's all good.

All we're saying and will continue to say is - give yourself a chance to get your CDL and learn the ropes before making any huge financial and career decisions.

Rick

Trucking is in my blood, heart, and soul.

Hey Reaper, we are all thrilled that you seem to long for the lifestyle, and the adventure of being a truck driver, the noblest of gypsies.

There's not a reason in this world that you can't have the best of the lifestyle and enjoy yourself tremendously out here without taking on the headache and responsibility of owning the equipment. It is interesting that you made this observation...

I do not wish to buy a used truck because of the age and abuse trucks are known to take it can't afford repairs on a 35k tractor if theyou consistently happen.

You obviously know some of the pitfalls of being an owner operator. Well, consider this... Even if you fell into a big fat wad of money and could afford to buy yourself a shiny new killer looking rig, it won't take but a few years of running like crazy for it to be used and abused. Oh, I am sure that you would take excellent care of it, but the fact is that these things are just machines, and machines wear down and wear out. I've owned my share of trucks, in fact I had six big rigs at one time. There are far fewer owner operators on the road these days than there were back in the day when your Dad and Grandpa were doing this stuff, and there are some unavoidable reasons as to why that is so.

The big players in this game have squeezed the independents out mercilessly. That's not an indictment of their character, but rather just a reality of the economy of scale involved in this business now that has had tremendous downward pressure on the rates that freight is moved at. As an independent driver if your truck breaks down then you not only will lose the income due to the down time, but you will also be enduring the excessively high shop rates required to repair these modern machines. It just doesn't make economic sense anymore to me to try and compete with folks that have way too many advantages over you. I am quite happily a company driver, but have the means and the business understanding to be an owner operator. That is my biggest stumbling block - the understanding of how difficult it is in this business climate to make it successfully as an independent operator. I would put my annual take home pay up against any individual owner operator out there and would probably make him ill if he's honest about how much of his money he actually gets to keep.

There is money to be made for a truly creative and independently minded company driver. I have likened this whole career to being self employed many times. It really is true that those who understand how to get things done in this business will get more done than the average driver and therefore will make considerably more money at it. It's not all about the money, and I think I see that in your desires. Mostly it is about the independence and the rugged individualism that one gets to demonstrate in this career. All of those things can be practiced and realized as a company driver, and all without the burdens or the headaches that come along with trying to compete in an unfair competition. Heed what the others have said and don't be so quick to jump into leasing.

Here's a link to A Recent Discussion we had on the subject. Take a look at it and consider some of what was said in that discussion.

We're not here to twist your arm, or to be upset with you for not agreeing with us. We just want you to realize that your fore fathers who did this a while back are going to be way off base when it comes to understanding how things are now days in the industry. It has changed a lot, and most of your owner operators are really struggling to stay afloat, in fact most of the ones I see out here are driving trucks much like you described earlier that are in a constant state of needing repairs. If they can't afford to keep their trucks in good operating order, what is it that makes you think you can somehow beat the odds that they are beating their heads up against every day. We all know they would rather be driving really nice rigs, and they way they brag about their income it sure would seem that they would be cruising the roads in some really clean looking rigs. But, they are not... Makes you kind of wonder why, doesn't it?

Ah understood, glad I didn't irritate anyone here. By chance best cb radio brand? My fiancee is buying me a cb radio, microwave, antennas for me getting the trucking job.

Old school, glad to read your reply. It was really informative and welooming. I was listening to teddy bear last night and I was honestly thinking about what happened to the old ways of trucking and why did the Knights of the road disappeared for the most part.

I was actually motivated by teddy bear, even more so by phantom 309, though I'm one person, one driver, maybe I can try to give my all and show the people I meet. Teddy bear lives in us all, we just gotta let it out. Now that's not me saying I am expecting to go down in trucking history as the one who brought backnowledge the golden years. Not in a long shot.

What I was motivated to do was bring joy and pride to one's who I cross paths with and meet. Whether they really kids in the back seat trying to blow their air horns, or if it is someone who is just having a bad day on the road or at the docks.