Can New Owner Operators get loads?

your smallest problem will be finding loads your insurance alone is gonna kill you. Not to mention radius restrictions. Like anything in this bussiness your gonna have to pay your dues before you go out on your own. What are you gonna do if you end up hating it??? I think you need a wake up call do you know what lanes to run? If it was a simple as you are making it out to be everyone would be an OO

 

I'm assuming, he's refering to also getting his own authority and getting loads off a load board. Hard way to start but the only way without expeince. Not to mention such a high chance of losing everything.Brokers will eat him up.
Otherwise with a carrier, I'm not I've heard of any of them that would take on an O/O without atleast a year experience.
Sorry to sound discourgeing but in the case of O/O, experience is everything.

 

if you let the brokers take you for someone to haul cheap freight, that's all they will offer you.

You will either have to figure things out to go direct with a customer or deal with brokers. Which ever way you want to go.

I am in the same boat you are. I have my plan, I have my targets and I have my course of getting this thing done.

I have one person I am working with whom I am finding out if my thoughts for getting loads will work.

So far, I have had some success in that it is telling me what I want.

 

I have to admit, he's right in asking....

Do you know the freight lanes you are going to run. Is it sensible to haul that load from chicago to middle of Nebraska? Even for $4.50 a mile.

Do you know when the seasons are? When the busy times are going to be to know it and such?

 

I don't mean to say it can not be done. I've done my own authority myself. Actually only about 5 percent of brokers/carriers won't give you loads because of new start up company.
Sign up with couple premium load boards like internet truckstop and members edge. Get atleast one with a credit check for checking on brokers before accepting a load. And always check their credit. Creat a bad list to stay away from. Expect to be able to run 3-4 weeks before getting paid. Sign up with OOIDA and they can help alot. Also you normally have to have insurance in place for 3-5 weeks before the govenment will issure operating authority. And brokers do check this and the insurance. Expect to call your insurance to fax certificate of insurance to every broker when setting up each new broker you gonig to contract to. Also it normally take 1-4 hours to set a new broker contrct and they will not give you a load until set up.
I'm gona assume you have your own trailer. Are you going with a dry van, flat or reefer?
I find there is as much if not more money to be made signed on with a carrier and a lot less headache. The broker boards are all the left over freight that carriers didn't want or couldn't get covered. I did make money that way, but not even close as much as I am here at Mercer.
Also you will have to go through a DOT office inspection at your home base every 6 months.
I hope this was helpful and good luck. It is a very competive game working the load boards.

 

I'd like to see proof of that.

I know as a new carrier you WILL be audited once in your first 18 months.

But doing it once every 6 months is not realistic knowing and having worked for the DOT. They don't have the man-power or the resources to make that happen.

 

Most companies,brokers won't even consider you till you have months to a yr exp will they?