Wanting to buy own truck... good or bad idea?

The bottom line is money. Depends on if you want a new truck or used truck. New trucks are about 175K or so. You can get used trucks for much less than that. It all goes back to money. If you have lots of money stored away after everything is bought such as an extra 25-30K set aside for random breakdowns or some other expenses that come out of no where you are going to be in a much better spot.

The other thing it will depend on is freight. If you can get good paying freight then obviously you will make money. If he has contacts in the industry who can get him this freight then he's already well ahead of the curve.

Another thing to keep in mind is once you go the O/O route you are running a business. I saw you mentioned he doesn't really want to run a business but being a O/O is running your own business. There is also the option of buying a truck but then leasing it onto a company. That way a lot of the business side of it is taken care of and he would still get the independence. Good luck!

 

Put it this way - if you go the way of your own authority, you need to start with at least $50k-$75k, and that is if you get good financing on a cheap, used truck. You need to have money to operate the business before the money starts coming in from the customers/brokers, if you can get loads in the first place, since I think a lot of brokers won't deal with new authority numbers, has to be a few months old. I'd expect you'd be doing all the billing and IFTA and finding his loads while he's out on the road.

If your husband leases to someone else, you might be able to get away with $15k-$20k since they would most likely front the fuel money, and your husband would get paid quicker.

And Brownsfan is absolutely right, it IS a business, and you can't just go about it as if it were some leisurely hobby that you try to make a few bucks off of, you really have to watch your numbers and count every penny in and every penny out. It would be so foolish to do otherwise! Especially for tax purposes. There is no limit on the time for the IRS to audit you for unpaid taxes. They can come after your 5-10 years later to do an audit if they thought that you might not have counted everything. And that goes for being independent OR leasing to someone, so please watch your numbers.

 

Both are right, this is not a hobby it's a full time job. If your not driving your working on equipment or doing paperwork. If your husband is mechanically inclined and you can learn the business with him, you guys stand a chance. And I know guys on this forum go back and forth with this one but, if your gonna own your own company then own your own company don't lease onto anyone unless you and your husband have no other choice. Don't let you husband bust his as# and then allow a big company to come in and take their unearned percentage. If your gonna take the risk you deserve the earnings.
Good luck,
let us know how it goes.

 

It is a business.... per say. Even owning 1 truck is a constant business. Those times when you are at home guess what? Your busy working on it. Or your doing paperwork. There is a ton of work that goes into this non business. Most of it is unpaid. Being an O/O is a 24/7/365 business. Even when your off you must do research, talk to brokers. Your always looking for freight. Sometimes you can spend an hour or so on the phone with someone and just realize you wasted your time because the freight doesn't work or whatever. BUT you don't want to piss the person off because you may need them one day. As far as paperwork. I should take a picture of my desk and my fathers desk. Its stacked with paperwork. There is always a mountain of it to be done. And I am just a 1 truck show. But good luck on your venture.

 

If you and your husband are in refer freight. Depending on his connections is going to be important. If you can land direct freight you'll be in better shape then scrambling for loads everyday. It's hard to find good shippers. With that being said, you can find refer freight that pays 3.50-4$ a mile. If you guys can get your foot in on that kind of freight the other down time work (maintenance,paperwork) is worth it.

 

Take look at lone mountain leasing. just google them. Nice honest people and upfront.

 

Bad until the economy stabilizes !