Questionhello, I'm currently working locally, making money for someone else, thinking to myself if i could do this on my own. i want to purchase my own truck but have no idea what to look up, or have an idea of the best way. i was thinking that maybe make a business loan, buy a truck out right have extra money for insurance and all the extra stuff i am going to need. but besides insurance i don't know what ill need. i want to haul freight.
I also don't know how to go about finding work for the truck. I read in previous advice you gave someone that it may be a good idea to lease your services to big companies. how would i go about doing something in that matter.
I also wanted to know if you knew a rough estimate of all the extra costs yearly for an o/o besides the cost of the truck.
Any advice you have will be helpful. Thank you.
AnswerHi Andy.
Being an independent is costly and hard. You have to cover all the costs and find loads and get paid on those loads. It can be overwhelming. If you have extensive OTR experience, you'll get a general idea of the costs.
For starters, you'll need $5k to $10k as a down payment on even a used truck. Depending on the trailer, add at least a couple thousand for a down payment on that. Then add a few grand to cover your insurance, plates, DOT/MC numbers, IFTA, etc. and it gets expensive fast. Not to discourage, but you should know all the costs.
This is why I like the lease/purchase. A big company will help get you in a truck for a lot less as long as you lease on with them. Basically, go to sites like www.bubbajunk.com or www.classadrivers.com and look at companies that offer lease/purchase. A lot of them do, so study hard.
Here is a list of expenses for O/O from OOIDA. It's four years old, but gives you a general idea.
http://www.ooida.com/Documents/2003_Cost_Ops.pdf
Call some big companies and inquire about a lease/purchase program. Then, compare all the pros and cons with each company. I think you'll find that it is the best way to go.
Good luck.
Bob Stephens
