im buying my first truck

i have been driving for 6 years and am buying a brand new peterbilt. give me your thoughts on your experiences with otr. i want to know what the owner operators are doing as far as work and pay. i live in florida and my brother and i are starting a company. we plan on team driving for the first year. if we get a laptop can we pick up loads in our travels? we want to do long haul. as far as california and back. is this feasable? let me know i am very interested in your experiences.
thanks,vinny
keep hookin' em

What are you saying here??!!?? LOL

That the dream is almost always more satisfying than the reality??!!?? LOL ();-)

the makings for a MOVIN ON sequel , or at the best B J & the BEAR 2 with the "picking up loads in OUR TRAVELS".

They always start out in a NEW truck , looking for info and have no IDEA what the $ is like and ask if their BRAIN WAVE is feasable.

but you probably will not get very much of a positive response on this board.

First off - you know nothing about trucking. Why would you purchase a trucking company and know nothing about it???? You have issues to deal with such as compliance with FMCSA, DOT and other entitities.

Second - the trucking industry is filled with people who have NO CLUE what trucking is about but yet they buy up these trucks, put a "warm body" in them and run the **** out of them and in the meantime, their lack of knowledge and experience in the industry makes ALL truckers look like idiots. (and regardless of popular belief, not all of "us" are idiots).

Third - everyone's gotta start somewhere, but usually that means starting at the bottom and working your way up. I worked as a recruiter (from my home) for a trucking company out of Chicago, Illinois. They had bought up a trucking company that had 74 trucks. They had NO CLUE what they were doing as far as hiring qualified drivers. They knew nothing about compliance nor did they care. They just told me to "find drivers" and they would give me a bonus on each one I put in there. You know what their requirement was for being a driver for their company? Holding a CDL. Needless to say, I didn't work them long.

Unfortunately, trucking is loaded with these types of individuals who start companies because it seems like a good idea without having any knowledge of the industry.

Fourth and final and then I'm done. Why are you doing this without even knowing what the money is like? Personally, I do not care if you make any money or not, but I do know that unless you keep the wheels turning that the profits will remain low. I hope you have some sort of overhead to keep you during the lean times so that you do not push your drivers to the point of running like banchees. I'm tellin' ya, you will lose --- and a lot of other people will do.

GG

not your way anyhow. there is money to be made out here but you have to keep your overhead to a minimum. first and formost DO NOT buy a new truck,you can find good quality,low milage trucks with a warranty,which will save you hundreds each month. second-dont try to play billy big rigger and drive fast, even if the speed limit is 70 or over,keep it around 65 and let everybody pass you by. the biggest mis conception drivers have is that if they drive faster and get unloaded earlier they can get re loaded earlier thus make more money by hauling 3 loads a week instead of 2, it dont work that way. any extra money they make goes for repairs and maint.,due to beating the hell outta the truck.tire wear is a big factor,if you can get an extra 100,000 on your drives it makes a big diff to your wallet.i wont even bring up the fuel milage thing 5mpg versus 6.5 or better as far as finding loads on the road,no problem there.always finding good paying loads to fla.,coming out is a diff. story but seeing as you live there you probably got a handle on that. i wish you all the luck in the world

Alright, I know we've all taken the oath not to let others in on our secret, but this guy sounds sincere.

Truth is, large cars are looked upon by shippers/receivers as the beat way to deliver their freight. The best loads go to those that drive the newest trucks with the most chicken lights.

Another truth is, going from Florida to California and back to Florida is a lane that pays extremely well, usually $7-$8/mile. This lane is always looking for drivers, especially those named Will and Sonny . . . and, preference is given to those driving Peterbilts,

If you figure an average of 6-7,000 miles a week at $7-$8/mile, you should gross around $48k a week.

Fuel, even at $3.00/gal would only run you around $3,200. Figure an additional $2,500/week for insurance, repairs, plates, permits, etc., and you should net around $42k a week. Work a week, take off a month. It's a great life!

And, on top of that, there's the beautiful women at the truckstops, the open road, the freedon, etc.

Now, I know, I'll get hammered for telling the truth, but I just had to do it because, after all, you're a six-year veteran of the road and wanting to buy your first (I'm sure of many) trucks.

Don't forget, that you should order the new Pete with the Autodrive system. I saw Homer Simpson using one on the tube one time, and it really made trucking easier.....

I'm always here. When you get that triple digit Pete let me know. I'll be glad to show you how to change your steering wheel upside down which requires modifyingfor it to work. I can show you the proper technique of driving with the seat flat on the floor with your elbow stretched out the window. I can even help install the cool train horns as well. I know I'll get yelled at by the great one, Big Joe, but for best effects order it with bright yellow paint, to go with all them chicken lights....darn it, now I'm foaming at the mouth talking about what heaven's like;)

GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE (Atleast that was what I was screaming after that last trip to Tijuana;)

That's great advice, Wally. There are a couple other things we didn't mention.

When you get your cb, insisted on a big Galaxy. Other drivers love to listen to the reverb, especially when you whisper, "I ain't got no panties on." The feds love 'em too. They'll even sent you greetings in the mail.

Also, since you mentioned you're going to run Florida to California, you'll need a wagon that'll "git r done." So, get a dry box; there's always plenty of dry freight out of Florida.

Another thing, we'll also expect you to take the oath because we don't want to let "just anybody" in on this secret. If you don't take the oath pretty soon every driver will be buyin a large car and makin all the dough.

You know guys... here's a sincere post from a fellow driver who was just asking for a little help. We need more guys like Illinois Road Runner in the trucking industry. At least he offered up some real-life information. I can't claim to know enough about ownership, taxes and freight factoring to give any valuable opinions here, but somebody who has answers should help a guy out... don't you think?