Question:
Hey guys, if this is a waste of your time, I apologize.
I'm trying to get my life in order and I'm trying to envision where I'll be in the next few years. I'm going to start working on my CDL this coming spring and was wondering this: Say in two years, when I've got some experience under my belt, is it worth my time to take out a loan, buy a good used cab (one of my life goals is to own my own truck) and sign on with a bigger company such as U.S. Xpress or Landstar?
I'm not expecting riches.. I'll be doing trucking for the driving. I understand that there isn't much money in trucking, especially when you first begin. I want to truck for the love of driving and the love of big rigs.
Thank you.

Answer:
No real problem with your plan, but I have some questions about your timeline. Most of the folks will tell you that 5 years is the amount of time you need, and that's probably based on the average learning rate. If you really push yourself to learn, and can avoid many of the bad habits that many beginning owners develop, then it's probably possible to compress everything into about 3 years or so.
You ned to concentrate on learning the business of trucking, learn how to effectively spec out a truck, decide what you are going to haul and for whom. You need to figure out where to run and how to make money running those lanes, and need to have the skills to run your business as a business. Those things don't come overnight, and take time and experience to develop.
Probablky the number one reason why people fail in this business is poor planning or no planning before they get started. Just buying a truck is the easy part. You need to develop the same business skills as anyone else running a business, and deal with a lot of variables that the guy running the meat market doesn't have to deal with. Success can be had, but it's not easy and not an overnight thing. My 02.

Answer:
Thank you very much, Burky. I really appreciate your opinion.

Answer:
As usual Burky nailed it exactly. Let your plan evolve based on your experience the next few years while learning the business. There's an inherent diffrence between how even the best nformed "newbies" imagine the life, and what it's truly like once you get out here -- including many pros and cons to owning a "truck" you haven learned about yet.. Most owner/operators' net is pretty close to what company drivers make, in exchange for a lot of additional financial responsibility and liability.
Two years minimum, five years better since it gets you over the three year hump where many lose interest. Not doubting your sincerity, but this is a VERY common plan for many entering the industry, and the vast majority alter it along the way ..... whether they continue driving or not.

Answer:

There's nothing the matter with wanting to own a truck and drive it for the love of driving. BUT, if you want to be able to continue driving your own truck, you need to learn the basic skills necessary to treat your truck ownership as the business venture it most assuredly is. Learn some basic business skills as you go. BOL.

Answer:
Thanks guys, that's the advice I needed.

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Are you CaboverPete's brother?

Answer:

i was wondering the same thing, and then it occurred to me....if he was Pete's brother he'd know the answer.

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No relation, hehe. I didn't realize that there was a CaboverPete!

Answer:
Try and do a search on here for old posts... this subject has been approached before.
I recomend doing your "homework" like the other posts in here. You will learn to stay away from those company lease purchase deals like it was the plague!
[b] No [/b]matter how nice and neat the recruiter made it sound..
You'll have to make the decision as to what you want to "specialize" in.. flatbed, RGN, dryvan, reefer, stepdeck, tank, end dumps, hopper bottoms, cattlecars, car cariers, boats, household goods, to cover the most popular..
You'll need experiance in that field, and spec your truck accordingly.
There's way more to making a living at this besides buying the truck. Like your examples.. US Express.. they pay milage, and pretty much have a forced dispatch.. you will be running your tail off each week stacking up the miles on your truck to try and make a living.
Landstar is almost left completely up to you if you succeed or fail, they don't assist you in buisness, just give you the tools to do it yourself. (2 very different types of operations).
Alright enough rambling here.. gotta go.. good luck!
Answer:
As long as you do it for the love of trucking, and not for the riches, you wont be dissapointed...
Except for the love part...that usually fades after a year.... LIARS SUKK

Answer:
Trucking is one of the ways to work very hard just to go broke.
Why bother when you could just sit on your (edited) all day and end up just as broke?
Answer:
I've been out here for 3 years now and have yet to be able to make the numbers work to become an owner operator.
The money today is in being a company driver with a reputable company. O/O are dropping like flies withi current fuel prices and other expenses.
Some will tell you that they are making between 150K and 200K a year but what they don't tell you is what they have left after paying for fuel, insurance (truck, liability, health, life etc.) , maintainance, fines for screw ups and more.
Before the jump in fuel prices best numbers I could calculate buying a used rig was a net of .26456 cents per mile. as a company driver I net .37 cents per mile after health insurance co-pays..
Good luck with whatever you decide.