what are your thoughts on owning your own truck . . .
stickman4u,
Oct 7, 11:21pm
I wish
skin1235,
Oct 7, 11:42pm
even those who call themselves owner drivers are really just contract drivers for the bank manager
lacedog,
Oct 7, 11:47pm
yes like we are with our houses and cars
snork28,
Oct 8, 12:06am
technology is changing so fast that you cannot keep up by owning,.leasing is the answer because then you get the latest machinery to enable you to stay in the game,if you cannot lease and make money then do not go there,but hey thats just my 2 cents worth.
lacedog,
Oct 8, 12:51am
hey snork28 i never thought of leasing . . . your right technology is allways changing. . . and those trucking companys only like to have your trucks so old maybe ten years i think
snork28,
Oct 8, 1:30am
yes the moment you buy there is all ready one on the yard that is more fuel efficient, has a lower tare weight, and is just generally better, thats the one the opposition is going to buy and now you can not compete.
lacedog,
Oct 8, 1:41am
so snork28 are you leasing
snork28,
Oct 8, 1:51am
no, but thats the track i would definitely look at and do the sums on if i was wanting to go in that direction.
boss_hogg,
Oct 8, 3:00am
Mate, if you can get a truck to earn you twice the money you'd earn on wages then I say maybe go for it. I just know that to buy one you'd have to borrow some money then pay it back over 5 years and by that time your lorry is due for replacement and so on. Never mind the fact that if you get a puncture/blowout or a major breakdown or any of a number of other things, you're working for nothing.
I did the numbers a few years back and for the deal I was looking at you really did need a whole lot of luck for the deal to work. Add in all the after hours work and stress etc. Not for me.
Good luck, I hope it all goes well for you.
Cheers Bruce
clatty,
Oct 8, 3:14am
I have 15 yrs experience in the freight industry. I ended up with a 5 axle B Train unit which I paid $80000 for to attach to my tractor. I sold it 20 months later for $30000 and left the money in it for 6 months to give a firm time to pay for it. I was working for N Z larges companies. Complete waste of time. I still own a 400 HP tractor unit for the simple reason I could not give it away.The companies do not treat owner drivers as independent business and no meetings about your efforts will take place. If you do a owner driver job you must take out money to pay the mortgage on a house .You must not use a house for security to get into a truck . It is a race against time to get your house paid for so you can quit the trucking at some stage. Only the toughest of men will get there
mrcat1,
Oct 8, 4:24am
Leasing anything is a utter waste of money, you will never make any money leasing a truck or machine, leasing or hiring is good for short term jobs or contracts to get a job done, apart from that don't even go there.
snork28,
Oct 8, 11:25am
agree,thats really what im saying,if money cant be made by leasing it definitely wont be made by buying unless you have huge contracts with major companies,i have seen more owner drivers go broke and lose their homes and everything else they used to own than i care to remember,caution is a word i would recommend.
2sheddies,
Oct 8, 12:26pm
Tell ya what though. some of the owner driver trucks you see are bloody unreal. beautiful! Look like they've ticked every option box on the order sheet, high rise cabs, dripping with chrome and stainless, checkerplate, beautiful custom paint jobs, scrollwork, custom interiors, twin stacks with personalised plasma cut shrouds, high rise air intakes, a million marker lights, etc etc.
As a truck enthusiast this is awesome to see and so impressive, but I imagine they must be financed up the wazoo. hence why they work em hard! I don't think I'd sleep a wink at night with all the worry of how to pay for it if things suddenly went to custard. You gotta hand it to these blokes who make a go of it and manage to be successful. it can't be easy in such a highly regulated, hugely competitive industry.
clatty,
Oct 8, 2:10pm
The problem with the flash truck is the value of the unit is plummeting .If you get it paid for its worth nothing. It takes only a few weeks to make a B Train. Ask yourself why do Transport Companies have to advertise for owner drivers. All you are doing is providing the rolling stock.Its not compeditive ! Its cut throat
lacedog,
Oct 8, 5:13pm
but clatty if you manage to get your truck paid for that would be a good thing . . . and if its worth as much as nothing but still making money isnt that a good thing to. . . and what have you done with the 400hp trackto unit
brapbrap8,
Oct 8, 6:19pm
Depends what sort of work you are wanting to do, lots of owner operators doing bulk cartage etc. They like the cheaper trucks like Mitsis so don't get quite so bad depreciation and they seem to make money off them. My local guys cart all sorts of stuff, or if work is a bit quiet they rock up to the expressway construction sites and get paid by the ton to cart dirt so the trucks don't really sit around unless it is too wet to be on site. I imagine line haul would be harder to get into, and would be more expensive gear.
lacedog,
Oct 8, 7:23pm
ok brapbrap good advice
lacedog,
Oct 8, 7:46pm
how does 1 get contracks . . . start ringing trucking companys
mrcat1,
Oct 8, 8:00pm
Its a lot easier to make money owning a truck than leasing one, same as a machine. The only advantage leasing one is the tax advantages BUT you still have to earn the money to pay the lease, a mortgage on a truck would be less but you can only claim depreciation on it.
elect70,
Oct 8, 8:38pm
I was associated with ODs in my buiness 10 years ago , companies loved them , kept their own capital free & still called the shots so they wernt exactly free agents .PLus you pay all maintenance , repairs & lose $ while its not on the road . . The bigger the rig the bigger the cost & risk . You have to ask yourself why dont all freight cos own the trucks .
budgel,
Oct 8, 9:05pm
Is leasing just another form of financing a truck where you have the option to purchase at residual value at the end of the term, or are truck leases not like car leases?
mrcat1,
Oct 8, 9:28pm
You can be a OD and not tied to any company, that's the problem of putting all your eggs in one basket and the likes of freight companies know it, I wouldn't be a OD and tied to a company, if you have a tipper and find your own work then your better off.
mrcat1,
Oct 8, 9:30pm
Don't really know but possibly is quite like that if its set up that way, I'm not interested in leasing so don't really know the fine print on a lease.
clatty,
Oct 8, 11:21pm
farm truck lacedog.
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