Owner/operator truckers
- Thread starter Snohog
- Start date
freeflorider
Active VIP Member
Yah, don't do it lol.
Stompin Tom
Active VIP Member
I will help if I can?
the_real_wild1
Active VIP Member
As a guy the works on the crap new and old if I was to do it I would be going with a full maintenance lease with someone like penske. They had a lease deal that if you broke down and called they had four hours to get you up and running again. If not they would get you another truck to use while yours was down. Now if you are way the fawk up north and a tow truck will take 10 hours to get to you well you have to wait the 10 hours. With the new emissions out there right now you may have a lot of down time you can't afford. Make sure you have lots of cash in the bank so when your truck is down you aren't going bankrupt.
Lem Lamb
Active VIP Member
The profit margin is small, insurance cost high, cargo insurance is much higher. No money made if you have a flat tire on the road that day. Hard to compete with the big guys in the industry. If there was money in it, then the big guys would have their own trucks and trailers.
To rent a trailer is costly, Todays rigs have issues with wires and emissions that need service at the dealer since the old lap top codes don't work with the new up-dated motors.
Most companies want you to have a truck no older then 4 years, so after 4 years a person starts all over again. If you and the truck can put on the miles with minimal break downs over many hours, days, months, and years,, then 1 can pull it off.
One needs to look at it """ LONG TERM """ like farming if you want to get ahead, finding the right company supplier helps so long as things are busy, but it seems that they pass on the crappy jobs as they take on the good runs.
There is a gravel out fit in Edmonton Alberta that we have a tuff time competing with, and they are bidding very very low to get what work they can,,, same for oil patch trucks, Vac, water, fluid, freight, and many other areas in transportation.
Lots of folks will tell you yes, but take it with a grain of salt since its a tuff go un-less you can roll with the times and don't mind working it as a job and hobby on the weekends since the whole rig & trailer needs full time care.
If someone needs to drive for you, be careful since it could be the end of the flag ship and your costumers as well as the contractor that supplies your work. The day you say no too a job ends that flow of funds.
I drive for a company that owns their own stuff, and hire out to fill in the slow times at many kinds of pin to pin loads as well as wet kit and oil patch that is dead in the water with lowest rates like the 1979/80 days.
I class my self as turn key operations paid out side the gate with no charge in gate for cleaning, service, full truck and trailer repairs "no charge" to keep a spot too have a job.
Put in lots of long hours with no over time to help co-works/ long time pals keep the doors open at their end of things as well as mine.
The nice thing for me is most weekends off and I'm a Don of all trades from tech to standing in a hole with shovel in hand rain or shine.
If you work for free by doing a good job, then the money will follow.
Been in the dirt with hands on for 45 plus years at many jobs across Canada and USA, so not too much gets past me,,, now where did I put those dammed keys !!!
Pal Don at working too live since living too work sucks goats milk. Ha.
To rent a trailer is costly, Todays rigs have issues with wires and emissions that need service at the dealer since the old lap top codes don't work with the new up-dated motors.
Most companies want you to have a truck no older then 4 years, so after 4 years a person starts all over again. If you and the truck can put on the miles with minimal break downs over many hours, days, months, and years,, then 1 can pull it off.
One needs to look at it """ LONG TERM """ like farming if you want to get ahead, finding the right company supplier helps so long as things are busy, but it seems that they pass on the crappy jobs as they take on the good runs.
There is a gravel out fit in Edmonton Alberta that we have a tuff time competing with, and they are bidding very very low to get what work they can,,, same for oil patch trucks, Vac, water, fluid, freight, and many other areas in transportation.
Lots of folks will tell you yes, but take it with a grain of salt since its a tuff go un-less you can roll with the times and don't mind working it as a job and hobby on the weekends since the whole rig & trailer needs full time care.
If someone needs to drive for you, be careful since it could be the end of the flag ship and your costumers as well as the contractor that supplies your work. The day you say no too a job ends that flow of funds.
I drive for a company that owns their own stuff, and hire out to fill in the slow times at many kinds of pin to pin loads as well as wet kit and oil patch that is dead in the water with lowest rates like the 1979/80 days.
I class my self as turn key operations paid out side the gate with no charge in gate for cleaning, service, full truck and trailer repairs "no charge" to keep a spot too have a job.
Put in lots of long hours with no over time to help co-works/ long time pals keep the doors open at their end of things as well as mine.
The nice thing for me is most weekends off and I'm a Don of all trades from tech to standing in a hole with shovel in hand rain or shine.
If you work for free by doing a good job, then the money will follow.
Been in the dirt with hands on for 45 plus years at many jobs across Canada and USA, so not too much gets past me,,, now where did I put those dammed keys !!!
Pal Don at working too live since living too work sucks goats milk. Ha.
farmerboy
Active VIP Member
What are you thinking of doing?
farmerboy
Active VIP Member
What are you thinking of doing?
I'm lookin at runnin my own low bedding and logging rig like Ive been running for the last 10ish years now just with my own
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Last edited:
Joholio
Active VIP Member
This might be a whole other thread but what kinda truck would YOU buy?
Mike270412
Golden Boy
Depends what you want to do with it.
Lem Lamb
Active VIP Member
In 1979/80 a tandem winch tractor and 8 high-boy ran at $85 to $95 per hour, today I can hire my pals Tri-drive with sizer tri trailer for $100 and hour !
The logging companies use to pay $1600 loaded one way on 5 axle rig, then they got trucker to by 7 axle set ups and paid the same rate, now they can get under cutter dirvers less then that.
Big bed truck at Rainbow Lk/ Zama in the hay-day was $500 + $135 for swamper+ $15 hour X by 2 per hour subsistance. Same bed unit to day runs at $260/$280 all in per hour !
A blown front ballon tire up there after it gets shipped up there from Peace river and brought out by tire change dude will run about $3500 to $3800 after the smoke clears.
Back then a brake job per wheel was $137 pads, seals, S-cam, drum. Fuel filter and oil was $20 ish as 42 L of oil was $1 per L = $50. 24.5 tire was $100 to $125 installed. Air brake pot was $37.
A new 1977 kenny with 365 hp cat motor, 44 diffs, 30 ton winch and 8 hi was $50.000
Take the time to check prices of back then too now as one can see the difference is way above the 2/3 cost of running comparded to income trucking rates.
We scratch our heads at times looking at $85 to $100 per hour rates well hoping we don't have break down, flat tire, or wreck by someone else... And is the person your working for going to pay you before they declare bank ruppys protection.
Lots of owner operators were on the hook in 1979/80, then 85/86 followed by 1992, then 2007/08 and now for 2015/16 as they hope too get paid.
Even the big companys are holding back on paying out. We put the brakes on a few this year. Talked too a few O/O's who got stung with $10 to $20.000 un paid bills, some O/O's got them selves in to the 100 to 200.000 un-colectible situation.
A person needs to know the back ground of "A" before doing buissness with them, a writing on paper means nothing if there's no funds to pay the bill.
Just a heads up since there are those that will hold up too their end of the deal.
More wrong the right Don as money can be made if you watch what you are doing. Call it smart or wize at bussness.
The logging companies use to pay $1600 loaded one way on 5 axle rig, then they got trucker to by 7 axle set ups and paid the same rate, now they can get under cutter dirvers less then that.
Big bed truck at Rainbow Lk/ Zama in the hay-day was $500 + $135 for swamper+ $15 hour X by 2 per hour subsistance. Same bed unit to day runs at $260/$280 all in per hour !
A blown front ballon tire up there after it gets shipped up there from Peace river and brought out by tire change dude will run about $3500 to $3800 after the smoke clears.
Back then a brake job per wheel was $137 pads, seals, S-cam, drum. Fuel filter and oil was $20 ish as 42 L of oil was $1 per L = $50. 24.5 tire was $100 to $125 installed. Air brake pot was $37.
A new 1977 kenny with 365 hp cat motor, 44 diffs, 30 ton winch and 8 hi was $50.000
Take the time to check prices of back then too now as one can see the difference is way above the 2/3 cost of running comparded to income trucking rates.
We scratch our heads at times looking at $85 to $100 per hour rates well hoping we don't have break down, flat tire, or wreck by someone else... And is the person your working for going to pay you before they declare bank ruppys protection.
Lots of owner operators were on the hook in 1979/80, then 85/86 followed by 1992, then 2007/08 and now for 2015/16 as they hope too get paid.
Even the big companys are holding back on paying out. We put the brakes on a few this year. Talked too a few O/O's who got stung with $10 to $20.000 un paid bills, some O/O's got them selves in to the 100 to 200.000 un-colectible situation.
A person needs to know the back ground of "A" before doing buissness with them, a writing on paper means nothing if there's no funds to pay the bill.
Just a heads up since there are those that will hold up too their end of the deal.
More wrong the right Don as money can be made if you watch what you are doing. Call it smart or wize at bussness.
Joholio
Active VIP Member
My current truck is a Western Star 4964 daycab w/ 46k/14600 axles and Cummins N14plus at 525hp ,18 spd. It was a fuel tanker before I bought the cab and chassis and installed a 20' van body on it. I always thought the Kenny w900b was a good looking rig for the next one...
S.W.A.T.
Active VIP Member
Check out www.equiplinx.com
They have some trucks.
They have some trucks.
farmerboy
Active VIP Member
I agree with Lem Lamb. It takes a lot of evenings and weekends of your time to keep your truck maintained and ready for the next job....when it comes. There is alot of knowledge here and great advice to be given depending upon what industry and what you are thinking of doing Snohog
teeroy
Active VIP Member
I know more than a few guys that have sold their scissornecks and bought hay racks mid season last winter. this year there will be plenty of guys ready and willing to haul sticks. dollar is low, forestry industry is kicking some ass right now.
woody_tobius_jr
Active VIP Member
I agree, logging was hot last winter. Lowboy side is getting seriously cut throat out there, which is good for the customers, but hard as hell for us. I'm losing on quotes where guys are basically just charging for loaded time, lots of stuff quoted on backhaul rates, which isn't bad if you have the network to chase down loads where you will be unloading. Hourly drivers can't be sitting around waiting for you to find a load home, as they're still on the clock.
If it was me, I would wait until the economy starts turning around and rolling again, unless of course you can get locked into a log haul.
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teeroy
Active VIP Member
sure see a lot of guys hauling equipment (cats, hoes, etc) on scissorneck roll lowboys around GP...I can only imagine the rate they are working for. rig movers are the hardest hit around here. we're still doing a little bit of lowbed work without having to slash rates to the bare minimum. next year will be 50 years in business for us...if we make it that far lol
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