Fleet owner wannabe, hello all

woolylocks · Dec 30, 2011

I just wanted to say hello, I need information on how to become a fleet owner. I have a cdl class B with all endorsements and a little capital...just need to know where to start. Need serious information. Thanks

Okay I forgot to mention I have an MBA and I plan to keep my full time job. A company was going out of business down the street from me and had cargo vans and a couple of st trucks for sale at a good price. I have an 18 yr old and I figured between the two of us we could lease on to a carrier and run two vehicles.

I'm looking to turn a tiny profit and get her to start thinking about doing business instead instead of just looking for a job.

leezaback · Dec 30, 2011

hello. if you have never been in expediting-try working for an owner, see if you like it-start building up a cash reserve. next-start with one truck and see how you do.know your expenses. In my opinion, for what it's worth-not a heck of a lot-but will give it anyway, I would put the fleet owner thought on the back burner until you know what the plan is, have capital to afford other trucks, have monies to maintain your trucks, have a cash flow for emergencys and lean times - have a solid business plan.learn the market- know the hidden costs.know what fixed and variable costs are, talk to an accountant -arm yourself with knowledge. Best of luck. Search Eo for information on different topics.

greg334 · Dec 30, 2011

woolylocks said:
I just wanted to say hello, I need information on how to become a fleet owner. I have a cdl class B with all endorsements and a little capital...just need to know where to start. Need serious information. Thanks

The first question to you is Why?

The second one is if you have little capital, why?

It takes years to build a good fleet and it takes someone who have been doing this a while to grasp it. It may be a year on the road or three years, everyone is different.

So I would start off with getting into a vehicle you want to manage, if it is vans, then buy a van - do not work for someone with a van.

I assume that you have a lawyer and a good accountant who knows your situation, these are tools you will need to run your business and they cost money.

FREE TO FAIL · Dec 30, 2011

If fleet ownership is your ultimate goal good luck, the prior poster is correct it does take years to develop a good fleet. I myself have 8 trucks which took me two years to accumulate, and its just getting to the point where it is profitable enough to make it worth the investment in time and effort.

If I could suggest anything to you, it would be do the most you can do on a 100 percent cash basis. Financing equipment these days is expensive, even if you can get anyone to write paper to begin with. And if the equiment goes down or you lose a driver, you are not fighting the note.

I have looked at cargo vans extensively, and it is my opinion that their just isn't enough revenue in it for a fleet owner at the current rates. Sprinters may be the best but the equipment costs for a decent sprinter are equal to, if not more then the costs of a st8 truck. For my money I would rather have the truck.

Expediting is the land of busted dreams. You can get some good deals on used equipment as a result of another party exiting the industry. Just have patience, Shop on Truckpaper.com, Ebay Motors, and Truck Trader. Find yourself a decent class 8 truck for 10 to 12k and be prepared to spend another 3 to 5k making it road worthy. These are the trucks that will last and you will be able to recover your investment in a short time.

I wish you luck in the industy, its really not that difficult to be successful depending on how you define success. I can tell you that if you have a reasonable expectations like a return on investment of 10 to 15 percent per annum then you can acheive your goals. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

davekc · Dec 30, 2011

Like the others, you first have to determine why you want to do it. I would do a lot of research on here to generate specific questions. There usually isn't a one size fits all answer to many questions.
The business is much different than it was ten years ago and it is not a hobby for the timid. I do agree you have to have some real depth financially to ensure success. The advice of buying older trucks can be tricky. It might work for someone if they are personally going to drive it.
Hiring teams to drive it becomes another ballgame. Why would someone want to drive for a inexperienced fleet owner with aged equipment? Have to ask yourself that question among many others.
Again, I would do some serious research before just jumping in. If it is quick cash you are seeking, odds would be better in Vegas.

Bruno · Dec 30, 2011

As a fleet owner of fourteen trucks I would have to agree with Davekc and Greg on this. You have to plan for so many things. It's not easy being a fleet owner and to be honest it can be very stressful at times. You have to have people in place to handle things when you want time off. Your on call 24/7/365.

mcarriers · Dec 31, 2011

Bruno said:
It's not easy being a fleet owner and to be honest it can be very stressful at times.

To say the least

Your on call 24/7/365.

And then some!

x06col · Jan 2, 2012

An eighteen year old and an MBA teaming up?? As newbs?? Sounds like a tax shelter and
some excellent future reading to me.

kwexpress · Jan 4, 2012

just to give you a heads up it cost me $560 a month to insure my 21 yr old in a cargo van.
anyone under 23 will jump your rates.

week before x-mass van made a little over 3,100 the kid made a little over 1200.00 for the week.and I made $1.70 plus a little over 3k in write offs.normal week I do a little better on the profit but i ended up deadheading him back to IL from west texas.

next question is the type of straight your looking at?
does it have ait brakes? is it over 26000 gvw?
can an 18 yr old drive across state lines in a cmv?

for a 18yr old I would go with the van but I would not put her working for anyone but you
and keep her out of truckstops.

woolylocks · Jan 4, 2012

LOL, that's great but you have it backwards, I'm the MBA driver and she's the CEO high schooler. The truck stops are why I let my grey hair grow out don't want anyone to get the wrong idea in the dark.

Well I'm working on my class A right now and was looking at something over 26001, but now I'm thinking I don't want anything she can't drive in case of emergencies. So we are back to our original plan 1 cargo van and hire a driver for a 60/40 split (the driver 60/us 40), lease on with a carrier, see how that goes for about 6 mos then another van and me drive, then after a year straight truck and on to semi.

kwexpress · Jan 5, 2012

if your goal is a class A you might want to consider a 1 ton dually.just dont get a ford with the 6.0 I did a couple months ago and its spent about 30 days in the shop but its all better for now. But anyway this type of hotshot will generate $2.30+ per mile.tommorrow my pick-up is one air conditioner 2,000# will take up about 8 ft of space on my 35' trailer and pays $2900 on 960 miles its not expedite so I can put another load with it if I want to and I do.

good luck to you and welcome to the forum

BigCat · Jan 5, 2012

kwexpress said:
if your goal is a class A you might want to consider a 1 ton dually.just dont get a ford with the 6.0 I did a couple months ago and its spent about 30 days in the shop but its all better for now. But anyway this type of hotshot will generate $2.30+ per mile.tommorrow my pick-up is one air conditioner 2,000# will take up about 8 ft of space on my 35' trailer and pays $2900 on 960 miles its not expedite so I can put another load with it if I want to and I do.

good luck to you and welcome to the forum

Just curious but why would he want a pickup if he is wanting a class a cdl?

xiggi · Jan 5, 2012

kwexpress said:
just to give you a heads up it cost me $560 a month to insure my 21 yr old in a cargo van.
anyone under 23 will jump your rates.

Whats that thing made out of, gold? I pay a fifth of that for an 07 Sprinter.

kwexpress · Jan 5, 2012

no to insure me in a cargo van it only cost $180 per month thats for 1 million liability and 100k cargo

when I put my 21 yr old son in the van it now cost 500 and some odd number.

kwexpress · Jan 5, 2012

xiggi said:
Whats that thing made out of, gold? I pay a fifth of that for an 07 Sprinter.

no thats just what progressive charges me for my 21 yr old son. are you under 23?
if so your probabley leased on to someone who covers the primary liability and cargo.
and if not give me the number to your insurance company so I can switch

kwexpress · Jan 5, 2012

BigCat said:
Just curious but why would he want a pickup if he is wanting a class a cdl?

I guess it has something to do with the cost of operation of a one ton dually vs tractor trailer at least thats why I do it. and I am not possitive but I think you need the class A because of something to do with the fact its a combination vehicle once you hook a trailer up to it.can you operate a combination vehicle on a class B?I really dont know as soon as I gave up driving vans I went in and got my class A

tractor trailer 80,000 gvw= about 5-7 mpg
one ton pick-up 35' gooseneck 35,500 gvw=10-12 mpg cause I got a ford but by the time I put in the tuner I hope to get it up to about 15

plus I have plans to install a rolling tarp system so I can start doing van freight also
Sliding Systems, Inc. | Home

everyone that wants to survive needs to really start thinking outside the box

BigCat · Jan 5, 2012

kwexpress said:
I guess it has something to do with the cost of operation of a one ton dually vs tractor trailer at least thats why I do it. and I am not possitive but I think you need the class A because of something to do with the fact its a combination vehicle once you hook a trailer up to it.can you operate a combination vehicle on a class B?I really dont know as soon as I gave up driving vans I went in and got my class A

tractor trailer 80,000 gvw= about 5-7 mpg
one ton pick-up 35' gooseneck 35,500 gvw=10-12 mpg cause I got a ford but by the time I put in the tuner I hope to get it up to about 15

plus I have plans to install a rolling tarp system so I can start doing van freight also
Sliding Systems, Inc. | Home

everyone that wants to survive needs to really start thinking outside the box