It's true about the Zen Surly. I've got a book in my head entitled 'The Zen of Truckin'." I've got the chapters lined up already. At this point I'm waiting for the O/O experiience. For me it's a natural progression.
I quickly found myself in the best position a company driver can find himself in. I was at 65 cpm on a dedicated account. Half of my miles were deadhead (that's trucker for an empty trailer). I'd deliever a Nucor load, either steel beams or coil, and then turn around and deadhead strait back. Deadhead miles are much easier with exception to winter driving. Semi's actually stop more efficiently while under load due to friction. An empty truck is harder to stop. Anyways, I got complacent having maxed out so quickly with pay. It was just going to be a 1cpm raise annually. While I was in a sweet spot the stagnation began to bother me. My second year of driving company I grossed 70k. Not bad.
Owning my own truck opens up many doors. It's a 16 month turn around though. I've got to pay 1800 a month for the truck with a 20k payout at the end. That buys 5k worth of new flatbed gerar howevrer. I've got shinny new chains hanging from my headache rack now as well as straps right out of the box. All of my gear is freshly minted. At the end of the 16 months I will own the truck and the gear. I'll just need to acquire a trailer at that point. At that point I'll likely move to the next step which is to get my own authority and broker my own loads. For now I get 70% of what the load pays plus the fuel surcharge and all of the money for tarping. I'm interested to see how much money the tarping fees amount to. My company pays $35 dollars for tarping to compnay drivers.
In a lot of ways o/o gives more security and in other ways it gives less. Being that I'm straight profit for the compnay now they are more likely to get rid of company drivers before letting go fo the o/o''s. With that comes a lot more responsibility though. I've got the truck note, truck insurance, full cost of medical insurance fo r the family, the cost of maintenance and repairs, fuel, and I'm not 1099 so I"ve got to pay quarterly taxes as well. It definitely changes the game. However most successful O/O's at my company are doubling their company income even after the o/o costs. Once the truck and gear is paid for I'll tripple my company income. Not to mention at that point I can pull any type of freight be it container, van, reefer, heavy haul, and hazmat. That will enable me to broaden my scope and increases my chance for sustainable trucking.
Getting to the bottom of the numbers between o/o and company is a bit difficutl. Everbody has an opinion and a larbge percentage of those moving from company to o/o fail without the first year. That's mostly because they see those big ass checks and spend the money on keeping up with the Joneses. My outlook is that I"m gonig to pay myself less and work more while I'm paying off the truck. 50k a year keeps my family in the manner they are accostumed. I've already got the balloon payment at the end in the bank. Hopefully I'll double that saved money in the first year. I geel good about the truck. It was a fleet truck and so PM was done faithfully. Regular oil changes are the most important thing that can be done for any engine. I know that was done for this truck. I also get an extra 5 mph because I'm o/o. We were governed at 65 and now I can do 70. Not that I will just in interest of better mpg. It's just nice for passing the governed company drivers while under load.
I'm excited for the new challenges. It feels good to be my own man again and to not have to answer to bosses. If I want to go home I just go home. However, at least for the next year and a half, while I'm paying for the truck, I will work more and be home less. Once the truck is paid for, with any luck, I'll be able to be home more and for longer.
One of the great benefits to going o/o like I am, with my company, is that if it doesn't work out for any reasonI can just return the truck and get right back in a company truck. Even if the engine blows. They will take it back and put me back in a company truck. That's in black and white. I read it in the contract I signed with them. My fleet manager siad she'd fire somebody if she had to to get me back. She actually encouraged me to try o/o and that was against her own interest since I've proven myself as a reliabe employee that never bitched about anything. There was plenty to bitch about as well. I just kept my mouth shut and endured the bullshit that comes with trucking.
In the final analysis I'm not risking much by going out on my own in this manner. I have the safety net of going right back to where I was as a company driver on a dedicated run. Now I just need some luck as far as the truck goes. But the truck is solid. It's got a Detroit DD15 which is one of the best out there, next to a Cat. It's a manual 10 speed with an Eaton transmission. Eaton has been around for a long time and they are proven and reliable transmissions. I'm confident in success. My heads in the right place and I'm willing to do what it takes to succeed.