If I went O/O, how difficult/sustainable would it be to work 6 months and take 6 months off?
Posted by imgay420lol69@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 33 comments
Extremely hypothetical, I’m in no position to really even consider buying a truck. But say I were and wanted March-September for summer activities then disappear and work for the cold months, would that be sustainable? How hard would it be net 8-10k/month? I manage 6k/month at a company but obviously don’t have the 6 months off option
ExtentAggravating733@reddit
It's not sustainable unless you've got a paid off truck and a good paying line of work.
Thewildhighroller@reddit
If you were/ are looking into buying a truck what age truck are you thinking and do you have a set preference on where you run?
IcyOutlandishness859@reddit
It’s a lot of variables to account for. With a monthly truck note and taking off 6 months you would have to have that money put up for the truck payment and insurance. With a paid off truck it’s absolutely possible. Netting $8,000+ monthly isn’t exactly easy so really it comes down to if you’re going to slave away really hard in the 6 months you are working live below your means. Some quick and easy math which is pretty realistic ( not my numbers but general numbers ) would be NETTING $1 per mile after everything. So if you do 2,000 miles weekly and net $2,000 weekly for 4 weeks is $8,000 a month. That’s doable definitely but it’s also obvious that you can do more or less so it depends. My insurance ( physical damage not for an authority ) and truck note is about $30,000 a year which is real numbers that I would pay whether I run my truck or not. $2,400 a year for truck parking and the plates and everything else can be stopped hypothetically if I took off for 6 months. So basically $32,500 bare minimum yearly just to park the truck, pay my truck note and keep my physical damage insurance active year round. So you my friend would NEED TO MAKE $104,500 NET AFTER insurance, deductions, maintenance and everything else. in SIX MONTHS based of my insurance and truck payment which is pretty reasonable and that $6,000 monthly income you’re used to as an w2 employee. It’s doable but grossing close to $200,000 or a little under that in 6 months isn’t the norm. Hopefully this helped.
threeglude@reddit
Here's an idea, rather then trying to make it in the cut throat truck biz as an OO, why not save your $$ (keep it in mutual fund stocks while saving it, so the savings keeps up with inflation), and find other business ideas to explore...
DieselPunk97@reddit
March-Summer is kinda prime time to work in majority of trucking fields so cutting that would be near impossible to make any kind of profit much less enough profit to take 6 months off.
Only way I see you could make that work is if you live in a very inexpensive area where your bills could be paid with a part time job with a PAID OFF TRUCK & TRAILER. Minimal insurance and work an extremely seasonal position such as Grain hauling.
threeglude@reddit
I know a cpl oo running grain, pays f all and even when it does pay decent, you have the hours long lines to wait in just to get loaded up.
Ornery_Ads@reddit
Well...you picked the wrong half for that to maybe work.
I make far more profit March-September than I do October-February.
imgay420lol69@reddit (OP)
Yeah I guess I’ve felt that myself even as a company driver. Just didn’t think about it when concocting the hypothetical
1morepl8@reddit
Do winters off out of country. Cheap Af and warm.
Dulija_@reddit
Depends on type if trailers imo as well- you can make good money in a dry van working only winters, however still dont think you could finance and maintain the truck with no revenue during the off season- youd need to find an mc and a reliable driver to at least leave you in the positive during the summer, best option is onboard as an O/O on a secure MC and have them help find the driver as well
Significant-Use-5136@reddit
gonna have to do VERY well insurance is sold by the year so you will still be making monthly strokes on insurance,registration,permits, and all the rest of it even if your trailer and tractor are paid off.
325trucking@reddit
Go work for someone else up north in the cold for those months, then take off
No_Needleworker9172@reddit
Depends on your expenses and what you’re hauling. Can you manage to live below your means? It’s doable but you can’t be tricked into hauling the bs brokers like to exchange volume for cuts in the rates for.
Childofcorn01@reddit
If you would to spend those 6 months in a cheap country then you could do it
Mindes13@reddit
If you pull farm equipment or pharmaceuticals from Mexico, you can make lots of money
Beneficialsensai@reddit
Just pause your truck payment
truckensafely@reddit
It can be done if you have no payments on the truck & the insurance can be waived until next time you drive.
Dezzolve@reddit
People are struggling to make ends meet as an O/O while working 12 months of the year.
There is absolutely no reason to invest all that time and money into buying a truck and starting your own business if that is your plan. You can make that amount as a company driver at a lot of companies without all the overhead.
Look into LTL/Food Service/Gas Hauling or other trucking positions that pick up during the summer. Be upfront about your plan, and just know that you’ll have to go through the hiring process again each time you come back from your break.
TouchMyBoomstick@reddit
My only thought that may support it, if he’s even in a northern state, is working a DOT job and operating the plow trucks. I don’t know how much they make but I know most get summers off.
madtowntripper@reddit
Its such cyclical work. Its snowing less and less all the time, even in northern states!
Ok_Detail_9083@reddit
I agree with most except that OO are struggling nowadays. I’m a fleet manager at a 25truck company, reefers. We work mom-fri/sat and reset at home (Phila). Our OO take home 5-6k AFTER fuel, tolls, ins. Not including any equipment they may or may not finance.
Under 3k miles weekly, avg 3.5/mile
jennoford@reddit
no
Unfair_Analysis_3734@reddit
I’ve thought about doing this and living 6 months in Thailand or some other cheaper country the rest of the year.
TouchMyBoomstick@reddit
O/O is for the love of the game pretty much. Theres some money involved but not a lot, it’s about the pride you can take in having something that is your own. I work every day except for big holidays and a few days off every few weeks but I still feel like I’m just scraping by sometimes.
Special_Sense_5649@reddit
If you first, pay your truck off, buy a6 month insurance plan, and open/ close the business every 6 months... it's doable. But like... you would basically be rushing to earn your break even point, then trying to save whatever over that you earn, then just kinda hoping it carries you through the rest of the year... because you won't have an active dot# unless you pay insurance... and if you're paying your insurance... you might as well keep driving.
Longway23544@reddit
Nope unless you get a paid off truck
Exciting-Car-3516@reddit
Very easy I do that. Start in the spring and end in the fall avoid winters. You are getting a late start but freight can be good up until Christmas
lottanadatosay@reddit
Get a truck that can team efficiently and hope you get lucky hiring a good teammate. When you want to take your 6 months off, he’s running the truck and hopefully it’s generating enough income to pay the bills. Mind you, you’ll put a lot of miles on teaming so repairs and maintenance will be constant. I’ve never heard of anyone with a single truck taking 6 months off and not getting crushed financially.
trucksarekewl@reddit
People post the dumbest questions in here lol
Pm_Me_Mtn_Bikes@reddit
Local owner op in California here, Truck/trailer paid off, 1k /month insurance, $180 /month parking. It’s possible, just got to manage your expenses
ImShamallamadingdong@reddit
If you can fund your truck-related expenses for the time you’re off then yeah, but you’d need to maintain truck payments, insurance, parking for the truck, etc.
Prob easier to find a company and just do it through them though. If you like your current company and are reliable when you are working, then I’d imagine they may be OK with it. You’d likely have to quit and give up any seniority, but they’d likely hire you back. And then just rinse and repeat.
I used to do something similar (3-4 months, not 6 and also it was winter when flatbed is slower).
Mental_Chef1617@reddit
Not very sustainable. You'd have to clear enough in those few months to be able to continue paying your truck payment and insurance along with any other business expenses. You would also need to make sure you have enough to cover your living expenses while not working.
FloppyTacoflaps@reddit
Impossible