Looking for advice

[sbkirk6639]

Hi all.I hope this is the right place for this question. I'm retired and looking for a little extra income. I'm thinking of buying a truck and putting a team in it. I would be willing to give them all of the gross except for a certain amount weekly (thinking $750).I would be totally a "hands-off" owner. is this reasonable? I want to keep the team as long as possible.Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated...Thanks

 

[x06col]

Just me, but, I wouldn't buy ANY vehicle that I wouldn't/couldn't drive myself. Reasoning is abandonment, someone has to go get a vehicle if the driver/s bail out. It happens daily. Loss of income between driver/s. You could produce income between old/new driver downtime. And there WILL be some, or worse, lots. Never invest in something like this without being involved, knowledgeable about the business. If you don't know what's going on some things that WILL happen will seem unimagineable if you don't have a fix on the processes. My $.02 will suggest you put your 100k in property and rent it out. Tennants may tear it up, but, you won't have to go after it, or, worry about the user running over someone with it.
My vote would be a resounding NOPE!

 

[sbkirk6639]

Thanks for responding, I really appreciate it. My reasoning was, strictly as an investment, at $750 a week, I would be making roughly 30% on my original 100k investment. Even if you figure 1/2 of that goes for expenses, fund for new truck, etc, it would be hard to find anything paying close to that. I also figured to make the truck available for purchase by the team after 3 years. This might lessen the abandonment issue.

I plan to get an experienced team, let them put the truck where they want, and send them the entire settlement check (minus the $750). Any questions regarding the settlement , they can take up with the company. they would be free to move to another company if they wish.

Again, I'm retired and don't need to make all the money in the world, I'd just as soon keep the team happy.

 

[davekc]

What the colonel is trying to tell you is that you may be lucky to see anything close to a 30 percent return. This is a business that has alot of pitfalls that will eat up your $750. It just not a business for the timid.
You could also incur something greater than a 30 percent loss as well. Just a new truck has dropped your value 15 to 25 percent the minute it drives of the lot.
There is also a whole spectrum of issues that come up with just hiring a team.
As mentioned, there is a whole lot of other places I would take that amount of money if you are just looking for a investment opportunity.











Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[x06col]

Bob: Go invest in a appreciating "thing", or, at least a thing that will hold your money together, WITHOUT the heartburn.

 

[FireGears]

Hello sbkirk,

Use the search function and gather the posts
by an author named ATeam.

He's presented a train load of information
concerning getting started in expediting..


He has many "links" to other very informative information.

HAPPY TRAILS and MUCH SUCCESS..!!!

STAY FROSTY ...:+ :+

plus

 

[highway star]

Firegears, now that right there is FUNNY! I don't care who you are...

Captain Kirk, Dave and x06 are guys that know this business. Their opinions are very credible and should be seriously considered. Wouldn't something like a mutual fund indexed to the S&P be a heck of a lot easier? The return on that is probably much closer to the reality of what you would get on the truck, without the headaches.

I heard about you a couple of weeks ago from a friend of mine that you had a conversation with. He's got around 15 years in the business. Guys like that know the ups and downs, pitfalls, ect. It may sound like an easy thing to just find a good team, put them in a truck and you're off to the races. The reality can be much different.

 

[FireGears]

Captain Kirk, Dave and x06 are guys that know this business. Their opinions are very credible and should be seriously considered.
****************************

Hello Highway*,

I was not attempting to take anything away from the list
of resourses being presented in this thread...

I was only adding another possible learning option.

Please remember that there are different learning abilities
and techniques. Some folks can learn from one person
where others would need another presentation/mentor.

Looks looks the list of learning options for SBKIRK
is growing and that can only be good...

STAY FROSTY ... :+ :+

plus ...

 

[blacktiger]

Highway Star has gots in right. XOL and Davekc are your best info for the biz. Might not like what they tell ya, but I bet is right.
Which would you rather have, the right info or a story. Theres your difference.



George

 

[LDB]

Perhaps I'm reading this too literally but I'm reading $750/wk which says to me $750 * 52. What happens the week the truck is down for repair? The week they take off after being out for 4-5 weeks? The week(s) when things are slow and the truck only makes $1200 gross? I don't believe you can look at this as a set weekly return. I also don't believe it is wise to look at this as a buy it and forget it investment. I tend to agree you may be far better off with a good mutual fund with at least a 10 year positive record than a truck.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB
OOIDA Life Member 677319, JOIN NOW
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[sbkirk6639]

Thank all of you kind people for your thoughtful comments. If I can add a few comments:

I don't need $750 a week. I'd be satisfied with $250. The rest will be going into an escrow account to cover expenses.

The escrow account will have at least $10K in it to cover getting started, bonuses, etc.

My thinking was, if I get an experienced team and left them alone, except for emergencies, they could run the truck as if it were theirs. And, after 3 years it would be.

Reading this over, in effect I guess what I'm offering is a "Rent_to-Own" situation? Has anyone heard of this in expediting? If this is naive thinking let me know...and thank you again

 

[x06col]

Bob
It seems to me, that you are going to do it. So just do it and don't ask for advice. I certainly hope you are doing it for family or, something similar.

How in the world would you be any good to your drivers for an emergency, if, you weren't involved in depth, and didn't have a clue.

My experience with this is, simply, more than likely, you WILL get burnt bad, and,get a dose of reality about how people think.

You need to understand that even the "best" team you can find WILL have their OWN agenda, an it will not be in sync with yours. These folks may as an example go blow 45K for a motorcycle that they ride six times a year and leave your truck sit for a disagreement with their company over a nickle fuel sircharge. Additionally, the work ethic just is not around much anymore. Ya can't figgure them out. Don't try.

 

[ATeam]

>Use the search function and gather the posts
>by an author named ATeam.
>
>He's presented a train load of information
>concerning getting started in expediting..
>
>He has many "links" to other very informative information.

FireGears,

While I appreciate the confidence you show in my writings, I'm not sure it serves the EO community well to paint things with such a broad brush. I am not a fleet owner, never have been, and do not want to be. For someone looking for advice on the financial returns of being a fleet owner, there is very little in my writings that would be useful.

 

[ATeam]

Speaking as someone that has team-driven fleet owner trucks, I would be reluctant to seek a position with a fleet owner that does not have expediting experience. Drivers need support from their truck owners; sometimes at all hours of the night, sometimes at locations a thousand miles from you, and all the time from a fleet owner that knows how to respond.

I get it that you have your eye on the income potential and your goal to augment your retirement income. I do not get it that you are positioned to be as dedicated to your team's success as you are your own.

Experienced teams can instantly gauge their fleet owner's experience level. Your promise of a hands-off approach has some appeal but that is not enough for a successful relationship. Experienced teams want fleet owners that they do not have to train.

Also, by sending the message that you want experienced teams and that you are hands-off, you open yourself up to a class of drivers out there that prey on people like you.

It would be very easy for a good con to approach you, pump up your hopes for extra income, drive off in your truck; and then devise ways to direct money to them. Such ways include selling brand new tires off your truck and replacing them with old ones. Telling you truck repairs are needed and providing false receipts showing they were made. Using the truck to haul freight on their own that you know nothing about. And agreeing to maintain the truck for a larger slice of the pie, and then doing nothing at all to it, not even an oil change in a couple years, and walking away, leaving you with a pile of junk, and leaving them with their next hopeful fleet owner in their sights.

I could go on but I trust you get the point. The best thing you can do to prepare yourself to be a fleet owner is to haul expedited freight yourself.

 

[LDB]

I'm confused, perhaps moreso now, by your original post saying you want to keep the team as long as you can and your latest post saying they drive it 3 years and it's theirs. You originally wanted $750/wk and now it's $250/wk. I really am curious what you don't like about mutual funds? For the no touch return you're interested in it seems a far more appropriate vehicle for your investment.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB
OOIDA Life Member 677319, JOIN NOW
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[MOUNTAINMAN]

very,very good information from all.

 

[highway star]

Good post Phil. Excellent info without being too wordy.

 

[FireGears]

Good post Phil. Excellent info without being too wordy.
*******************************

Seeeeeeeeee..!!! :7 :7

I told ya'll that Phil could offer
some good information and insights..!!!!

BUT ...

ATeam-Phil,

I do appreciate your humility..(see line 13 above)


STAY FROSTY ... ;-)

plus ...

 

[terryandrene]

Firegears:

Expeditersonline is a website that focuses primarily on trucking in general and expedite carriers, owner/operators, drivers and persons intersested in such in particular. Most of us get to know each other by sharing information related to the trucks we operate, the carriers to which we are leased and occasionally, the Government, Carrier and Owner policies that affect our operations and our profits.

You leave no doubt in the minds of many of us that you have a deep faith in your religion and choose this venue to share your beliefs. Do you also have a stake in trucking, particularly freight expediting?
Do you now, or have you ever held a CDL and are you driving over the road? Do you have aspiration of doing so in the future? I am asking you these questions for the purpose of credibility. If we are to place any value in the information you offer about our industry, we'd like to know if you've been there, done that.

You have, on a couple of occasions, referenced the writings of ATeam. Phil Madsen's qualifications need no validation on EO. His curriculum vitae is well known here and his contribution in these forums and in the Expedite Now Digest are respected by many of our mambers. For your recomendation of Phil's writings to have any merit, with me at least, I'm requesting you share with us your trucking background.

 

[x06col]

I wonder tho Terry, even if he says he's been there and done that, does he have the T shirt to prove it. I for one would like to see it.