Sep
17
Owner Operator Truck Drivers On The Increase
One of the benefits of gaining a commercial drivers license is that you can, over time, set yourself up in business as an owner operator. Some operators buy their trucks outright, others lease their vehicles. While I won’t go into the positives and negatives of either, it is becoming a popular option for both drivers, and companies who use their services.
From a purely business point of view it makes sense. If you only have a casual need for a truck, why go to the expense of acquiring one, and the added expense of paying for a driver. From the owner operators point of view, there is plenty of work available, and once you gain a reputation for providing a good service, businesses will give you preference to any hauling work that comes along. There are some truck drivers that form loose partnerships with other businesses, for example, heavy equipment haulers will work with a variety of heavy equipment operators in their area, hauling equipment to the next job location when required – and there are plenty of owner heavy equipment operators around that need this service.
Becoming an owner operator is not an easy path. You do need to start by acquiring your commercial drivers license, and that requires good quality truck driver training. You then need to gain as much experience as possible working as a paid truck driver. It then pays to undertake a little business training as well since you will be running a business. Most importantly, trucks are very expensive, so you need sound money management training to ensure you’re making enough money to live while also paying for your truck, your fuel, your insurance and any maintenance requirements. These are all cost factors that trucking companies are constantly juggling, and it could make or break you.
Owner operators have far more freedom than normal truck drivers. The can pick and chose the work they want, and they can pick and chose which businesses they will work for. At the end of the day, it is a business. If you are interested in a career as an owner operator in the trucking industry, then start your career off in the best way possible by undertaking your training through a quality truck driver training school.
