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JMBT

Sledge, the reason many, not all, but many owner operators fail isn't because they aren't making enough money. It is because, much like our government, they misappropriate the money they have coming in. In the governments case they bring in more then enough tax dollars to build roads, bridges, schools,...etc., but they spend it on things like funding a commitee to decide what the national frog should be, and nothing gets fixed. The people complain, and they respond with, "we don't have the money we need to raise taxes". In the case of owner operators, they have a few "knock m' down" months in a row and they think freight will stay strong forever, so they go out an buy boats and cars and houses. Then freight dries up, because it is cyclical, and something breaks on their truck, they go to the checkbook and find after all the toys were paid for there is nothing left.
It isn't that there is money "sloshing around" out here and trust me when I say it gets harder to make it every year. But a good owner operator over the course of his or her trucking career will still, even in today's market, make multitudes more then their company driver counterparts!

I think the reason everyone on the forum is so keen on DIY and saving money, isn't because they are struggling, it is because every dollar you can save is one less that you have to make!! It also makes it easier to absorb an unforeseen repair when it comes at you head on! In short, good business practice says saving money is always relevant, whether you make a little or a lot!

Ontario and auto parts....yes I am very familiar. I was leased to a tiny carrier based in Ohio in the early 2000's. Auto parts were our main haul and we were in Canada, often Ontario, nearly every week. We were having "knock m' down" months every month! My truck was earning between $3-$4/mile TTT, pulling a dry van! What happened you ask? Well in 2003, FedEx, with all their, "fleet maintained", company trucks came in and cut the rate to $1.25 for the hauls we were doing, and the rest is history. We leased our truck to a different carrier and got out of auto parts.