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Chamberpains

I definitely wouldn't be buying in to the Owner Operator gig at this time and definitely not come August. That is prime dead time for all trucking. Seasonal freight is dry, harvest seasons aren't goin on, no pre holidays rush, construction is in full swing but equipment and supplies have already been delivered... etc... etc.... mid summer is crap. If I were the OP I'd wait to see what the fall out of this economic crash is and then see if the segment of trucking he wants to get into is going to survive without a loooong hard pull up out of the hole. And as it looks now, every segment of trucking is gonna be a bit sketchy till the factories get fired off and orders get placed again.

I made the mistake of buying in at the worst time just before the housing market crash in 2008. It took 2-3 full years to stay afloat (and I mean barely afloat) and another couple of years to figure out how not to run myself into the ground. And that's a horrible habit to have. It'll not only kill you, it'll kill all of your equipment because all you'll have time for is to abuse the equipment and then neglect it because your to tired to fix it properly.

I'd recommend to the OP to put off the dream till at least early spring next year. Let the economy settle. It really took a shock and only experience will get guys through these rough times. Take this year to figure out how to make your current piece of equipment profitable. See if you can figure out how to get the highest fuel mileage with the lowest amount of time in the shop fixing things. GET GREAT AT IT, not just good. Start keeping records of the expenditures of the truck. This is very valuable information. And do as much of your learning on someone else's dime with someone else's equipment. By early spring (late February-march) you'll have a full year of thinking and trying to be an Owner and all the mistakes you ARE gonna make will be on someone else's equipment. MISTAKES COST A LOT OF $$MONEY$$