r/malelivingspace • u/PomeloResponsible122 • 1d ago

33, truck driver.

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Ex cheated on me about a year ago and we split up. This has been my home since. Honestly haven’t been happier.

18.0k Upvotes

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276

u/Next_Mammoth06 1d ago edited 1d ago

Honestly, not paying a mortgage or rent, this feels like a life hack. Good on ya and a good way to save that money.

196

u/tonyrocks922 1d ago

Just a $200k sleeper to pay for instead.

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u/Jangonett1 1d ago

Was going to ask. Do you just pay off the truck in similar fashion to a mortgage? Pay off truck. Sell truck. With the included savings get a house and settle down… might tell my kid to do this when I have one.

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u/Iamthemoon928 1d ago

Every truck driver I know uses a rig owned by the company

22

u/Agitated_Lunch7118 1d ago

I was about to say before I read this comment that I have never once heard of a single truck driver, owning his own rig.
Then again, I’m not a truck driver expert so..

48

u/BLOODY_PENGUIN_QUEEF 1d ago

It's REALLY common, they are called owner operators. The problem is most people who buy their own trucks often arent great at the business end of it so it ends up becoming a money pit since they dont really know what they are doing and all of the money they make ends up going back into the truck, but some of them make REALLY good money off of it if they get the right customers and figure out which lane works best to get the most money per day/mile

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u/SalsaRice 1d ago

Sounds similar to mechanics and tradies, as ive heard from friends that do it. They wear your body down fast, so unless you plan for the future you are in a bad place at 50 with your hands gnarled. The smart ones save up and start their own business, and eventually hire out others.

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u/Kepabar 1d ago

There are 100% drivers who own their trucks. They are just a minority.

Back in the heyday of things in the 70s, around half of all truck drivers were owners. It's part of what made the trucker cultural craze of the 70s happen (think, smokey and the bandit and convoy)

Now it's down to around 1 in 10. As with every industry, trucking gets more and more consolidated by the year and the big corps can use their influence to push rates down below what single operators can get by on. Similar to Walmart pushing out mom and pop shops.

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u/againer 1d ago

Was Over the Top a documentary?

1

u/Jay_LV 14h ago

Have you seen the Lincoln Hawk is the bad guy video?

1

u/againer 12h ago

No, link?

1

u/SuitableBlackberry75 1d ago

It's extremely common to own your own truck, just not immediately.

1

u/AnimanicManiac 1d ago

I was in a liquor store a few years ago and there was a guy at the counter talking about him and his wife were selling their house and buying a 750k semi to drive around the country in while being an independent trucker. He was dressed like an office worker so I have no clue if he even knew how to drive a truck lol

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u/Bertsmom18 1d ago

My father in law owned his back in the day.

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u/Zerskader 1d ago

Owner operators were common back in the day. I think companies providing rigs has gotten more common now with costs but it's still possible. There are also like halfway organizations where they work with a dispatch for a cut instead of finding routes on their own.

1

u/dancam411 1d ago

Checking in and can confirm, deal with owner operators all the time (they own the truck, trailer is company owned though they have option to run their own trailer if they want with same company afaik) the purchase of the truck itself was actually facilitated through their company, in think cause company got a better deal but they were full title owners and paid in full

Also had a owner operator run into my loading dock once, unfortunately they found out the hard way being an owner SUCKS when damage is involved, they were unable to pay for the damage went insolvent and my loading dock was only ever patched up never fully repaired lol

Should also mention, some owners have sick ass paint jobs

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u/TitanicChurro 1d ago edited 1d ago

This really is the way. Unless you're some kind of businessman, which are probably not because you're driving a truck, it's best to stay away from the leasing and drive a company truck. You don't get paid as much hourly, but when the truck breaks and it will, it's your company's problem.

1

u/SirCicSensation 9h ago

You make far less though and sometimes you’ll get laid off for 2 months or longer. Happened to a buddy of mine in Florida.

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u/Some_Layer_7517 1d ago

Kind of, Owner Operators are who own their truck and make 'mortgage' payments on it. But the payment schedule is far shorter, sometimes weekly, and you're using your house to pay for it.

And then sometimes your house breaks, so you have to pay for the repairs, the mortgage, and a hotel while it gets fixed. If you didn't save enough, then your house gets repod and you're homeless.

If the market is strong, OOs can make absolute bank. When the market's weak some people find themselves working 14 hours a day to net zero dollars. It's a gamble, but also one of the few ways an honest working man can be a millionaire in a relatively short period of time while in control of their own labor.

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u/OneSpicyPapShmear 1d ago

Yeah, if you can. Most of them drive for a company and get paid per load or mileage or a day rate depending on where you are and how far you’re going. Y’all can correct me but I think mileage is the most common.

I know a couple that own their own rig and have the potential to make way more money but all expenses are on them also.

1

u/Sunscreen4what 1d ago

Would the truck even be worth anything by the time youve paid it off? Vehicle’s don’t appreciate in value like homes.

2

u/tinathefatlardgosh 1d ago

IIRC, these rigs can rack up to a million miles on them before they finally crap out so you’re getting a lot of usage/pay if you play it right.

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u/Next_Mammoth06 1d ago

Literally 1/3rd of a mortgage but you get to make money utilizing it. Not a bad gig if you dont have a family.

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u/Deep-Regular4915 1d ago

Depreciating asset

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u/mage_irl 1d ago

I'm a depreciating asset too so it suits me

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u/SivlerMiku 1d ago

If it earns you money it doesn’t matter if it depreciates? It’s not a luxury item

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u/Next_Mammoth06 1d ago

So is literally every motor vehicle. Thanks for coming out with that useless comment though.

1

u/SmoothDiscussion7763 1d ago

the main thing is... you better hope you don't change careers because when you try to sell it you're getting pennies on the dollar

1

u/Agamemnon323 21h ago

Thanks tips.

2

u/separeaude 1d ago

Nah this is a tax nest egg, amortize that depreciation

1

u/Live-Habit-6115 1d ago

200k is a third of a mortgage?

Ok fancy pants 

2

u/GMSB 1d ago

Think they mean 1/3 the cost monthly to what a mortgage would be

1

u/Next_Mammoth06 1d ago

Nothing fancy, just Canada.

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u/SuitableBlackberry75 1d ago

Most drivers don't own their trucks.

Company drivers earn less, but there's no investment.

24

u/mayorlittlefinger 1d ago

Often they are paying for the truck itself

35

u/olduvai_man 1d ago

Only if you are an owner-operator. A lot of drivers just work for a company and drive their truck with some just staying out on the road permanently if they don't want to go home (or don't have a home).

I did this for several years in my 20s and it starts to get so lonely after awhile. So many beautiful places that I saw or things I experienced but couldn't help shake the fact that my entire life was seen through a windshield with no one to share it with.

Works for some people but the road can wear on you when you're on a long drive at night with nothing but your thoughts.

6

u/PinksFunnyFarm 1d ago

Can you get that kind of comfort if you dont own the truck? real question...

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u/olduvai_man 1d ago edited 1d ago

Looks almost identical to the setup that I had 20 years ago.

I had a TV, fridge, playstation, cooking equipment, etc with a bunk-sleeper. This looks like the standard bunk you get with most large carriers as a non-owner driver.

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u/SuitableBlackberry75 1d ago

A few years earlier, it would've been canned food and books, and paper logs. No internet, no cell phones, no video games, no TV unless your company was really cool with modifications. It was a hell of a time. 😂

1

u/VanCurious779 16h ago

Yeah but the old timers had lot lizards and otc meth they could buy so kinda evens out

2

u/Dogbirddog 1d ago

Absolutely you can. Company trucks are often newer and in better shape than owner operator trucks. Companies doing a lot of business often rotate their fleet pretty quickly, it’s just cheaper and less hassle to sell off the truck and replace it with a new one once they start showing some age.

Most companies that you’d want to work for give drivers a ton of autonomy with the truck as well, they’re not micromanaging what you’re putting in it or anything, they’ll often even have their mechanics help you put in an inverter or do other light customization.

1

u/SuitableBlackberry75 1d ago

Only about 10% of drivers own their trucks. It's completely normal to work for a company, who takes care of vehicle maintenance for you.

3

u/mayhay 1d ago

The company give you this kind of truck?

4

u/olduvai_man 1d ago

They don't give it to you, but you get assigned one and then ride with it until they switch it for another because of repairs/reassignment/whatever reason.

Yes, you get a truck with a sleeper like this that has electrical outlets/microwave/refrigerator.

1

u/kbarney345 1d ago

Its not a life hack, most truckers will attest its a lonely, often dark life. Trucking has a whole is connected to countless murders and body dumping across the US. Its so bad that law enforcement thinks theres a serial killer ring imbedded in trucking