I'm at a crossroads... and need a map.

[BigEasy]

I've been stewing over these issues, and I think I'm about to get an ulcer . Anyway, I was a truck driver from 99 until a little over a year ago. I started working in a pretty good job, a big (300+ employees)machine shop, in January of '05. It's a very stable shop, and I seem to be doing well, as I just got a $2/hr raise and a little more responsibility a few weeks ago. I have good benefits and all that, but my gypsy blood is really boiling and it's driving me NUTS not being on the road.



That being said... I've just inherited some money from my late grandparents' estate. It would be enough for me to buy a damn nice house around here, or I could buy a Kenworth and go back to trucking with a bit of a cushion and no truck payment. I'm 29 and single, with no family to speak of, so I really don't have anything tying me down. My heart says HIT THE ROAD, but my brain says STAY PUT IN THE SECURITY.



Gimme your 2 cents worth, I need some guidance...



Thanks guys

 

[BigEasy]

On a lighter note... no matter what decision I make, I'm keeping the 12v!

 

[Radshooter]

Have you talked to a financial planner yet? Think about investing the $$$ and using the interest you make for your mad money. That way you will always have the cushion to fall back on, and still get to have some fun now if you want to.

 

[fest3er]

... I have good benefits and all that, but my gypsy blood is really boiling and it's driving me NUTS not being on the road.



That being said... I've just inherited some money from my late grandparents' estate. ... My heart says HIT THE ROAD, but my brain says STAY PUT IN THE SECURITY.

Keep your job, but make arrangements to work less than full time, as desired/needed. Spend one quarter building a diesel racer (or puller). Spend one third on a modest, but nice home. Use some of the interest from the remainder to defray travel expenses to and from competitions; leave the remaining interest to grow your 'endowment'.



It won't be the best of all possibilities, but it's still pretty good. You'll have a job that provides an 'anchor' or stability. You'll have a hobby obliquely related to work and at the core of your passion: diesel. You might learn things from your hobby that could make you more valuable at the shop, you might learn things at the shop that'll help you build a better racer, and you'll have ready access to people with machinist experience when yours comes up short. You'll have a nice home that'll be paid for in 5-10 years. After a weekend of travel and competition, you'll be ready to work four days and spend evenings fixing and enhancing your racer/puller. And when the week is winding down, you'll have competition to look forward to. And you'll get to be on the road at least part of the time: not for someone else, just for yourself.



My tuppence.



N

 

[MMeier]

As the saying goes.......

. . you can take the driver out of the truck, but you can't take the truck out of the driver!!!! Which is why I am a full blown trucking company with my dear ol' Dodge Ram!!!! Oo.

 

[rubberneck]

Buy the house, it will continue to appreciate. If you really want to get back on the road, you should have no problem getting a loan to buy the truck if you own a house. I have no idea what kind of money you could make driving the truck, but would assume it would be more than enough to make the payment on the truck especially if you dont have a house payment. There will be someday when you dont want to or cant drive anymore and that nice little house will still be there and will be worth a whole bunch more than you payed for it.

 

[MN Cummins Lvr]

I think you have been given some good advice here. If you want my $. 02, consult a financial planner or an accountant to help you decide what to do with the inheritance. If you want to drive, maybe you would be better leasing a new KW rather than taking the hit on depreciation on buying? But then again, maybe you can write off the depreciation? Maybe you can have the best of both worlds, buy a house with the money and lease a new KW? I think the key is you have to be happy in your job and if you aren't life is miserable. If you are a good, professional, driver, I don't think you will ever have a problem finding a job in the trucking industry.



Hope I didn't ramble too much. If you go back to driving, make sure there is a Cummins ISX (or N14) under the hood! Good luck and keep us posted!



Paul

 

[bighammer]

What kind of potential at the current job? How high could you move up? (And is moving up what you would want? Some like to get into management and others like to keep doing what they do. )

I can certainly understand the call of the road tugging at you. I have no idea about income potential or what your bennefits might cost if you are on your own. Insurance, maintenance, and depreciation must be significant as well.

It's a tough decision but you are lucky to have options. A finacial planner might know the best ways to use your cash and save you money. You have to try to think where you might be (or want to be) in 10 years. On the road? Family?

Good luck with it.

 

[Sled Puller]

No way I would put that kind of cash into a truck. Invest it right, and you can drive for fun in a few years.

 

[C. Harlan]

Buy the KW. . You know you can capitalize off your profits, as long as you run it right; lease on with a fairly decent company, and do what you want. I am in the same situation, faced with making the same decision as you. I need the money to get started, and pay off a few bills first, but ultimately, I would rather be in a large Kenworth. My 2 cents for you. Ditch the Job, and be your own boss.



-Chris-

 

[E7mack96]

build/buy a house, pay cash for it. Then, get an equity line to buy your dream KW W900 86" studio with that big CAT 475/1850 and 18 speed. Then you can write off the interest on the house loan, on schedule a, and get your appreciation of real estate too. Your truck will be paid off, but you can lease it to your trucking company, so that you don't have to pay self employment taxes. (by lowering the net income to near zero). Even though, you are in a way, financing that truck for say 10-15 years, if things go as they should, you can pay extra on the equity line and pay it off early. If thing suck for a month or 2, then you have a really low equity payment.

 

[jwilliams3]

Go for the job that has the lot lizards... ... :-laf

 

[Elite1]

Buy a home with some horse property, even if you aren't in to horses...

Rent out a room to some little hotty, that is in to horses, she can rent a room & a stall for her horse... there are a bunch of single women out there, looking for this kind of situation! Horse property = chick magnet!

Follow your heart on the trucking thing, you don't really need to pay cash for a truck, make payments or lease... your renters payments to you will help with the truck payment. She can watch over your new property while you are on the road... when you come back home, you may get some "side benifits" if you play your cards right!

 

[BigEasy]

Ok, need to clear up a few things... if I go back to trucking, I really don't need a house. A garage to do some work with an apartment there is really all I need. I'm pretty happy being a bachelor, but if I found the right girl, that could all change. My standards (mostly moral) are high, and I won't settle for less...



If I do this, I'll be leasing to a tanker-yanker outfit that I worked for previously. It's a good deal or O/O's, you can stay local or run 48 states and Canada... It's all in how much you want to run



E7Mack96... I will NEVER own another CAT... that stands for Can't Afford This. It'll be a T600, with a 565 ISX Cummins. You got the 18 right, though.



Thanks for your input guys. I really appreciate it.

 

[E7mack96]

Evidently, you've had some bad experiences with a CAT. People I run with have had nothing but trouble out of the Cummins engines. All in all, I am sure they're just as good. We run the CAT C16 600/2250 motors as we do heavy haul, but my fleet has detroit, volvo, and mack engines too.



Good luck in whatever path you end up on.



E7