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Equipment and Maintenance
Acquiring your first truck: Purchase or lease?
Will you purchase or lease the truck? If purchasing, where will you get the money? Here, find information about financing, how to find a good lender and more.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Move equipment financing terms to your favor
When purchasing a truck and looking to take out a loan, you have several options for negotiating with lenders to help get the terms to more favorable footing.
January 1, 2025
Sponsor Content
Compute the potential profit in any truckload, access per-day and per-mile breakouts with Overdrive's Load Profit Analyzer
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Know your costs, owner-operators? Compute the potential profit in any truckload, access per-day and per-mile breakouts, and compare brokers' offers on multiple loads. Enter your trucking business's fixed and variable costs, and load information, to get started.
March 24, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Used trucks: How to evaluate a rig to protect long-term value prospects
Used-truck market conditions have stabilized somewhat since the COVID-19 pandemic -- good news for a market where most owner-operators source equipment, particularly early in their careers. Here's a lot to consider when evaluating a used purchase.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Ways to assess truck market value for purchase, trade or sale, insurance
Every truck buyer, likewise every seller, should embrace some sense of reality to avoid costly missteps. Use this tool to get a good assessment of current market value for any truck model.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
There's plenty to consider before entering a lease-purchase agreement with a motor carrier
Lease-purchase plans have traditionally been somewhat well-used paths to truck ownership, particularly among operators with otherwise shaky credit, but they also generate the most controversy.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Traditional loan, TRAC lease, full-service lease: Making the comparison
This comparison table offers quick-glance terms for three routes truckers can take to acquire powered assets. Likewise: A few tips for anyone going the lease route.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
How to improve your credit rating for better truck-loan interest, and so much more
Clean credit is important for owner-operators in many areas, including lending terms on equipment and sometimes even getting freight. Here, find out why, along with tips on improving your credit score.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
The case for trailer ownership -- and tips on spec'ing the wagon
While leased operators don’t always have the pressing need to provide a trailer that most independents do, many find trailer ownership brings significantly added earning potential.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Routine preventive maintenance will pay owner-operator dividends long-term
Brakes, tires, lights, batteries... The list goes on and on. Though a preventive maintenance schedule is sometimes hard to set up and follow through on, and certainly can be costly, neglecting maintenance is sure to cost you even more in the long run.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Effective PM starts when you buy the truck: How to deal with dealer service
The best time to start a regular PM program is when you’re buying your truck. If the dealer doesn’t volunteer detailed information, use your leverage before you buy to get it. Long-term, good maintenance records will help determine time to trade.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Save money, and stay out of inspectors' crosshairs, with smart maintenance
When asked why they’ve done a poor job of preventive maintenance, too many owner-operators say they were trying to save money. But there are many ways to save money on maintenance without skimping and courting disaster.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Aftertreatment demons: Keep your diesel emissions system clean to prolong life
If your truck is equipped with a diesel particulate filter and/or selective catalystic reduction aftertreatment system, it's important to understand what they do, and why. Routine attention through PM can prevent downtime.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Pull off extended oil drains for your diesel with routine analysis
An owner-operator extending the truck's oil drain interval by just 10,000 miles, over the 1-million-mile expected life of an engine, will save a ton of money.
January 1, 2025
Equipment and Maintenance
Beating predatory truck tows -- the Partners in Business guide
For owner-operators, an egregious tow or recovery bill can spell out a death sentence for a trucking career, maybe ruin life at home, too. Until the wider world acknowledges the grave realities, truckers need a resource.
January 1, 2025
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Top Stories
Business
What Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' legislation means for owner-operator taxes
A new guide from business services provider ATBS offers details about how Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" will impact owner-operators at tax time. Also: Lane reductions on I-5 bridge in Seattle; latest Highway Angel.
Regulations
ELD tampering: CVSA drafts new inspections bulletin to combat 'dangerous trend'
Overdrive Radio
Truck-ownership traditions staying alive: Owner-operators Lucas Zach, Harlan Martin
Small Fleet Champ
Less than two weeks left to enter Overdrive's 2025 Small Fleet Championship
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Truck-ownership traditions staying alive: Owner-operators Lucas Zach, Harlan Martin
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