running your own authority with a repo truck: IRP plates, IFTA, the 2290 and insurance before it arrives

i walk new guys through this about twice a year. there are two piles: the stuff that's about you, and the stuff that's about the truck.

about you, do now, no truck needed. USDOT number and MC authority, filed online with FMCSA. a BOC-3, which is a process agent filing, cheap, a blanket company does it for you. UCR for the year. then the authority sits pending until your insurance company files proof of coverage and the protest period runs out. figure four to six weeks total for that part.

about the truck, needs the VIN. insurance adds the unit. the 2290, filed electronically, you get the stamped Schedule 1 back the same day most of the time. IRP apportioned plates through California DMV, they'll want the Schedule 1, proof of ownership and your USDOT. IFTA is a license for you plus decals for each truck, through the CDTFA in California. for CARB, the truck has to have a 2010 or newer engine and you register it in their Clean Truck Check system and pay the yearly fee. and California wants a Motor Carrier Permit from the DMV.

the gap you're worried about is smaller than you think. conaways puts the truck on a transport 48 to 72 hours after your wire is verified, and the posted max is 14 days in the lower 48. if pile one is done before you bid, two weeks is plenty for pile two.

did this in september, so here's my order with real dates.

authority went active august 28. i bought the truck september 9 on a Buy Now. that afternoon i emailed my agent the VIN off the conaway's listing and had physical damage coverage bound before i wired a dollar. that matters. once you pay in full the truck is yours, and it's riding on a transport for up to two weeks. you want coverage from the day it's yours, not the day it arrives.

2290 filed online that night, Schedule 1 back in about twenty minutes. Georgia IRP took a week. the truck showed up on day 11 and the plates had beaten it by two days.

first year insurance on a brand new authority was the ugly number. about 16,500 for the year, liability, cargo and physical damage on a 62k truck. california will be worse.

you all know what i'm going to say, it's my username.

buy the truck, lease it onto a carrier for six months, let their insurance and their authority carry you while you learn what your truck actually costs per mile. a brand new authority in California with zero history is the most expensive insurance customer there is. in six months you'll know your numbers and you'll have the money to start your own authority without sweating every week.

new entrant safety audit. once your own authority is operating, FMCSA or the state does it inside your first twelve months. some are done remote now, some in person.

what fails people. no drug and alcohol testing program. even a one truck owner operator has to be enrolled in a random testing consortium and have a negative pre-employment test on file before driving under his own authority, and you have to run the Clearinghouse query on yourself. a driver qualification file on yourself, with your application, MVR and medical card. hours of service records. and maintenance records for the truck.

that last one is where a repo truck catches people, because it shows up with no history. start a file the day it arrives. put the annual inspection in it, the ECM report, every invoice. the list in the 389 thread on this board is a good first page for it, conaway's photos printed out and all.

leasing on first doesn't hurt you here either. you'll learn what a carrier's safety department asks for before it's your name on the audit.