Do truckers generally own their own rigs?
Sometimes. This is like asking, do all people own their own homes? Obviously some people do, some people don’t, and some people are working on it by paying a mortgage. Generally, any truck with a national recognized scheme and logo on the side is probably not owner operated. US Express, Schneider, Prime, are examples of these, but you can still own your own rig and drive for these companies. Most owner operators come from a line of work driving for a company to the point of breaking out on their own. Be it, they fall into money or have a good business sense – they either outright buy their own truck or finance it through a manufacturer. Truckers who make a profit, eventually pay off their trucks and own it outright, otherwise they make monthly payments just like you would a car and manage this with the amount of income from the work they do hauling loads to and fro.
