If you are going to be an independent long-haul trucker, there are going to be a lot of things that you are going to need to have so that you can be as successful as possible.

Broker

You are going to need to have some kind of broker that you can work with that can help you get contracts and jobs so that you have as much work as you need to have. Without a broker of some sort, you may have more downtime than you need, and it may be really hard for you to work with companies who are looking for truckers to get stuff from one place to another. Brokers have the contacts you don't and they will be able to get access to things that you can't.

Truck

It may seem like a no-brainer that you are going to need to have a truck, but when you are making decisions as to what kind of truck you are going to get, one of your first decisions is whether or not you are going to buy new or used freightliner trucks. They both have the good points and bad points, so it's up to you to figure out if the good outweighs the bad. One of the good points of buying a new truck is that it isn't going to need to have a lot of preventative maintenance in the very near future and it is less likely to break down. However, it may be more than you can reasonably afford and the loan payments may be more than you want to handle, especially if you are just starting out. Buying used will let you get more truck than you would otherwise be able to get and if you buy it from a dealership or company that will certify the truck to be in a like-new state, then you are going to have the same benefit that you would if you bought it new when it comes to maintenance and repairs. However, you won't have the same depreciation and you may be able to get better loan terms which will let you set the payments at an amount that is doable for you. 

There is always going to be the need to ship things from one place to the next. Not all shipping can be done by boat, plane, or train, so there is also always going to be the need to have long-haul truckers. If you want to be one of those truckers, making sure that you have everything you need can make it easier for you to succeed.