Why is it so hard to make money as a independent?

Nailed it 100%. Double amen with a high five.

 

you are missing the point of the overall picture. skinny states he only buys enough fuel to do each load. I buy fuel where its makes the most sense. I bring in revenue on a load to load basis.

there is a world of difference between making profit on each load and operating on a load to load basis. the deal of buying just enough fuel for each load is a sign of someone who is operating paycheck to paycheck.

I simply fill up wherever it costs me less money and ensures my long term profit.

buying just enough to get from place to place is the lease purchase mentality.

its the same deal of a guy buying Chinese tires cause they are cheaper . he will go thru 2 sets of drives while I am still on the same set of bridgestones . I will have paid less for one set of bridgestones than he paid for two sets of Chinese.

its short term thinking vs. long term thinking.

or like buying used tires instead of new. fact is , if ya cant buy new tires , youre aren't operating at maximum performance.

same with fuel , you buy just enough to get by, sonner or later ya end having to buy where ya pay way more than ya should. or either run out in the middle of no where.

 

I see what you are saying. I probably look at it a little different because both my trucks run the same lane every week back and forth. We buy fuel three times a week (once in TX twice in AL) for each truck at the same places because they are the cheapest. If I was running anywhere and everywhere then yes I would fill up where its cheap. Agree on the tires. I worked for a guy that would never buy new tires except for steer tires. Drove me nuts because I knew we were wasting time and money.

 

Exactly skateboard I was reading skinnyp ' post and scratching my head... if 400 dollars is a issue he has big problems. And big money on ifta ' s I rarely pay more than 25 dollars per quarter.

 

You can make good money as a o/op with your own authority... I've done $ 365,000 gross on 72,000 miles in the oilfields... but one thing to remember that's different from being a company driver is you get home your off work and can forget about it till you go back to work. As a independent your almost always at work.

 

I'd just like to add, it is NOT hard for an O/O to make money. The problem is not the freight, lanes, fuel prices, insurance, IFTA, or any other of a host of a myriad of regulations and taxes. True, they are the main reason why most failed O/O "claim" as their downfall, but there is an underlying cause that most failed operations fail to admit. There is a huge difference between a driver and an O/O and an even larger difference between a driver and an independent. Not to be demeaning or trying to sound like a prima donna, but in all seriousness, being a truck driver is not much more of a step than a trained space monkey.
But, from what I can assume from my experience is that most failed o/o fail to have money discipline and industry foresight. I ran today and all winter at fuel prices of $3.75 per gallon. Spring time hits and the failed o/o forgot to calculate fuel increase into the cost. Me? My fuel figures are set at $4.25 per gallon getting 6MPG and costs are figured on a 20 day per month figure. Has it ever cost me $1.70 per mile? Nope. But when it does, I'm financially forecast to not lose my #####. I draw a regular paycheck from my LLC, at a meager $0.30 per odometer mile and the rest gets put aside. When I see or hear that soon to fail o/o say he made $2.15 per mile while standing in line with a truck stop prices TV, its no wonder why so many others have failed before me. "Failure to plan is planning to fail." Right now, I have enough money set aside, that should my truck break down, I can either repair it or replace it, depending on the situation. Same goes for my reefer. If the motor goes kapoot, is a 2001 trailer worth dumping $15,000 into or would I be better suited with a newer trailer? The best advice I can give anyone thinking of becoming an independent is to look at Swift or Schneider, make a paycheck for yourself the same an entry level driver makes right out of driving school. After your second quarter, you will have a better idea at how much your truck is actually earning and can give yourself a raise. Just don't ever fall into the trap that I see as a predominant reason of failure; drawing more from the gross earnings than the market can sustain.

 

Timc1134 and everyone else: Could you give me an insight and your thoughts?...... > 5 years Schni dry van, 2 years pneumatic.... I now deliver sand as a company driver; pondering the idea of getting my own truck; currently buying a house; next move is a truck, authority, LLC and continue delivering sand..... my concern is : with aprox $12,000 a month in average truck expenses, can I really expect to gross at least $20,000 when I average 46 loads per month as a company driver? if not, can I gross at least $24,000 per month OTR Flatbed? cause otherwise if I gross $17k/ month then am better off keeping my $60,000 career. THANK YOUUUUUU

 

Can you share the oilfield's information? Thank you

 

Thunder ridge in casper is needing trucks with a blower for frac sand average around 1400$/day on 450 local miles... Brady trucking out of vernal ut has local pipe work in williston nd 140/hour minus 12% to Brady.