Is there ever a right time to add a second truck?

well the way that I gennerally look at things is that I break down all my predictable expenses and figure out what that amount is than figure the possible revenue from that truck above that baseline if the demand is there along with the revenue I would go for it but you also have to take into mind about the seasonal and quartly fluctuations but overall I think the freight industry is really picking up

 

to me the variable will be who the driver is and how they take care of your equipment
sounds like you have a lot of irons in the fire already
company I drive for with 10 trucks I would fire 4 of the drivers tomorrow
but I'm sure the boss worries the next guy might be even worse

 

Ditto on the driver being the variable. Finding a good driver can be a headache, and will make or break your plan.
You have your ducks in a row, looks like. The last coupla months have been fairly good freight wise, have seen better , have seen much worse.
Over the years I have expanded and run multiple trucks when freight was good, but the extra problems of employees / owner operators took a lot of time, and was not worth it. I will not hire other trucks/drivers again.
I have always been told to have 1 truck or at least 5. In between is not worth it.

 

The Rule if Thumb to suceed is always have a Odd Numbered of trucks, 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.

 

I agree with what the others have said about the driver. On the money side just make sure that you have enough set aside to be able to run that truck, pay the driver etc for at least 45 days. We just went thru this, paid cash for 2nd truck and trailer and if I had it to do over again I would probably wait a little while longer. We made it thru ok but I would now advise anyone in this position to run 1st truck a full year before jumping into another one.

 

the second truck will make less money cuz now you have the added expense of a driver.

you've only been hauling 6 months. y ou should haul for a year. to get a better feel of freight year round. as an o/o.

hiring help can make or break you. some don't want to work, some just don't take care of the equipment. all you gotta do is look around. you won't see many KICKING their tires. or anything else for that matter.

 

I say get a full year in.

 

Biggest variable is the driver. They make or break you. The van arena is different than the open load freight. I have never done van or reefer work. Why not lease on an O/O less net income for you, But you have a driver that will be a little more inspired to take care of his equipment. Learn with both and when the time is right buy another truck or lease on another driver. There is no formula that I am aware of for when the right time is. Good Luck.

 

I would lease on an owner /op instead of buying another truck.