Could you give us the specs on the Volvo?

King

This is what I know. I have not even driven the thing. It's literally sitting in my front yard. I almost drove the other day but my wife talked me out of it. I have plans to get some training from a local truck driver (long time friend) when he returns from the road. Were planning to try to do some loads with THIS truck while he teaches me to drive it. Yes, I'm paying him - load income plus a "small fee" for his troubles. He's a good dude and the last thing I expect him to do is tolerate a "zillion questions tag along" while he tried to make a frickin' living - laughs.

Specs:
VNL64T, Cummins ISX, 500HP, 415k miles, 10sp, Engine Brake, 3.58 ration, 22.5 tires (don't look too good!), steel wheels, 12k / 40k lbs. Decent looking truck with a few bumps and bruises. Looks like it could use 4-5 grand worth of "love." Maybe some minor body work (rf fender, bumper all scratched up) and some non "may-pop" tires!

cheers

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daytripin
Central Coast, CA
Happy Highways!

Hi Irishman, I'm kinda hard-core about giving out my personal email address. I'm not trying to sound like an ### or anything but what is it that you feel compelled to email me about? Do you not feel comfortable using this AWESOME forum?

I totally understand if there is a private type conversation you are looking to have but gimme a little info before I send you an email - you may be a "stalker" or something - KIDDING

cheers.

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daytripin
Central Coast, CA
Happy Highways!

No .....not a stalker......or a salesman. Having read some of your posts, I began to think that you are in a, somewhat similar situation to myself. It made me think there may be an opportunity to share the learning and financial experience, of getting an o/o operation up and running. I too, am not in a mad rush to become a millionaire in this business. At some point, I would like to earn a living doing it, but realise that will take quite a bit of time.

Having read endless posts and advice on this forum, of what not to do, I of course, am going to do the opposite of the good advice. It appears you may end up doing the same. Both of us will end up buying loads of equipment.........and paying through the nose for insurance......and will have a fairly costly learning experience. I can afford to lose the money, but it would be nice to learn the business, and only lose half the amount.

I only have a few posts on this forum.........If you read them, you will have a little bit of a sense of what I'm about. I believe you have my e-mail now.

If I don't hear from you............all the best in your endevours..

R.

Daytripin,

Is it a condo sleeper or mid roof? A 500HP ISX with a 10spd is good but its a Volvo meaning you can get cheap parts if you know where to find them. Can you post a few pics on here?

King

I have no idea what type of sleeper it has, not sure what the different names are - I'm a rookie with the truck vocabulary! It looks like this

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daytripin
Central Coast, CA
Happy Highways!

You have a condo sleeper and can get good mpg when pulling dry van or reefer. Member D16 owns one and can help you for the tires or any issues except the engine as his is the Volvo. Sandlapper, also owns a model similar to it but do not know if its the Cummins or volvo. Are the rear tires in bad shape? If so, order 4 Michelin super singles. These should help in fuel economy and wear and tear. Btw, nice rig.

King

Hi Gang, I got in trouble for posting a dead-link, not sure what this is? Guess I'll stop pasting URL's?

Irishman, thanks for the PM. I appreciate your interest but I am not at all interested in a partnership. I'm soooooo far from actually operating this thing and if/when I finally do it will be purley a "solo gig." Thanks anyway.

King, I have a condo eh' I promised my wife years ago I would NEVER buy a condo - let alone one on wheels - too funny.

Update: I guess I "did all right" on the price I paid for this thing. My brother always claimed he wasn't upside-down on his loan, I guess he knew what he was talking about. Looks like this thing could return a bit' more than I paid for it. Selling it is still an option.

Operating it: I'm so into this idea. I'm scared to death about all the warnings (other posts) about becoming somebodies "hey-boy" and being trapped into HAVING to operate it because of some contact or something. The attraction to me is to be able to operate it on an ad-hoc basis and do a load here-n-there. I guess this is threatining to some operaters. Something about a rookie grabbing some loads that seems to be offensive or whatever - not sure where this worry comes from but I do respect it none-the-less.

Question 1: If I'm able to pull of my little psuedo trucking company and get it all registered and legal, anybody have any idea what my fixed operating expenses (annually) may be to have registration, MC number, DOT number, BOT 3 process, etc. I'm only know learning all these terms. But, if I want to operate it it will need to be legal. If it's not operating there will certainly be an expense associated with the legal part. I got the insurance part figured out, just don't understand all the regs enough to know what to budget for the license, etc. I'm in Ca. but don't want to be limited to operating it ONLY in Ca. Is there a service or something I can pay for that will handle all this regulation stuff for me. LIke paying an annual fee or something that would be "all inclusive" as far as registration filings, etc. Just don't want to end up driving it illegally - I'm not at all interested in getting into trouble with the authorities.

Question 2: Are there any regulations on how many miles an engine will go before having to overhaul it? How many miles can a guy expect out of a cummins before having to do a major overhual and are overhauls based on some government body "making" you do it or is it more of a "it's worn out" kind of thing.

Thanks as usual

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daytripin
Central Coast, CA
Happy Highways!

No problem on my suggestion.......firstly, you had said that your truck was a 2006 but has been off the road for one year........I would'nt have suggested anything, in the first place, if I had known it had over 400,000 miles. That's a lot of miles for one year driving, and for me, I'd feel more comfortable in a truck with less miles for my first year.


To your question..........I will weigh in with my endless font of knowledge, of trucking matters. Well, from what I have figured out so far, in my research.

Everything is conditional on a few assumptions. Firstly, based on what you have previously said. You want a stand alone trucking business, with yourself as an o/o with a new cdl license and no experience, and operating under your own authority.

From what I gather, at this stage, you have a truck and no trailer. So, start by putting $50,000 into a company account. A decent used trailer, insurance downpayment, all the various costs with getting your own authority, permits, tags etc etc etc. You will have enough left to cover your costs for the first 60 days, until some money has found it's way into your account.

Then, by my calculations, you would need to do about 75,000 miles to break even, in your first year. This assumes that you keep putting proper amounts into various accounts, for maintance, replacment costs, deprecation, your salary, etc etc.

Insurance, of course, is the big one for a new cdl driver. My research tells me, that it is almost an impossibility, for a new cdl holder to get the insurance, to operate under his own authority. However you mentioned above, that you have that sorted out. If you have done this by using your brother's name, then this will greatly reduce your annual expenses.

I'd be interested to see, the other replies to this question, from guys that know what they are talking about.

All the best.


.

Daytripin, get some good rear tires first as you mention they do not look in good condition. Also, have your truck checked out to make sure every things in good working order.

King