Camper/Trailer dose NOT pay enough!

Why, in God's name, would I want to move to California?

 

Yes, I know what you mean!

 

Could we see some numbers? i have posted mine in the LTL forum.

i'm not saying you got to post you're settlement sheets, but could we see actual numbers instead of just saying "it doesn't pay very well" etc.?

 

Lots of good points here. It's not a huge money deal, especially if you are a Canadian outfit, as our insurance for RV transport is crazy expensive compared to what you pay if you are with an American carrier.
And yes, by the time you pay for a new pickup it will have half a million miles on it and worth nothing. That's why many single haul guys buy used or at auctions.

As has been said, to make money, it has to be treated like a truck driving job (I've done both) and you have to sleep in the truck, truck stop showers and pound the miles on during the week.
The way we did good was to have a big truck as well as the pickup for single haul. That way on the empty return you load the pickup on the big truck, and with a sleeper on the big truck, you can "somewhat" legally run team and never have to stop.

If the insurance cost wasn't as high as it is, it could have been done in a more relaxing way, but as it stands, fuel and insurance eat exactly half of your revenue. So you still need to buy and maintain truck and live with the other half.

(note: my experience applies to being a broker for a Canadian RV logistics company, and it was the highest paying one here at the time. And I quit doing it in 2010, so may be different now?)

 

Here's what we ran.

 

With single pull you have to run loaded both ways. You must be able to locate and secure your own loads going back or you all you will is have is pigeons saying you can't make any money which is BS

 

Backhauls were impossible for us to find being that we only delivered to dealers in Canada. Any kind of trailer basically only goes from the U.S. into Canada. Not much going from Canada back into the U.S.
Or is there something we never thought of?
Any other load we could ever find was going the same way as the trailers we had on delivering.

I did like that job. I'd do it again, but think I'll stick with dump trucks again.

 

I'll post my numbers. These are my numbers for the entire year of 2015. I've been doing this for 4 years so there are no start up costs included in these figures. Also, my truck is paid for so I have no truck payment. My figures are for ALL miles, loaded and empty, unless otherwise stated.

* Average pay per loaded mile $1.23
* Fuel cost - .16
* Maint. & repairs - .08
* Tires - .01
* Insurance - .03
* Pull out fee - .02
* Misc. (logs, fax fees, etc) - .01

Splitting the loaded pay in half is .615 for all miles. Subtract the expenses which are already listed for all miles gives you a profit of .305 per mile for all miles driven.

Other pertinent information:
I have a chauffeurs license which limits me to 26k lbs. CDL loads pay more. Because my truck is a one ton pick up and I don't have a CDL, I am not subject to IFTA.
My insurance coverage is for $500k Non trucking liability and Commercial physical damage with a $1,000 deductible. This also includes glass coverage. Most RV transport companies require $1 million in NTL insurance.
I didn't list taxes since everyone's situation can be very different.

Based on these numbers, if you drive 50k paid miles (100k total) in a year you will gross $61,500. That gives you a profit of $30,500. At years end, once you deduct your truck expenses, per diem, and your personal deductions, you should be able to keep most if not all of what you earned.

 

I have to pay taxes on 6 grand

 

This is great information and kinds of solidify what the majority of RV transporters are experiencing. Clearly anyone reviewing the numbers right away can see where the omissions exist. It also points out how a budget, or at a minimum, a projection of expenses can quickly identify the profitability, (or lack of) for RV transport. Self-employment taxes, social security and medicare taxes on the amount of your business net income, and you have to pay those taxes on profit above $400. So, unlike income taxes, where there are graduated tax brackets and percentages, self-employment taxes are not "progressive" - they are owed at the same percentage on even very small profits.

For employees, social security taxes are 6.20% of income and medicare taxes are 1.45% for a total of 7.65%, and then employers match those percentages. Since you are both employee and employer, you have to pay both sides, (the major downfall of self -contracted employment such as RV delivery), or a total of 15.30% of your profits. So if you're saying that your profit before deductions is $30,500 - your tax liability starts at $4666.50.


Missing is the required “Obama care” insurance. At the low end your minimum contribution, (based on income) would be $180.00 a month. An additional cost of $2160.00 If your fortunate to have a partner who has company funded insurance, and your on their policy, this would not occur.

In addition a “replacement fund” for the next truck is not in your “back of envelop” figures. Also missing is personal expenses, (food,cell phone, etc). Yes-much is deductible - but even after deductions you still have an “out of pocket” number of around 20% of your net profit - around $6000.00. This, in effect brings down your take “take home Pay” to around $17723.00.

We are quickly driving to “sub minimum” wage level. As it stands now - relating it to a full time job that you work 40 hours a week with 3 week of unpaid days off, (unpaid vacation and holidays, etc.) you're making $9.04 an hour!

This also points out why so many current transporters are only part time. For me - having started to receive social security benefits a few years ago I can’t work past my yearly benefit amount, (around $22k), without having my benefit amount reduced.

I want to be clear - the work is getting done. RV’s are on dealer lots as I speak. I’m not critical of the work. A clearer understanding of the industry is needed to stop the high fall out rate of new drivers, (as high as 70% in the first year).