The Good, The Bad, The Honest Truth of a New Roehl Lease Operator

I haven't done my final taxes yet, but my numbers are very close to yours Rebel. I was listening to Kevin Rutherford and he was saying to take out the truck payment and then figure your income against remaining expenses. If that number is at least 50% you should be alright. The other part is that the per diem is a flat $59.00 a day and only deals with food and tips. Other expenses such as showers are a separate deduction. I spend less than $10.00 a day on food, so that means my per diem is almost like a free deduction.

Having said all that, if I could score a gig like yours my wife would shoot me if I didn't take it immediately. That's the down side of the area I live in. Local jobs pay about the same per hour as McDonald's.

 

Peacher I am in the same boat, local jobs are few and far between where I live also. My wife and I put more than the money into the equation. I like you was spending money out on the road, about $100+ per week depending on how many times I could shower for free... We also factored in the ability to do things like goto church every week with the family, getting back the quality time with my kids that I haven't had in 10+ years. Me being able to do simple repairs and maintenance on our cars will save us several hunderd dollars a year.

I loved to drive truck, but I finaly came to the realization that what I was missing out on was worth far more than the couple of extra dollars per month that I was making by staying away. I now have two part time jobs, working about 40 -45 hours per week between the two, and I am happier than I have ever been. One is delivering auto parts, and the other is as a fill in school bus driver.

I know that it is a hard equation to work, and come up with an answer that works for both you and your family. I just know that there are alot more variables than just the amount on the check everyweek. All of you please be safe on the road, and God bless you all!!!

 

I've kind of realized that myself lately and I have a lot of young kids at home. I got to go to their school last night for this fitness night thing and we had a blast. Got to drop them off at school this morning and shout to them out the window. It was really nice.

 

As for my time at home, we talked about what would be best. Even though none of us like the lengthy separation, we all like that every two to three weeks I'm taking a mini vacation at home. Now that the money situation is improving, my wife has quite a "Honey do" list. Of course I get to buy all kinds of new tools. If there is something that I need to be home for, I can always adjust my schedule. My dad never showed for any of my school activities and when I became a dad, I vowed that I would not be that kind of dad. Setting my own schedule was a major part of becoming an owner/operator. The rule is that I need to know at least a month ahead of time so I can set my schedule, last minute won't cut it.

 

That sounds about right even in my area.

 

Before going back on the road I did work local. While I did get most Saturdays and Sundays off, during the week I had just enough time at home to shower, eat, sleep, get up and do it all over again. I did all this and averaged about $8.00 an hour in gross pay. Now when I go home, I'm home. I get to pick my daughter up from school, and take my wife to work. Also my wife has a three day weekend which when I'm home we get all three days together. For me it seems to be the best option.

 

You couldn't be more wrong, I have never drank the coolaid, I used my own experience to form an opinion. It use to be EASY to clear $1500-$2000/wk here. Now I can't make a check over $1200$/wk no matter what I do. And that isn't worth the headache, I've been offered a job driving for a mobile media company that does major sporting events and trade shows. Starting pay is $45k-48k/year salary. I'll be driving several different trucks, a black lonestar fully loaded, or a f350 customized and fully loaded, it varies depending on the venue. Hotel rooms paid for every night I'm out and they cover my living expenses while I'm touring. Which basically would add almost $10,000 to the base pay if you look at it that way. Home time is regular and I will normally get several months off a year whenever they are switching sponsors cause that entails repainting the rigs and loading the products we are showcasing.

 

I was talking to a Roehl company driver this week and he told me Roehl was trying to phase out O/O's. Don't know if its true or not but would make sense giving what they have done to the program latley.

I grossed 155,000 with Roehl last year and as I said before 2150 avg a week.

The new company I am with now I have doubled my income every week and am home 2-3 days a week .. much better.