So you want to "own " your own company

10 Hours of Idle X 1GPH = 10 GP Day X 300 Days = 3,000 Gallons X $4.00 PG = $12,000

10 Hours of APU X .3GPH = 3GP Day X 300 Days = 900 Gallons X $4 PG = $3,600

$8,400 Difference - WINNER = APU In daily use, pays for itself in under 18 months.

Tripac uses diesel fired bunk heater, you're going to have an inverter, so you'd use the APU in that case to just keep the batteries charged (and/or the block warm) - so the usage goes down further...

Companies kinda care how much you're spending/wasting on fuel - for O/O's, every gallon saved is $4.00 earned. That's not factoring in wear/tear associated with idling over the long term.

Rick

 

1 hour idle = 50 miles driven.

10 hours per night and average 220 nights on the road a year.

2200 hours x 50 miles = 110,000 miles equivalent driven wear on the engine.

 

Only stay out 220 days? You like your hometime, eh?

Rick

 

Why stay out if you don't need to?

In the 4 months I have been driving so far, I have been gone 70 nights for my per diem. So that's about 220 days a year.

 

those are some VERY convincing stats to run an APU! i knew they would pay for themselves but i had never done the calcs on them before. i think you just sold me on that option!

 

Here's the list of expenses i've come up with so far. the numbers are based off of the following......

100,000 miles per year
5 miles per gallon
$4.00 per gallon
$1000 per month truck payment

1) .80 cpm for fuel
2) .03 cpm for registration
3) .02 cpm for IFTA
4) .01 cpm for 2290
5) .01 cpm for UCR
6) .42 cpm for driver
7) .10 cpm for truck insurance
8) .08 cpm for maintenance account
9) .05 cpm for tires
10) .12 cpm for truck payment
11) .003 cpm for authority
12) .03 cpm for oil changes/lube
13) .08 cpm for taxes
14) .002 cpm for drug test consortium
15) .00045 cpm for OOIDA membership

If I added correctly, I'm sitting at $1.755 per mile with those numbers. NOT very impressive unless I can dial in a lower truck payment and better fuel mileage. From what I've read on this forum, BOTH of those are entirely possible. Do you guys see anything that I didn't account for?

Since I won't be driving the truck I will need to get a quote for some type of workman's comp insurance. I haven't been able to pin down a number for that yet. I also haven't figured in any annual costs to run the LLC or incorporation depending on which i decide to go there.

 

You're overpaying your driver - LOL...

Which really only means (even at that), that you need to run over $2.25 per mile CONSISTENTLY (all miles loaded & MT) to see anything back on this for yourself. Though most folks here will tell you a 10% "gross profit" is the minimum "acceptable" margins you want to work with.

The real question I beg to ask though - is owner OPERATOR. Why do you want to buy a TRUCK, and then put someone else in the drivers seat?

While my model "factors in" paying ME - it's more along the lines of "per diem draw" - for "pocket $$ on the road (which I can pay myself out of my corporation, and wash the taxes on both sides of the equation), and "distributions" based on NET/NET (which my accountant "washes" as W-2 income, I make a payroll tax deposit in QTR4, and take my "hit" on my distribution draws and net YE profit, when it passes from Sub-S 1120 to my personal 1040).

Even if you ARE driving the truck (again, unless you're operating under your own authority) most companies you lease onto are going to require WC or some kind of "occupational accident coverage - and it would be kind of foolish NOT to have this (and we're not even talking about the potential liabilities of "Obama-Care").

I have to go back and look at my "model" as my operating costs were significantly LESS than yours...

Rick

 

Here's some places you are high. Figuring 100,000 per year.
Registration, you have .03. My baseplate is $1900 per year, Illinois Max Weight, that is .019. Trailer plate was $50 one time, no renewal fee.
2290 is $550 per year, that is .0055 per mile.
Cut your tire figure by at least half.
Authority is a one time fee, not yearly.
IMO, forget about OOIDA. If you find you really need their service, catch them on a special deal at $25 instead of $45.
My cost per mile, so far this year is $1.91 for all odometer miles, on 25,645 actual miles, so far. That includes rent, utilities, groceries, car insurance and gas, Friday nights at the drag strip and beer. My revenue is $2.07 per mile, over all those miles and includes 23.66% empty miles, after my carrier gets their cut.
Does the 42 cent driver pay include your matching Social Security and Medicare matching funds, Unemployment insurance payments and Workman's Comp insurance?

 

On the apu idea, another thing to consider is how many days does it need to actually be used? Do you really need to run it on nights that are an acceptable temperature? Depending on your geographic location this could significantly reduce days per year it is actually in use, making it a longer payback time. Just a thought ..

 

thanks a ton for the insight!!