Do owner operators have gold plated toilets?

there is no such thiung as a calculator that help you plan your profit.

NO ONE has any idea what the future will bring for a truck in break downs. and from what i've seen of the repair shops. they will literally SCREW you to fix your truck. they aren't in the business of fixing. they are in the business of selling.

this truck i'm driving now. needed a axle seal. and brakes. new hub and bearings came with the job for no reason. what was a $200 repair turned into a $1000 bill. the fuel gauge wasn't working properly also. the shop for that problem said $150 to rotate the tank into the proper postion. 3 straps, and a fuel sending unit for $1500.

$350 in estimates turned into $2500 to repair.

you take your truck into the shop. you better be ready to buy some parts. and semi parts AREN'T cheap.

so when you all say manage your business.

how can one manage breakdowns? and the money they are forced to spend. cuz spending is very easy if you want to make money which doesn't grow on trees.

 

The owner-operators I know on a personal basis are also very good mechanics, capable of repairing some very major problems. When I heard your truck needed a new axle seal and then brakes, hub, and bearing, the first question that entered my question was how much oil did you lose out of the axle? It wouldn't take much to oil down the brakes badly enough that they're worthless. If it lost too much oil or you were driving on it for an extended period the bearing could get damaged.

But, you are right that repair shops are out there to make a buck, not really fix a truck.

And, that's why a good owner-operator should be able to do as much mechanical work as possible. Most owner-operators I know can overhaul an engine, rebuild a transmission, and drop new differentials into axles, and plenty of the little stuff, as well. The less you can work on your truck on your own the more unnecessary expense you accumulate.

 

It depends on what you call making money,My boy is only 21 years old he is starting his 4th week as an owner operator leased to a company.The owner told him yesterday morning that he made a a little over 5 thousand dollars for his second week.To Me that is good money,but my boys stepdad who is a company driver for Fedex Frieght told him he was not gonna make it at that rate.The step dad has never been an owner operator and does not know a thing about over the road long haul trucking as a matter of fact he never gets more than 250 miles from home I think the boy is doing fine and his step dad is full of condensed milk,what do you guys and girls think?

 

I think Snowy is a company driver that is mis imformed just like my husband in law

 

you're way off. let's break this down.

"50 cents per mile for gas" - it's not gas, it's diesel or fuel. and this expense fluctuates but this quarter I am getting 6.5 mpg on $4.23 per gallon for a cost of 65 cents per gallon for FUEL

"$750 insurance" - this is a good number.

"Misc (tags,heavy highway use tax etc) $100/month" - your plates alone can run $200/month highway tax is $550/yr + various state tax agreements and fuel tax. This number should probably be $350 or so, but nobody figures by month anyways we usually go by mile or by week or year. whatever.

"Then if you took out a loan for your truck thats another 400-800 a week but lets say 500 a week. So we got a monthly payment of $2850 ,then we have to deduct 70 cents/mile for gas and repairs" - you should never, never, never run your business off the cost of a payment. Your need to figure out how much your truck is depreciating, hopefully you will pay it off and it will still be worth something. I figure 10 cents per mile for depreciation. Interest on your loan is another expense. You better deduct more than 70 cents for "gas" and repairs since FUEL is costing you 65 cents per mile. I would plan on 8 cents per mile just for tires.

"@$1.50/mile were only making 80 cents a mile after gas and repair fund,which means you'd have to run 3563 miles just to break even ,say 8000/mile a month that leaves us with 4437 miles for a profit of $3549" - if you bought a truck with a plan of running for $1.50/mile you should be punched in the face. Everybody knows expenses run somewhere around $1.20 per mile give or take. Why bother to only make 0.40/mile and have all the additional responsiblities and risk with owning when you can just drive for someone and make that ? profit of $3549? try $2400 or less, and you haven't even recieved a check yet because it can take up to three months to recieve payment. In addition to what you normally do as a driver you are spending 30 hours or more a week making phone calls, filling out paperwork, getting contracts with shippers and brokers, sending invoices, keeping fuel tax data, etc...., etc....

 

what do you mean by Gas we all burn Diesel fuel

 

Danny you are incorrect also

 

lol, at 1.50 a mile.

 

you guys are doing something wrong.