How are O/O making a living at $1.00 a mile

Well said oscar.

 

..kool

 

This post is really aimed at the guys I was having a conversation with through this thread back in August.
There might be a lesson or two to be learned through what has happened to me this year. It was really coming to a head at the time of that conversation with Spyder and Bulldawg,
I was leased to a company out of MS @ that time of writing. Before that to another small company from the same area and before that Landstar (briefly).
These leases were allowing me to tread water but slowly lose my shirt. That ball got rolling at the back end of 2015 thru desperation - both business and private. I foolishly gave my authority up - should have just become a company driver instead !
In June this year, I became so incensed at the way things were going with the last one I started the process to restart my authority.
Then they improved and the fact that they were all such nice people and that I particularly enjoyed working with my dispatcher lulled me into a false sense of security.
I allowed the whole sheebang to drag on for another couple of months which was the time of writing - August.

THIS WAS A MISTAKE!

No not because they were not nice people after all but more like a revelation of priorities, theirs and mine. So in September I quickly pursued my authority and downed tools for these folks. All still very good friends by the way.

I was granted a reinstatement on the 13th Sept. About 2 weeks later I was able to accept my first load and have not stopped since. Just me and my good ol' dry van out here.
It has not been a struggle finding freight even though I did not even have 30 days on my authority. That has been a bit of a barrier but not as big a problem as it was first time around in 2014.
Here is what has made the difference. Firstly that old saying if you want a job done right...................
I have been using all the tools at my disposal to find loads. I have had Convoy loads and CHR. I have used Truckerpath and Truckstop. I have posted my truck and hit up old contacts.
All has paid off.
I have made strategic long deadheads - as was talked about in another thread about should I bounce or not. Again this has paid off.
Allowing somebody else to search for loads in a limited way was a mistake.
Allowing somebody else to search for loads that was also trying to find loads for 9 company trucks was also a mistake.
Allowing somebody else to search for loads who goes home at 5pm and is off Sat & Sun was a mistake.
In fact, allowing anybody else to search for loads who didn't have a dog in this fight was a HUGE MISTAKE !!!
And the biggest mistake of all???
Giving somebody else a percentage when they do not have advantageous exclusive freight. Spyder mentioned this earlier but I had figured that out for myself by the time he verbalized it. The ONLY reason to lease on is because somebody has exclusive, well paying freight. As soon as it becomes clear they are merely working the loadboards it is a waste of time and money.

So how have I been doing??
I am doing great.
Finding freight and dealing with brokers wasn't / isn't the nightmare I thought it was going to be. It was just a personal phobia about talking to people that I have. I am doing what I set out to do i.e. build a list of brokers with about 10 personal go to guys. This has paid dividends and has made my life much easier.
I have instantly received financial relief because of cutting out a middle man. Another month and this will be fully on its feet. I also feel much better because of a removal of frustration and the returned gift of choice.
Using the new technology i.e. Convoy has been great. CHR are now using Macropoint all the time and I find it a relief. Keep Trucking has solved my ELD / IFTA problem for a reasonable price and again brought relief.
So I want to say thank you to those who offered sensible input to me earlier this year, I really appreciate it.

 

Yep. The only reason i don't reactivate my authority is because i regular get lucrative loads that i wouldn't have access to as a one truck operation. And even then its something i think about and reconsider almost every single day.

 

It is a little more complex running my own MC but compared to the alternative it is a breeze.
In 2014 / 15 I had a guy who worked on a small commision finding loads. Nice fellah but there were some problems.
What goes on in my head changes constantly. It depends on what I am seeing and on that basis I can make instant strategy judgements. Another person just can't do that. I don't have time to explain my thoughts to someone else either. It is definitely a do it yourself deal.
I can think 2 steps ahead whereas a load finder can't. Truckstop really helps as does Convoy and Uber.
All in all the OO world has changed since 2015 - for the better.
I'll stick with the van for now. In the future when I have got myself financially back on track I might revisit the possibility of a tanker. For now though I'll stick. Appreciate your input Spyder. Thank you.

 

Running your own mc i wouldn't think tanker would work well, but that's based on nothing but a gut feeling. If boeing and ge don't want to deal with 1 truck operations, i can't imagine the chemical plants and fuel companies do. Obviously that could be wrong, I've never researched it, just basing it on what I've experienced with opendeck.

 

No, no !
To pull a tanker I would lease to somebody - for the right price. Although believe it or not there is a market for OO tankers.

 

I know a guy who's working for $1.10/mile I think it is. It seems like big money to him I guess when gets a 1099 settlement check with no taxes taken out, but I don't know if reality has quite hit him in the face yet. He paid $16,000 cash for a 2013 Prostar with I think around 300-350k on it when he bought it, so he did OK on the purchase of the truck and has no payment, but it's got the pre-DEF MaxxForce engine and he has had trouble with the DPF unit and re-gen. I think he's at least $4-5k deep in repairs already. At the end of the day I'm not too sure he's clearing anything better than he did as a company driver with this same outfit. He activated his MC and got the insurance started and is looking for a trailer but his credit is kind of crap I guess so he cant just go sign up for a new one. So for the moment he's kind of stuck with pulling the company trailer and doing their bidding.

 

I spent some time at Excel crunching numbers last Saturday, something that I neglected really bad for the most part of the year... I took every business related receipt and every little expenditure I made and categorized it and came up with a total cost and then I took every settlement I received and accounts receivable item ..added them together. I've been lousy and horrible this year, up to this point at least, except the last two months when getting a good rate was not that hard. I've been runing under my own authority, dispatching myself completely own my own. Dry box van is the tool. My year to date gross is
$ 119,106.48 with the total cost of $ 66,135.04 and total mileage of 75565.00 (perhaps 30-40 % was deadheading)
Revenue per mile 1.58
Total Cost per mile 0.88
Profit Per mile 0.70
mpg 6.49
My YTD profit $ 52,971.4.
Truck maintenance cost was $ 12,364.88 so far.
I realistically think I can add to the profit maybe 20K more this year if the rates keep up.
I run to be home every weekend, deadhead even up to 700-800 miles, if I have to.
My truck is paid off, so is my mortgage, I don't have kids at college at this point I might in a few years though.
My conclusion is that had I had a mortgage payment and a truck payment and kids at college, I would not be able to make it. If someone of you think that buying a truck getting your MC# (or not) and run for 1 dol a mile +fuel surcharge will put you on a good financial standing you might be better off to become a Walmart driver, they advertise earnings over 80K a year with benefits. You might also think, that I don't things right, that you would be a better rate getter....it could be true but I can't know this. I consider myself to be an average Joe with not too much financial overhead and debt, and I had over 20K in my business bank account before I started this, and I still do...and that's what makes me complacent. I think I've been subjected to freight market forces as most of us are and that's where they got me so far. Maybe I should have worked more, but I don't think I've been too lazy. Anyway, to be a fair judge of myself, I should have profited at least 80k by now to justify all this authority thing and effort. I am 25 K short. There you have it. Reality. Amen.

P.S. The interesting thing is that since 08/01/17 I show to have generated the revenue of
$ 44,540.98 or
$ 25,624.25 in the last 30 days!!!!!!
which makes things somewhat optimistic for the remainder of the year.

 

75k miles and you think maybe you didn't work hard enough? Screw that. Dont live to work. Work to live.