I'm looking at forward air owner operator terminal to terminal in the northeast, trying to see if it's worth it. They said it's $1.85 a mile, does that include Destination-Based Additional Compensation rate of .125 for notrheast. Is it 1.85 a mile or 1.97....why even say it if it's 1.85. I figure I'm looking around $120,000 to $150,000 in expenses plus another $40,000 in taxes but most should right off.. Diffently going to need 3000 mile a week minimum.Does anybody know anything about them? I would be leasing a brand new frieghtliner. i think it could be profitable but you would need a lot of luck. I like the idea of owning the truck at the end of the lease so i can go where ever i want to go. I'm single, staying out all month doesn't phase me. Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks
My suggestion: at those numbers, you're better off being a company driver. If you must get in the game, do it the right way: stack your money up and buy a truck, then lease on somewhere good or get your own authority.
I agree with you, but how do you find the right company. Most of them are scams, it's a joke how they pay. I have done over the road awhile back. I'm not staying out all month for $1500 week. Last 10yrs i was at pepsi, i don't want hump stuff around all day anymore. I like to drive but how do i know I'm going to get the miles.
I mean.....that's about what you'd end up with after all those expenses anyway going that route. When I look for a new company, I listen to cents per mile, and what type of freight they haul. Example: You're looking to do dry van. Over the last couple of years, we saw dry van companies fold because their largest customers were purely automotive. When that industry takes a downturn, so does their revenue. Does said dry van company have a variety of customers or is everything based on that one customer? Does the company travel everywhere, or at least a large portion of the country? That will determine how many miles you can run. Also, you don't want to run for 1500 weekly. Well that's nearly 80k for the year.....that's a pretty good year. OTR trucking is what it is. You either like the lifestyle or don't. You should figure out what your needs are first. Do you want to be home more or out more? Do you want OTR or local/regional? What type of schedule do you like? You've been at Pepsi so you've burned out on beverage delivery, that's crosses that out. You don't seem to want to do OTR. If you have all your endorsements, maybe linehaul or hazmat positions will suit you. Did you look into those?
The thing is #1 i want to do over the road. #2 I'm single, don't mind staying out all. month. #3 when i say $1500 week, what i mean is I'm not staying out all month to bring home $1100. #4 i would love to to 700 or more miles. a day, those companies are hard to find if you dont own your truck. I haven't made any decisions yet, but you would think there was more money in it. Thanks
You learn/know these kind of details by communicating with current working drivers at the company you are considering and NOT flipping a coin and hiring on to see what happens. There are 2 sub-forums on this web site for company-specific discussions. There is an Owner-Operator sub-forum and lease-purchase sub-forum, if you want to go broke.
Everyone that can't or hasn't been able to save enough money to buy a truck always thinks lease purchase is the answer. That's why the failure rate is so high. One things for sure, any lease purchase scam that's based on miles, miles, and more miles needs to be crossed off your wish list. Being a successful owner operator certainly isn't based off of the miles mentality.
Well....it ain’t the companies fault if you gross 1500 and bring home 1100....that's the nature of taxes and such lol. To bring home 1500 a week, with the average pay of OTR drivers, you'd have to run about 3500-3800 miles a week. That ain't always possible. Now your best bet to acjieve that would be to go reefer, or maybe teams in some cases. Where do you live? Maybe you can be directed to some.of those companies.
