OTR Advise please

Personally I run as hard as I need to and take a 34 when I run out. It's usually too hard to make the 8.75 hours per day match up to the real world. You're normally dispatched according to what hours you have available to run, not how many you want to run.

 

I agree.... you end up running 'em like you get 'em.

Flip side, I run electronic logs, and in the last 2 weeks (9-1 thru 9-15), I got 6600 miles. And I did do a 34 in the midst of it all. Based on your $.33, that's $1089 each week.

I generally stay out 14 days at a time and it is not so bad. Makes the homecoming that much better

 

I've done both...the 8.75/day thing, and the "run 'til you're out of hours and need a 34" thing.

Lately, I've been running all-out (when there's freight) and taking a 34 on Sunday (I'm usually out about 19 days at a time). That's the way I prefer to work it. We also do a lot of drop and hook, so there's less rigidity in scheduling.

 

It's not about all those miles.......

First off...
You need to determine what it cost to run down the road.....


Mortgage on equipment....
Fuel cost....
Insurance costs...
Registration.....
IFTA taxes....
HUT (Highway use taxes)

If you run in or through Oregon.....you need to file a bond for the first year or two....

NM requires a separate "Weight-Distance" tax....

All of your maintenance costs.....
Permits....

If you run an older rig.....it (please take my word on this one...if you pay attention to nothing else) will be the proverbial "Hole in the road"......

Add up those costs......and break it down by the mile..... and that will give you what it costs to operate your rig.....you need to also draw a salary....which is NOT PROFIT!!!!! and include that in the break-down....That number is your "BEP" or Break-Even Point.....

Now when you see a load posted for say $2100 to go from Fontana to Portland (roughly 1000 miles) do the math and that's $2.10/m.....

Sounds good right?
If your BEP is $1.50/m...that's great...If it's $2.20/m.....not so great...

Also.....a $2.10/m load isn't so great if you have to deadhead back 500 miles to get your next load.......


So it's not the miles that count when you are an O/O......it's the gross or TTT and how it relates to your BEP.......


Lastly.....some guys will say that $1.50/m is "cheap".......It all depends on your BEP....
There are O/Os that actually make a profit on $1/m loads.....It all depends on the circumstances....

 

That's all good info, but I think the OP was asking about the 70 hour time management. Sounds to me like a company driver, not an O/O.

 

Ah.....Got you....

 

I actually think that NM abolished that & went with straight IFTA filings. I have not been asked for my fuel tax permit all year....

 

They're just doing it paperless now.