Any successful O/O's here?

my wife and i wanted to drive right after we first married( 1980 ) had our first child in 83, second in 88. i have been a diesel mechanic for years and am still working in that field. mid year of 07 we will probably be home alone, youngest will be in college. now we are going back to our childhood dreams ha! we have allways relaxed when we get in a vehicle and 700 to 1000 mi. we would like to see the country and maybe get paid for doing so. i have been in business for myself and been sucessful. were wanting to team drive would prefer o/o over co. could some one give me some honest advice on this subject. i've been looking @ some jobs out there the, #'s look good but i'm sure these can be decieving. would like to still have some home time every week, for example 5/2 7/3 seen fedex web .96/mi., 124.9 fuel,ect.? i know the wheels have to be turning to be making $$$,but one could sacrifice a little of one for the other. possibly run 3500 to 5000+ per week. could any body give me some possible $$$ figures, cost estimates, ect. would probably start out with a truck 2-3yrs. old 40k to 70 k investment. maybe i'm just dreaming if i am someone please wake me up. thank you and have a safe trip. fishhead 24/7

 

There are some things you need to understand... First off the 1.24 that they are promising you for fuel is only for your fuel allowance. Which means if you are on a run that is 1000 miles, you will only get the 1.24 on the fuel that is estimated you will need for that run. If you use more, you will pay full price for the additional amount needed.

Secondly. You are not in control of the amount of miles you run. You might be under the impression that you will be able to run as many miles as you legally can, not so.

You must also have a fine balance between age or truck, payment, and reliability.

My experience is as follows:

The first company I ever leased on to was Air Ride, Inc out of Swanton, OH. I did a LOT of investigation and had my choice of any company I would want in this country. I had a truck less than 5 years old, many years of experience, no tickets, no felonies, no accidents.

Air Ride, Inc offered .92 a mile, weekly performance bonus, 1.22 a gallon for fuel, and all the miles I could run... That was on paper...

Reality... .92 a mile and about $100 a week for running over 2500 miles. 1.22 a gallon based on 5.5mpg.

I did very well for the first few months. But I was not averaging 5.5 because it was winter, I lived in my truck and I idled a LOT... I was lucky some weeks to get 3.5 - 4.0 with all the idle time. Then Air Ride lost several of it's air freight contracts that it had with DHL and Bax Global. Many of the drivers lost major miles, including myself, because Air Ride was did not have enough contract freight to go around... I started sitting a lot.. More idle time... That and I was not not getting any hometime.

I eventually quick when I started seeing $400 a week paychecks after my truck payment and expenses...

I then went to Hill Brothers in Omaha, NE... They weren't offering as much money, but they promised hometime every other weekend. It was about a .10 a mile loss in pay after all was said and done. In two months I found myself in a situation where I was about to lose everything... and I didn't even have any house expenses like rent....

One has to be very careful how you THINK things are going to work out because they rarely go the way you plan.

So, if you think you're going to make miles and have to pay a set amount for fuel and this and that.... You're probably missing something. There is ALWAYS a hitch...

Becareful... If you fall into a situation where you job hop because companies aren't what they appear to be, you are going to fall behind in payments, lose a lot of money in down time, and your DAC is going to start looking bad...

 

unionjack ,thanks for the reply. are you an o/o? how many years in trucking? i,m just wanting to figure these things out. do you have an opinion on fedex or a compareable linehaul job? i've heard fedex contractors complaining on long waits for loads back. i prefer to be o/o because maybe have a little more control. but i guess it all goes back to the $$$! i'm sure we could find a co. job that would offer good home time and pay. how bad does uncle sam hit you on taxes if a team is making 100+k/yr. working for a co. what deductions can you use? i respect this profession and the the people that make it work! i would like to be part of it but it needs to be a profitable venture. i'm wide open for ideas. :smt001

thanks fishhead24/7

 

Dec 22, 2006 was a year that I have been an O/O. Don't be fooled by the illusion of "more control". O/O's who are picky get put on the back burner and loaded last. Load planners aren't going to sit around all day trying to find a load you might like.

As far as deductions, I write off everything... "literally". It gets to be quite the folder after a while. Oil Changes, Tolls, Repairs, Tires, polish, truck washes, laundry, food, everything..... But, I highly suggest you do NOT take my word for it. You need to find an accountant and tax preparer that is experienced in dealing specifically with truck drivers.

Air Ride, Inc is the closest in comparison to Fed Ex when it comes to pay. I would still be with Air Ride, Inc now if they had not lost so many of the contracts they had. I did have problems, but that is going to happen everywhere. It was also the first company I ever worked for that tried very hard to keep me when I quit. I have a standing job offer if I ever want to go back...

I've been driving a truck since 1997. I started out pulling a hopper bottom during harvest season. I went directly from that to Bull Rack (hauling cattle). I've done flatbed, reefer, and dry van. Since 1997 I've had 5 jobs. 3 of those since I became on o/o. The reality of what I needed to make to stay alive was brutal. I have no idea how these guys leasing trucks can make payments on .88 a mile.

I have a $1500 a month truck payment and $2000 a month in housing costs.... Sometimes things are tight. But only when I start buying to many DVD's or take to much time off...

I am going back to work tomorrow. I've been able to afford to take a break from driving since Dec 15th. January will be a hard month, but not impossible.

 

my question is what tax advantages do you have as a co. driver? i know if you are an o/o it should be just about everything concerning your truck and all related expenses. but just what does uncle sam do to a co. team that may gross 100k+/yr.
you would think freight prices would have to catch up to more realistic figures. how is it fair for drivers to commit this much time just to gross 25k-30k /yr. this is poverty level wages. looks like here recently frt. prices have rose a little! a lot of co. run ads that they have several benefits - plates,fuel sur charge, bobtail ins, health ins. ect. how much are these things really worth. i know health ins. is a big one.
i would like to hear from possibly a husband and wife team or other team drivers on their success and realistic income potential ( net profit )
have a safe trip !
thanks fishhead24/7

 

Fish head: I was a contractor with RPS/ FedEx Ground for a total of 13 years. The first 3 in P&D and the rest as a linehaul contractor. They are like anybody else there are good and bad things with being contracted to them. The pay in my opinion isn't too bad all things considered. You get mileage, drop and hook, safety bonuses as well as an anniversary bonus that increases as your years of service increase. You do all drop and hook terminal to terminal no touch freight. You have to assemble and disassemble your sets but with a little practice its no too bad. I still drive part time for a friend of mine who has several tractors contracted at our local terminal and as far as I know all fuel that you purchase on site at any FedEx Ground hub terminal is $1.24.9 per gallon. I am not sure of the starting rate per mile now as it changes every year when they put out their new operating agreement but it has to be close to $I.00 hub mile not bookmile unless they changed that.
I'm sure you want to know why I left......... Welllllll after FedEx bought out RPS our pay and bennies went up but they seemed to forget just who owned the truck. We were expected to run no matter what unless you were dead of course. Sickness, bad weather Blizzards,hurricanes, didn't matter just get those packages down the road . You're a professional driver you can handle it. But....don't screw up and have an accident because if you do its your fault and there goes the safety bonus as well as tractor points.
Holidays don't matter gotta get those packages out so everbody has a Merry Christmas but your family won't miss you on Christmas eve.
I could go on and on about the things that changed with the buyout by FedEx but I think you can see where I'm coming from. As far as team trucking for them. Until you can get an assigned run be prepared to spend sometime waiting for loads and not always running where you want.
If you have any more questions about FDX Ground I'll try and help you if I can. Good luck on your adventure in owning and operating a truck if you choose that road. PJ

 

The man who lives behind me drove for a company for about three years before getting his own truck. Last year he bought a new Chev p/u truck. He also got a new van for the wife and two kids shortly thereafter. Now, they are going to rent out the house as they are buying a six bedroom house about 1/2 mile away in a new tract here in Moreno Valley. Being an appraiser, I would figure the house is costing him at least $450,000.

dave