Rate my month! How did I do as an Owner Operator?

I can only compare what I get paid at around $49 per hour and average around 12 - 13 hours per day am working a 10 week long stint with hopefully 5 weeks off so due for a big pay check at some point in this period of time. Hauling 193 tonne loads of Iron Ore does come with its perks though.

 

Before I give my input, you're doing great!

I did 38k. But only did 9k miles. 4700 n fuel. I'm running south and midwest. Flatbed.

I see you're doing the longer trips. I do short jumps. My average trip is 400 miles. So I'm dropping off and picking up every single day.

 

Man!!! You're still harvesting.
At this rate, you can buy a new Mercedes by the end of the year...cash.
If the dealer has any....lol

 

Fair enough, when you say "sitting so much" i assume youre talking about the 34 hr resets more so than waiting to load/unload?

Sounds like me when i decide to actually work, got a run coming up that im going to have to push pretty hard to get done, guy had at least 2 loads, he asked if i could pick on a friday, and then be back on the immediate tuesday for another, sounds fine till you realise its Tennessee to washington state.

Dont get me wrong, im going to try to make it back and do another turn, but it wont be THAT fast, thatd be 55 mph without stopping for 96 hrs straight 0 stops, im not a team driver, and even if my needs for sleep arent huge, i need better than 0 hrs every 4 days

 

Clearing $1000/day after fuel cost is good. Doesn’t matter how you get there. Long trips, short trips, combination, hourly, no right or wrong way. All kinds of ways to mix it up, and average out.

 

You sure have a pretty month there, driver. You see that log?

I think everyone else had hit the nail on the head already and I agree. IMO, if you're hitting your day rate after expenses and don't feel like you're running yourself into the ground then you're doing good. Anything less is uncivilized.

Get as much as you can now so when the market flips you'll be sitting pretty and won't have to turn the key at all unless it meets your financial requirements.

 

You might not have the same expenses next year as you did this year but you sorta need to factor that in anyway
If not needed. Bonus

Something is going to want some of that revenue
Also
Plan on restarts as the norm and if you can run without them and bumping your clock then that’s a bonus
Again
Something usually will pop up

As it looks. You’re on the right track

 

All maintenance regardless of "need" should go against your numbers, yes you need tires, but on the average a full set should be defrayed over the course of the next few years.

If you keep track of your expenses and categorize them well as to what exactly $ went to, after a year or 2 you should be able to tell at a glance about how much youre going to need to set aside for maintenance etc.

The lazy mans calculation is to take a new truck $ amount and divide 750-1 million miles by your yearly running miles, save any of the amount you dont dppend on payments/maintenance, so lets say 100k miles, 150k truck, 750k miles expected, thats a 7.5 year payoff, so 20k a year in operational maintenance, 1666$ a month.

Some months itll just be an oil chg, but 4 months of that and you drop a diff input... not ahead but not behind.

My truck is older and 6 years of on average 1.5k a month. Im always finding ways to dump money into her.

Happily much of the early stuff was tools i dont have to rebuy and an inframe