O/O Journey, Numbers and Updates

Solid month here in December. Lost several days due to weather and holidays but no worries there. Stayed safe and had some time at home!

Total miles: 8,842 (7,157 loaded)
Total revenue: $36,692.14
Loaded CPM: $5.13
All-in CPM: $4.15
Truckin’ Expenses: -$1,815.40
Fuel: --$5,781.51
Driver Pay: $-7,500
Days worked: 18

Maintenance:
- Replaced those two trailer tires that were getting low, one ended up getting a lot worse faster than anticipated.
- Got both annual inspections completed
- Replaced a rear top clearance light on the trailer
- Replaced green ABS cord

 

Yessir. I work through mainly two direct and then supplement with a few select brokers but those are rare. Mostly the two direct.

 

Hi there, glad I could offer some inspiration. I know the world can definitely suck. I will say, don't let anything stop you from your dream, but right now is tough time. Unless you have dedicated / contract work set up, I would just be careful. I am the first to admit I am completely blessed and fortunate to have my contract work, and things would be very different without it. I know what it's like living the load board life right now and it's not easy.

My rig has no depreciation friend, it's a 27 year old hunk of fiberglass and iron. All of my cleared cash goes into the reserve fund.

Everything including maintenance, taxes, truck and health insurance, legal and accounting dues, office expenses, supplies, tools, etc. Fuel and driver pay are expenses but noted separately.

Thank you sir. If you got the dedicated work set up and experience, it can be done. I'd be careful if planning to go load board though. Nasty place.

 

I haven't had time to post for a while, been keeping busy at work and home and getting end of year taxes and paperwork organized. Finally able to post the end of year recap. It was a great first full year of my own authority. Majority of the year was my primary two contracts, with a couple broker loads in there. Had lots of time off this year, mostly due to slower seasonal contract work times and not wanting to pick up sub-par load board stuff. I enjoyed the time off.

My equipment continues to age and wear down, but the tractor is still holding together well. Approaching 500k on the remanned 12.7, so I could ideally get another 500k out of it. But I am also fully expecting it to blow up tomorrow. Anything else is a bonus. Oil samples every 20k have continued to come back clean minus excess soot which I have heard several mechanics tell me is normal for 12.7's. I've been fortunate to have no issues so far with the motor. The tranny is also around the same mileage. Tires, driveline, suspension are all so-so and working fine. Things break and I get them fixed.

The trailer is definitely wearing down being a 20+ year old dry van, but I am keeping it patched together and legal for now. If trailer prices ever come back down to reasonable it's something I want to spend some $$ on possibly this year. When I started in 2020, I could have bought a brand new trailer off the lot for $30k. But I also only had $5k in my bank account and had a $7k repair bill within the first couple months. Funny how things change.

As I approach year four coming up soon, I'm able to be a bit more comfortable in the seat and be more observant of my surroundings and proactive at indentifying issues with the truck. I have noticed more and more reckless 4-wheelers and also some 18-wheelers also, lots of phone usage and mindless driving. It makes me appreciate getting home safe every day and also makes me ponder other options for business in the future. Maybe I don't want to be out on the road with the potential to crush some 4-wheeler that wasn't paying attention, or a turd 18'er that causes an unsafe situation and an accident. For now, things are good and thankfully coming out of another winter for another half-year of good roads!

Here's to a solid 2023 to everyone *beer emoji*