My CPM 1.05 what am I forgetting

$600 per month for insurance? Are you getting your own authority? I'm leased to a carrier & I'm paying $203 a month for comp collision & bobtail on the tractor.

My accountant only charges $85 per month.

OCC in not required in many states for single O/O's... Only need it if you have hired driver's. But some carriers "FORCE" you to have it.

Does the carrier your looking at pay the quarterly IFTA taxes? Or do they charge them back to you?

What about your annual 2290 tax of $550 that is due in July of every year?

Are you sure the truck your going to buy is going to average 6.5 mpg?

 

IFTA is a hard thing to estimate. If you pay attention and fuel in correct states you can come out dead even give or take a dollar or too... but if you don't... I know ppl who paid hundreds in a quarter for IFTA.

 

I would hope that insurance is double what you would be paying. This is something to check on before jumping in. I have seen some companies that are self insured charging high rates.

If you understand each states rates and don't look at cheapest pump rate then IFTA is something that should not be a major deal. Got a refund for this last quarter. Example. Pump price between IL and IN can be $.05-.10 higher in IL. And IL has some of the highest fuel tax in the country. And IN I think is $.15 less (or more) what you get credit for. So in the end, IL is cheaper when you tax the tax out. But I have talked to many O/O's that will make sure they fill-up before entering IL based on pump price. So that is when it get's you.

Also, I have heard some companies calculate the IFTA and charge it back and use fleet numbers. So if you are averaging 6.5 and the fleet is averaging 5 you will have a bigger bill. When I was with CRE years ago would get hit with $400 IFTA bills because I averaged over 7 mpg and the fleet was at 5.3 mpg.

Your fuel rate is high and if you are getting FSC then planning for increase in fuel should come with increase in per mile rate. If you are not getting FSC then don't walk away, run away from the company you are looking at.

 

I don't know who you're leasing to and what they cover but as an independent here's a few of ours.
Fax service
Internet air card
Cleaning supplies
Printer
Printer paper
Printer ink
Fedex/Trip Pak/UPS etc.
2290
KS Property Tax (don't know if that will apply to you)

By the way I think $700 on the Maint fund is low. Hell your PM alone will cost $200-$300 every month and a half at you estimated mileage.

Your $2460 bring home is... your wage? So roughly $615 a week? Then you're at 100% of the truck's gross and any more than $700 a month in maint and repair and your in debt to your carrier.... I'd def rethink that and try to raise it.

 

So as not to get too complicated what I do is have no fuel states and fuel states. So in my earlier example, IN is a NO Fuel State and IL is a Fuel state. So if you are trip planning you will learn what states to fuel in. There are websites that will give you fuel rates on a route with the cost after tax.

 

I'm going to share the numbers I have put together for operating costs. Been going over the numbers and collecting data for a few weeks. I'm thinking about taking the plunge again. This may help those who won't or don't know how to do this.

I have owned a couple of trucks over the years. I failed once and suceeded once. I bought a new truck and a 7 year old refer the first time about 1980 with no experience and no knowledge. This is a bad idea. I ran wildcat/outlaw. It can work but the odds are against you big time. The second time in the 90's I bought a worn out truck cheap and used several gallons of oil each trip running 800 - 1300 mile trips and saved for an in-frame. I made a truck out of it and went on to be sucessful. I leased this truck and pulled their van.

This being said I still believe in the american dream. You can do anything you want as long as you are willing to work hard enugh to make it work. You need to be informed and understand what you are getting into. You need to put together your own numbers based on facts, your area and market information. You need to break your numbers out by catagory and know what it costs. Then you can look at what you can earn. You need to understand fixed and variable costs. Know what each catagory costs per mile. Know your cost per mile, day, week and month. Know what it costs for the truck to sit a day. Know what t costs per mile to deadhead. There is no way to decide if you want to put a load on your truck if you don't know this. If you haul freight that does not pay what your costs are you will fail. If you can't make a little return or something for your trouble you will grow weary with it.

I see many people wanting to run certain days, schedules or lanes. I do too but I doubt I can pay truck payments that way, at least in this economy. I live in a pretty fair location as shipping lanes go. I still wouldn't buy a truck unless I was willing to run a more profitable lane if I need to or spend less time at home if that is what it takes. Trucking is more than a 9-5 job and owning a truck is, just like any other business very demanding. I don't mean to offend anyone or act like I know it all. I'm on here to learn like many. I just don't want anyone to do like I did with my first truck. After making a few trips with an Independent I thought it was about driving, fueling, loading, unloading and having fun. I may of failed with the first truck but I had fun and I have the stories to prove it. It cost a divorce and my credit but the memories are priceless.

I'll give you the numbers I have in my next post. There are states where insuance will cost nearly double what my figures are - Florida is one. What you decide for a truck could make the truck payment 30% less or more than 100% more. You will have to crunch your own numbers before you know for sure.