Yearly Profit After Expenses...

It depends on what kind of profit your talking about. If that's what you saved after adding to your maintance funds and paid everything or is that what you had to live off of for a year?

 

I try to get it as close to zero profit as possible, I don't like paying any tax than I have to.

 

This statement here yells the word failure to me.

Your business comes first. Sometimes you can pay yourself, other times you can't.

 

Will it be leased on or running your authority? Where can you get a truck and trailer financed at that payment? Unless you are paying alot down anything with that kind of payment will be too old to finance. What kind of trailer in what freight lanes? Did you factor in fuel, major repairs, maitenance, tires, misc, payments, insurance, license & permits and taxes into your expenses?

I am thinking about getting back into trucking again. I posted some info here:
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...wner-operator/144888-my-cpm-1-05-what-am.html.

I've been out for several years so I have little feel for the present market. I have owned two trucks. In addition, I have spent quite a bit of time looking at this and putting together those figures. If you stay around $2.00 per mile I don't see how you can stay in business and have anything for your trouble.

 

If you look at my other post at my 1.60 per mile I was paying road expenses and taxes out of my $800.00 per week (.40 per mile). That was just worst case. If you stay at 2.00 per mile you should be able pay yourself enough to cover your taxes, pay the road expenses and bank a little cash that's not reseved for repairs and maintenance.

 

I paid $4,000 down on a new tractor in 1973, and sold it for $4,950 in 1982. During those years, the tractor earned $5,000 annually in spite of the fuel crises, deregulation, recessions, layoffs, overhauls, depreciation, taxes, etc. I pulled company dry vans hauling auto parts except for eight months when I pulled a reefer during a recession. I usually received a check for the tractor and a check as the driver. I saved enough for the down payment on another new one, but $5,000 annually is not near enough, even way back then. I think the OP is way low on what a tractor should kick back today.

 

I am certainly not an expert. There are many on here who are smarter business men and better drivers. I think it is possible to bank $20,000.00 in a year. But I know it is just as easy to lose that much in a year.

My first truck (1980) on the first trip, brand new, twisted the pump shaft off 60-70 miles west of Gallup. Hundreds to be towed to truck stop. Get up the next morning and there is the cat shop 200 yards away, wrecker driver knew it was a 380 Cat. Looked in the phone book called another wrecker company that would not rob me. The same old 50's model Mack showed up and fleeced me again. Caterpillar on strike, 10 days to repair. Payments and insurance $90.00 a day. Greenhorn still wet behind the ears, what was I thinking. It took me 2 monthes and 3 visits before I found the Cat house in Cheyenne and got it to run right. Until then was getting passed by freight companies running doubles with 270 Cummins. Anyway as anyone with experience can guess, the long term success of this Great American Dream was doomed from the start. I'm not sure with 30 years more wisdom and 6 years more experience I could have made it work.

I guess the moral of the story is think it over well, be ready to invest yourself and your money, have cash or credit to pull you through the problems that will arise and be sure that you can survive if it should fail.

I still believe in the Great American Dream. I believe bigger reward for bigger risk. But I am realistic and my record is 1 failure and 1 success.