Question For O/Os regarding expenses

It appears load boards have a monthly cost of 30-50 bucks a month. I dunno if the adage you get what you pay for comes into play or not.

If I do end up going against the grain and not the company driver route and be a O/O to start I will most certainly buy a brand new truck. Yes the cost is more up front but repairs should be "minimal" and that should keep costs down across the board.

Leasing onto a company appears to be the mid ground of being a company driver and O/O. If you get your own truck and then can lease yourself onto a company that is the route I would pick. I can't do that because I have no experience but if I could do that I would certainly pick leasing onto a company rather than being a O/O to start.

 

All I can do is give you what I done to get my start in this industry. I drove for two companies as a company driver and made little to no money and had to work as a slave for them. Not for me.... So I found a guy locally that was updating his truck and therefore selling his 2001 Volvo with 651,000 original miles and well taken care of for $8,500. I jumped all over this deal and leased it on with a company pulling dry van paper loads. This company with fuel surcharge paid $1.37/mile and I ran 2300 miles a week. After fuel and my insurance I brought home $1450 a week and home on friday evening. With a cheaper on price truck YES you will have expensed BUT its not everyday that something major is going to need fixed therefore you can put money back for when the time does come to have an overhaul done. I am now on my second truck and I done nearly the same thing. I went to a truck auction and bought my pete for $9,500 with papers on an overhaul showing 152,634 miles on the out of frame overhaul. Tires were decent enough for me to get to work and start making money pulling a flatbed. After 11 months of driving this truck I just had to spend $5500 on a new transmission and the other parts and install. Now I have a good engine and new transmission. In both of my endeavors I have had my trucks paid for within 3 months and was able to pay all bills I have in my life. I personally will probably never buy a new truck when I can do better on making money with used trucks. I am not out here to look the best but MAKE THE MOST MONEY TO TAKE TO THE HOUSE. I am leased to a carrier and make more than enough to keep me happy.

 

Great answer Volvodriver....I learned something hopefully the OP will too!

 

For the more complicated stuff, you can read my "blog" here on TTR.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/members/81412-mndriver/?tab=blog#blog

There's also a spreadsheet on my profile you can see for some idea of expenses.

I started trucking in 90. I left in 97 and got a degree in Industrial Management. Came back to trucking in 2012 as a regional company driver and bought my own truck in July 2012 and leased on with BigBadBill at Farm2Fleet.


About as close as you can come to being a true independent without having your own authority.

Used VS new, at least with a used truck, if things get REALLY slow, you can park it for a month on a nice savings account and survive a month or two. Do that with a brand new truck and a $3000 payment vs a $1200 payment, see how long you last.

Tires, brakes, oil changes, etc. Those costs are going to be the same. Whether it's a 2013 or a 2003. Take your pick. I am looking to put in about $15-20K after I bought my truck/trailer for under $40K At that time, I KNOW what I will have and what it needs. New tires, brakes, etc. Enough to outlive the life of the lease I have on the truck now which now is down to 25 months.

You want to minimize your overhead. Payments, accounts, debt etc. These are your overheads. From there, you manage your expenses on repairs and fuel. Your variable expenses. It's a lot cheaper to put $1000 into an exhaust manifold repair than to let it continue to fail eventually claiming the EGR and turbo with it.

These guys claiming they are getting 7.75 to 8.5 mpg, I'd like to see their quarterly IFTA reports. All of the mechanics that I have had working on my truck, everyone of them says I have nothing to complain if my quarterly is 6.67 and my last two weeks have been showing 6.2 mpg with 78+K in the box, winter blend #2 fuel and the winds we've been having. And that's with an 07 Century with 14L S60, 13 spd and 3.42 gears. I am lucky to idle it more than 30 minutes in a week.


Watch your freight lanes as well. But most of all, remain flexible. When one goes cold, be ready to move to one that's hot. I have been paying attention to what's going on around the house here. It's mainly food industry up here with all the agriculture we have. Consider that for where you might be living. I have had a couple of places actually line my entire truck with cardboard to prevent any wood from the plywood on my walls getting into the product.

I have been able to generate as much revenue going around the state this week so far than if I had taken a load out to Seattle. The big difference, I haven't spent the money on fuel or food away from the house. I get to spend my nights at home with my wife too.

 

I took the opposite approach. Worked as a company driver for 10+ years all local work. Made all kinds of contacts and learned the ropes. Mostly construction related . There was lots of work then.
Bought a new truck and kept it 12 years. Wish I still had it! Second new truck is in the driveway.

I have accounts set up at local kw and cat dealer so repairs are done and I get 30 days interest free. When I have payments and warrantee I really don't do the repair account thing. I would pay payments ahead . And if repairs came up just skip a payment. Once truck is payed off I would just pay out of checking account. You have to remember it not your money, it's the trucks. Pay your self a salary and health ins. If you can't get the numbers to work on paper don't do it.

My way probably won't work over the road. And right now the margins are pretty thin. But I have health ins, a house and 7th motorcycle on order....