Do owner operators have gold plated toilets?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by jptrick, Nov 4, 2012.

  1. scottied67

    scottied67 Road Train Member

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    I couldn't afford the whole toilet out of gold but I did have the toilet seat itself chiseled out of a very large diamond.
     
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  3. chompi

    chompi Road Train Member

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    My bucket was gold but the actual toilet seat was platinum!
     
  4. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    Steps to making a good living as an owner operator

    1. Learn how to drive in someone else's truck. You can train a gorilla to hold a steering wheel. Most "truck drivers" never get past this stage. Read the regs book. You will hear BS every day of the week, so at least know whats real and whats fiction.

    2. Time management. Everyone has the same hours in the week, but everyone doesnt make the same check. Some things are beyond your control, but most things are not. Dont do late. Always be on time. Sleep when you are supposed to be sleep. Drive when it is time to drive. Goof off when you are empty, not under a load. Even as a company driver, you can make alot of money if you are good at managing your 168 hours.

    3. Learn to hustle. You will meet new drivers every day. Build a network with the right drivers/dispatchers/shippers and receivers, learn the freight lanes, traffic, shortcuts around traffic jams.

    4. Learn the business. Go into the truckstop restaurant and sit at the counter. You will see some driver walk up and within the first 5 minutes starts volunteering employment history. This is the first sign of a supertrucker. Decades of experience, yet is complaining about money. If a guy has been driving for 30 years and isnt making money, doesnt that mean he's stupid? Your mission is to figure out why he doesnt make money at trucking. Its actually not hard to do. If you listen, he will tell you within the first 5 minutes why he doesnt make money, yet he wont be able to figure it out and he will point fingers at his company.

    5. Learn trucks. The pros and cons of the engines and transmission choices, the best gear ratio for the wagon you want to pull. The right setup performs well and is actually enjoyable to drive. The wrong setup sucks fuel like theres no tomorrow. When you figure out what wagon you want to pull, gravitate towards that end of the business.

    See, the goal isnt to be mediocre, but to be at the top of the pile. Being a top level driver doesnt come by accident. You have to invest in yourself and your business. You dont just buy a truck, any truck, jump in and think you can rub elbows with the guys who make money. You have to know, and you have to execute.

    Happy motoring.
     
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  5. Cowpie1

    Cowpie1 Road Train Member

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    If one is out on their own, the some of those costs might be in the ballpark or higher. Contract lease to a carrier can be worse or better depending on the contract and operation. I only spend $236 a month on insurance for a 2013 truck. I pulled up some spreadsheets for this year, and my cost per mile of operation (including truck payment, health insurance, fuel, truck insurance, maintenance, and all other operating expenses) is right at around $.95 a mile on average on actual miles. I get on average a dollar for the per mile rate and right now fuel surcharge is adding on $.49 to that, for a ballpark $1.49 a mile. And considering I am getting decent discounts on fuel. I fueled at the Flying J in LaSalle, IL the other day. I got $.41 off the cash pump price. Factoring out the state fuel tax, fuel cost me $3.13 a gallon. My truck is averaging mid 7's on fuel mileage. So that puts my cost per mile on fuel less than $.48 a mile with fuel tax included.

    So, in a nutshell, my net per mile is well over $.50 a mile. And that number is based on actual miles, not just paid miles. And unlike a company driver, that is AFTER health insurance. And I stop by the house a couple of times a week and go home on the weekends. Sorry, no gold plated toilet in this ride or tons of chrome or 18 million lights, and I do not have a dedicated run.

    You have to run it as a business and not a hobby. You need to be a bean counting fool and understand ROI's, CPM, and RPM. You have to have all the data available on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and year to date basis to know if you are profitable or not, or what you need to do to cut out waste and increase you bottom line.

    If one is not going to invest the time and effort to making it all come together, then drive someone else's truck and let them worry about it.
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2012
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  6. dude6710

    dude6710 Road Train Member

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    Yes. Oh wait that's just appears to look gold from my well water.
     
  7. albhb3

    albhb3 Medium Load Member

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    well shoot everyone knows #5 a blacked out peterbilt 389 300WB and 600hp cat w/13:biggrin_25525:
     
  8. Buffalo Chip

    Buffalo Chip Light Load Member

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    I bet you wipe your butt with Silk Cloth instead of toilet paper :biggrin_2559:
     
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  9. dude6710

    dude6710 Road Train Member

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    Wash and reuse. Save money!
     
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  10. DMH

    DMH Medium Load Member

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    If I remember from past posts he's leased to someone not a lease purchase deal.
     
  11. Mountain Hummingbird

    Mountain Hummingbird Medium Load Member

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    Gold plated toilet ? only the o/o's that are full of ####. You can do ok if you watch your fuel and your costs. By fuel I do not just mean the MPG but also the price per gallon every penny you save per gallon is additional profit. Some work you can do yourself like oil changes grease jobs, ect. If you have access to a shop like we do then your repairs can be done for the cost of parts and a few beers for the boys It helps that my older brother is a heavy duty mechanic, and is a bonus that he likes beer. If you grew up on a farm you wont have any worries doing O/O farmers learn early how to keep things going in the field.
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2012
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