Need Advice from Experienced Owner Operators

Well where to start.

1 yes there is alot of cheap frieght. its hard to get around with out hauling it. you will be in an area where the alone way to move is cheap frieght. it sucks but these large carriers are forcing our hands. the 2 dollar a mile on all loads is unreal. you will hual cheaper if you run you auth. brokes are know to stiff people. do your research before taking the load

2 trailer wow. well freight is alway changing. today maybe good for a refeer tommorow a dry van and nexy week a flatbed. a refeer does give the option to haul dry goods. but it also weights alot more and shippers can require a carrier to load 46000lbs or give up the load.

3Income. hard to say really gross you could do 500,000 a year or more depending on how many trucks trailers and how many hauls you get.

Here is my advise. enless you have a deal in place to haul for a company, ie you contract for fikes dairy to haul store milk every day. lease on somewhere. the cost of your auth, insurance, trailers, repairs, maintance are just to high these days for small fleets with out a contract for freight. with a lease you know your getting paid the same weather the carreir is getting cheaper freight or high dollar freight.

thats just how me and my friends and family look at it. we try our auth twice and gave up on it. now some companies(few) will lease on a truck and trailer like in pa here in smithon we have kaplan trucking. its flatbed work. the pay is alittle more. personal i am buying a trailer to lease on to the company i am leased to and only so i can take loads out west for vaction. the rest of the time i pull their trailer under the contract they have.

What ever you decide good luck and best wishes

 

You can make money hauling freight. Rates are still all over the place. Rates will vary according to the type of freight hauled, freight lanes run and your negotiating skills. It is your equipment and your decision as to what it takes to use your trucks to haul freight. You may or may not consistently run your trucks for $2/mile. It is possible to average $2/mile, but again, it depends on the type of freight and lanes that you run your trucks. If you are willing to follow th freight, you can do well. You live in a good freight area.

You can probably have more consistent freight with a reefer. People still need to eat. There is also other types of freight that requires a controlled environment that pays well. Some shippers with dry freight don't load reefers. I have known some owners who would not pull anything else but reefers.

It is difficult to give anyone a figure for a net income. Everyone runs their business differently and we all have expenses that vary. I would think that most owners should gross between $120,000-180,000/year. Some can do better, others less. Keep in mind that you will have times when your trucks will sit due to not having a driver.

I would probably continue running my own authority, but I have known people who own multiple trucks and lease them to another carrier. There are advantages to leasing to another carrier. Most of the larger carriers have at least some of their own customers and that can translate to more consistent year around freight and steady rates. Leasing to a carrier can also mean that you have less money to lay out for base plates, insurance, etc., Many carriers will also help fleet owners find qualified drivers. If you run your own authority, you can find your own customers and are not limited to the freight from a carrier with whom you lease your equipment. I used to know a fleet owner who had 16 trucks leased to Landstar. It seemed to work better for him than running his own authority. I have met other fleet owners who have multiple trucks leased to other carriers, such as Schneider. There are advantages to both. If you are moving into a new area of freight, it could be advantageous to lease to another carrier to learn more about what you are doing. Most carriers will help fleet owners dispatch their trucks and that could save you money by not having to hire a dispatcher for your trucks. The downside is that you will give up some of the rate to any carrier to whom you lease. But, they pay for the insurance and may finance your base plates and permits, file your fuel taxes and handle all billing and collections. That is something that must be paid by someone. You either pay it yourself under your own authority or give up some of the rate for the carrier to do and for them to have a profit.

Running my authority works best for me. However, I know that I can lease to some carriers and do well. I know on carrier where I could lease my trucks and average a little over $2/mile to the truck. I do better than that on my own, but it is always an option.