My Step-Dad and I are looking to buy a truck.

I know there's been several threads about this topic, but I was hoping to be able to narrow my research down some by centralizing information specifically applicable to my step-dad and I in this one thread.

Here's the skinny of it all.

My step dad has been in business for himself successfully for the passed 10-15 years. He's tried many business ventures from lawn care to custom harvesting. Currently he owns a service shop that primarily focuses on tires. He has a very solid business mind and knows what it takes to make a business work. The one thing he doesn't know is trucking. This is where I fit into the plan. While I know little about what it takes to get a truck leased onto another company's authority, I do know quite a bit about this business from a driver's perspective. Additionally, I believe I do know how to make a truck run profitably. However, I am very aware that I don't know everything there is to know about being an O/O and this would be where you good folks that either are an O/O or have been one would come in. We're looking to purchase (read: finance) a truck and lease it onto another company's authority. I'd be the sole driver with my step dad looking to boost his current income by a thousand dollars or so a month by managing things and utilizing his repair shop as much as possible for things such as PM's, tires, and other small repairs. We hope to perhaps become a small fleet in a few years.

As I'm the trucker in the family, Mike has come to me seeking council on what sort of truck to buy and how much the costs might break down to for operations of the truck. I realize there are a lot of variables to take into consideration, but so far here's a numbers scenario we've come up with based on an average of 2800 miles/week at $1.00/mi without a fuel surcharge:

Initial Income $2800/wk

Fuel $1600/wk
Tires $45/wk
PM $27/wk
Truck Payment $300/wk
Insurance (Bobtail) $150/wk

Adjusted Income A $678/wk

40cpm average Fuel Surcharge

Adjusted Income B $1798

First of all, is this even closely realistic to real world scenarios?

Secondly, how much should we be considering for taxes? 30%? 40%?

I know there are several variables and there's no way to predict this could actually happen every week, but we're just looking for the best educated guess if you will. Is it possible for me to make $1000-$1500/wk for driving the truck and him to make $200-$500/wk to manage and maintain the business/truck? I'd greatly appreciate any advice y'all can offer on this subject.

Also, who are some of the better companies to lease onto? Is it best to be paid per mile or percentage? I feel the latter is more profitable.

 

Thanks for the info. I can't believe I forgot about plates. The truck would be tagged in IL as that's where he lives and where the shop is located. Speaking of his shop, I should mention that it's well equipped for all different kinds of equipment. He regularly does tire work for big trucks, all different kinds of farm equipment, and all types of personal vehicles. His shop isn't currently big enough to park a big truck inside of, but neither of us are afraid of working outside to do some of the repairs we could do by ourselves or with the help of a few diesel mechanics we know personally.

As to the type of truck, we're currently looking at Freightliners. As my step dad says, if you're going to be successful in any business, you've got to provide whatever service necessary at a lower cost than the competition. If you're paying less for a truck and on it's repairs, then you should be meeting the success theory he proclaims. Freightliners just appear to be efficient trucks in all aspects. You can pick up a 2003 Century Class for around $25-$35K with around 400-600K miles on it. As far as what engine and transmission, I've suggested at least 430hp, but preferably 500hp and a 13 speed transmission. I've also stated my preferred manufacturer is Cummins, but that's based off of the N-14's I've driven vs. the S60 Detroit. Cat is a great engine, but I'm afraid the fuel efficiency and replacement parts cost would decrease the profit margin too much.

Ideally we'd like to buy a truck as close to $20k as possible.

 

I don't know as though I want to lease on to Landstar.

 

Of course I don't mind you asking.

I'd like to find a company we could lease on to that doesn't have an OBC (Qualcom, MobileMax, etc.) and that isn't overly picky on logs. I know it's a no-no around here to not wanna be 100% legal, but I've heard Landstar is just as bad as JB Hunt when it comes to logs. Also, we might end up going with an older truck ('98-'01) which will decrease the amount of companies that will take us.

 

I appreciate that info, BM.

Now, what about the dollar figures we threw out?

Aside from the initial cost of buying the truck, what other sort of initial out of pocket might we expect?

If there's already answers to these questions on here, where might I find them?