still booming?

I put $550-$600 in my mack mp8 I drive up here in ND every 2.5 days. Guy I know just took a trainer job at crst starting at $45000 not quite 10k a month. He drives a ford focus lol

 

The devil is always in the details.

The truck might be generating 8-10K in revenue, but the driver is NOT taking home that much in profit (pay).

 

When you say that you just got your CDL, what time frame are we talking? Like just got it this week, or just got it a year ago?

 

Dude, most of us know the game pretty well...we also understand that your a newbie in trucking and don't understand. But...with that said... the numbers you are quoting is before expenses. There are a LOT of expenses. I'll list a few. 1. Fuel @ a minimum .60/mile 2. His weekly lease payment divided by the miles will give you that number. 3. Mainenance...it ain't free. In fact, they are likely witholding another 7 or 8 cents/mile for a maintenance fund. 4. Other expenses are insurance, licensing, tires, truck washes, tolls...the list is long. I seriously wouldn't turn the key on a truck for $1.25/mile. I might consider punching someone in the nose at a $1.15.

To answer the last part of your post. Nobody can tell you whether or not the oil fields are your destiny. We can all pretty much tell you though, that a lease purchase will put you in the poor house. I would rather work at walmart. Seriuosly.

 

yea we can do the math, and NO way is that driver making $10,000 a month take home pay at those rates.

 

You can "make" $100,000/month and go in the hole, every month. It isn't how much you make, but how much you keep. Some of these lease purchase companies like to tout the gross revenue. While their gross numbers may be correct, they won't likely show you the "net." They can't. The reason is because every driver operates differently and each will have different expenses.

It is very bad business to lease or purchase a truck without experience in the industry and money saved. You NEVER want to invest in a business without some understanding of that business. I have spoken with many inexperienced drivers over the years, who want to do a lease purchase. Very few actually make a decent living or get to keep the truck. Some leases don't allow for you to actually own the truck. It is strictly a lease. Some who want to do a lease have already made up their mind. They only want validation that they are making the right decision.

You have no idea of what it will mean when you have to make those high weekly payments. If you take a few days off your lease payments will still need to be paid. That can mean a very small or negative paycheck.

I would recommend that you step back and find a good company to drive for and then start learning. Buy a composition book and keep track for all expenses for the truck. Track fuel, tires, maintenance, etc., When you own or lease the truck, you pay for everything. There are also UCR, IRP, IFTA, HUT, self employment taxes, insurance, workers comp or occupational accident insurance, etc.,

 

You really need to take a breath and do the math. I used to broker freight to my own trucks and the minimum rate that I would take is $ 1.15/mile for dry freight. And that was when fuel was $.99 per gallon. At that time my expenses to the truck (including driver wages) were $.85/mile. Until you can tell someone exactly what it costs per mile to operate your truck, (fuel, insurance, taxes, maintenance, replacement costs, etc.) you should not be an owner. As a side note, you can gross between 8 and 12K per month as a company driver in the oil field.

 

There are plenty of reasons for the high turnover rate. Since the money is good, people come here for just that. They stay just long enough to get caught up on bills or w/e and leave. Most boom towns have little housing, so your most likely not moving your family with you. West Texas and west N.D. are remote area's, I'm from the suburbs of Chicago, and used to having everything plus some within arms reach. Lease road trucking is not for everyone either, sometimes I feel like I'm still bouncing around while I'm trying to sleep. N.D. has rough winters, west Texas has hot summers. That's just a short list of things that come to mind after a long day/night.