My first truck. Any suggestions?

First off your insurance is way to high, I paid 600 a month for a T 600 kenworth and a 2008 transcraft eagle 2 flatbed spread axle.26000 dollar trailer. That's an aerocab kw. Id also like to make the money your talking but its fantasy. Fuel alone will cost you at least75 to 80 cents a mile . Fact is new truck is warranty work , no hurry. Good luck big strapper.

 

You can depriciate your tractor over 4 years. If it cost 80 k you can deduct 20 k a year for 4 years. So even if you have payments for 5 you can only go 4 years but you get majority in first year, make sure you get a good cpa.

 

Too many drivers run for 2 a mile one way, then go back for fuel money to get another 2 dollar a mile run, so average is one fifty a mile for fuel which is at least 75 cents a mile, truck payment , lns, tires at 3 k a set for good ones and eating on road which ain't cheap. I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff been bouncing around to much.

 

A new glider with a pre emission engine.

What good is a warranty? If you're worried about repair bills you probably can't afford the truck anyway. Repair bills are just a small part of the breakdown cost -- lost revenue, lost time, unproductive driver wages, hotel, etc. And you're probably going to be at least partially out of pocket on most of the emissions repairs -- DPF cleaning/replacement, new dozer, egr cooler, etc -- are these classified as "wear" items?

Everything wear & tears eventually.

You and most everyone else have this same idea. Really sounds clean and simple, but the reality is not the same.

And tax deductions are not 1:1 -- if you have a 20,000 tax deduction it means you have spent $20,000 (or lost $20,000 in value). That money is gone. Your tax break only offsets a fraction -- 10-30% -- of that loss. So while a $20,000 tax deduction sounds great, it only "saves" you ~$4,000 for a net loss of $16,000.

But people like to justify emotional decisions with superficial logic...

Clearly. Why is that? I mean you could go a step further and rent a truck every day and not have to worry about mechanical stuff. But then you wouldn't make any money... Or you could be a company driver...

The potential for greater returns carries higher risk. That isn't to say you should throw caution to the wind, but neither should you hedge every bet.

Best answer is to talk to a qualified expert in your state. There are downsides, but they vary. In California Corporations have to pay a fairly high income tax rate on modest earnings which offsets some of the gains. You also have a lot more paperwork and compliance stuff to deal with.

Wants to avoid all mechanical work...
Earns $1.60/mile...
Pays 16cpm...

I hope you'll run a classier outfit than I'm imagining...

 

When you get all done with a business plan, you need to assign your net revenue a multiplier. This should be done by someone in the business who never wrote a business plan, and never by the person who wrote it. This will tell you what your bottom line will look like. They will also tell you what your score is on a scale of 1-10 concerning things you left out. A good multiplier is usually around .60, a 5/10 is a good score.

I made that up. But it probably close.