We are taking on a small fleet of trucks and I have a bunch of dumb questions

you will learn as time goes by,

 

I'm just here to hear the responses, to say your all over the board is an understatement..But you really need to have your "risk" & "reward" scale out before you put any money forward..

 

this should be interesting, and i wish good luck.

 

4 words..... Get the checkbook out!!

 

General rule is when buying a truck brand new you put $1,000/mo away for future maintenance and tires thru the life of the equipment lasting 1 million miles..the first 400,000 miles brakes and tires will be you basic items to replace. When you buy used equipment your cost will be higher because you don't have any maintenance funds put away from day one when the truck was new. When a trucks get 4 years old things like air valves, wheel seals, wheel and drive train bearings, brake drums, and other items like A/C start failing or need replacing,
With all the equipment you have you best have a full time mechanic and do all your servicing your self,,engine and trans overhauls you can send out but if you use a dealer for your maintenance and repairs it will cost you a fortune,,
Yes newer trucks with 07 and up engines your cost will be much higher especially if they have CAT engines..$$$$$
Big fleets buy new, run the truck until the warranty runs out and then sell them pocketing the money before they have to dip into money set aside for maintenance,, I used to do that ,,trade every 4 years and selling the truck off to someone that will be stuck with a truck just as it starts needing a lot of money to maintain,,

 

Depends on how bad or good of shape the trucks are in anthe tanks you have are old so maintence on those tanks shouldnt be that much i no insurance cost alot for fuel trucks

 

Your questions are so vague and dependent on much more relevant information that no one can answer your question.
The insurance should be easy, call your agent.
As far as maintenance, who knows. I'd establish a relationship with a local shop, preferably one with road service. Have them go through the trucks and report their condition.
Driver cost are completely dependent on your local area.
Compliance wise, companies like JJ Keller or OOIDA can set you up with everything you need.

 

there isnt really a good ballpark for this cause anything could happen that causes these expenses to change but here is my .02

) Maint/repairs costs- all you can really go by is your scheduled maintenance; oil change after how ever miles, tires etc etc but you have to have a ball park of how many miles your trucks are going to be running then you can see when you would have to take it in or at least how many times a year minimum it would go in for oil change, fuel filter, tires etc etc.. and then take that number and add a few extra trips to the shop encase your trucks are runnin hard. also are you going to be doing any of the work or do you have to take it to a shop every time cause if you do have to go to a shop my advise would be go to that shop and see how much they charge for all the routine maintenance and try to work out a better price for your business your going to be bringing them
2) Fuel costs-without running for a year in this new venture your doing i dont see how you can guess fuel cost way too many factors. so until you run your trucks and see what they get during busy or slow times id prepare for a high fuel bill.
3) Driver costs-are you paying by load or by hour? are you under contract with this venture for so many loads guarentee? any guess on how many loads a day or where the work will be like local? or long haul? per diem? you have sleepers so that would cut out a hotel exspense.