Starting a small trucking company in Southern Illinois, ADVICE NEEDED!!

Remember,the quickest way to quickly get to a million in the trucking business is to start with 2 million.... Just kidding bud. I hope everything works out for you and success comes knocking at your door..

 

Truck may be 50k, but it will be 80k gross combination so you will need to file the heavy highway use tax (2290) annually.

IRP/IFTA, these are for operating your truck across state lines, so if you will be hauling between IL and any other state(s) you will need both. The IRP is your apportioned license plate for the tractor, this allows you to drive in other states by paying a fee to your home state that they then split among all the other states you drive in. You will have to report the miles driven in each state when you renew your plates each year. IFTA is the fuel tax sticker that allows you to cross state lines. You have to either purchase enough fuel in each state you run in or pay the fuel tax for the gallons of fuel you would burn in that state. Again, you need to track the miles driven in each state and keep the fuel reciepts, file a fuel tax return every quarter and send in a check for the amount of tax due, or recieve a refund if you bought too much fuel in higher tax states.

BOC-3 is your process agent. You must designate a person to recieve legal notices in each state you run in, the FMCSA has a list of approved persons, pick one, pay them a one time fee and they file your BOC-3 for you.

DOT/MC Number is your operating authority issued by the US DOT/FMCSA. It is an online application, fees vary based on what you are doing. You may be hauling exempt products with a hopper bottom so you may not need a MC #, check with your local FMCSA field office for guidance. You can not operate in interstate commerce without registering with the US DOT, this can be done yourself online at www.fmcsa.dot.gov

UCR is Unified Carrier Registration, this is a yearly tax paid based on the number of trucks you operate and is required to operate in interstate and intrastate commerce.

Your driver will need to be drug tested, and so will you if you have a cdl and plan on driving the truck. You will need to participate in a drug testing consortium, there are many to choose from including one run by OOIDA. Your state trucking association may have other, less expensive options available.

Insurance. You will need public liability, possibly cargo depending on if you have an exempt commodity or not. You will also need workers compensation or occupational incident (different states have different names and requirements), even though your driver is an owner many states and contracts are requiring workers compensation type insurances even on single truck owner operators. As for cost, worker comp can be anywhere between 7-15% of gross payroll, not sure about the other insurance as I run a car haul company and our insurance is ridiculous. I would guess $12,000-$16,000 per year for a start up company.

You will go through a new entrant safety audit within the first 6 months of starting your company, it is fairly painless and usually educational as long as you have done the basics. Drug testing prior to starting hauling any loads is most important, and keeping your insurance current is second most important. OOIDA or your state trucking association have many resources available to help you comply with record keeping requirements such as driver qualification files (yes you need an employment application on your self and the partner driver), maintenance files, etc.

Good luck.

 

That's really good information Brian. Several years ago I kicked around starting my own company pulling hoppers but never moved forward. The info you posted should be beneficial.

 

Why buy old stuff that is hard to insure and further hard to find parts for when something breaks?

 

I am based in IL,and go about 15 miles into Indiana and about 50 miles into WI do I have to have apportioned plates? Can I do this with local IL plates?

 

If your truck is over 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, then yes you need IRP registration (apportioned plates) and IFTA (fuel tax decals). No exceptions even for short distances. However, if you only leave IL two or three times a year it may be more cost effective to get temporary trip permits.

 

Do you know what the fine is if I cross state lines without a permit?

 

No, but it's something the cops watch closely for. I wouldn't do it. If they catch you once they'll be looking at you every time.
I don't know anything about your part of the country but a few years back I was five miles into Oregon from California and it cost me everything I made on the truck that day.
Not worth the risk.

 

The fine can be quite expensive as it is considered driving an unregistered vehicle depending on the officer and how you interact with them.

They usually give you a chance to purchase the fuel and trip permits (can take a few hours up to a few days and cost around $150 with service fees) and a few hundred dollar fine, although they can place the truck out of service and either impound it or have it towed back out of state, which will cost a lot more than having the proper IRP plate and IFTA decals.