Practical suggestions for saving $ for O/O

He can pick up a used tri-pac for about $3,500 installed or a used rigmaster installed for about $2,500. I just had a driver put an APU on and his fuel savings each week is $300plus. Plus you are saving a ton of wear and tear on the engine and DPF system by not idling the tractor to keep cool or warm.

 

There are fuel cards that report to the credit bureaus and yes... you get the corporate discount and it will enhance your credit profile

 

If you wanna save money... Start writing down how you can get as many people out of your pocket as possible. Start with the Swift and keep the list going

 

Took the words right out of my mouth.
Wife's a lawyer and he's working at swift, lol.
He's taking orders at home and at work. Lol.

 

You cant make this #### up..... On a message board looking for business advice? SMH... Being a lawyer dont mean nuffin..... Can you deliver a load/ Can you make money... Thats all that matters...

 

I don't see how you could save anymore then $150 per week right now. That's if everything goes perfect which it rarely does. More like 100 realistically.

He is already taking risk on a 2013 with presumably no warranty. Now you throw a used apu into the mix for 3500 plus servicing it and breakdowns. There is a reason it's a used apu for sale. lol

I would run the truck for a year and then decide. See if you like the truck. He may want to upgrade if it's pushing 500k+.

These new trucks just don't last like they used too.

 

What is this, 1950? Wife has to stay at home so she doesn't threaten his precious masculinity? She can't have any position of power or he's not a "real man"? Get outta here with that nonsense.

I'd say preventative maintenance is something to focus on. Other have suggested working on your own truck and thats certainly ideal but not everybody has the space or technical knowledge to make complex repairs. What you can do is become familiar with all the working parts of your truck so you can spot a problem before it becomes a major issue. Its a lot cheaper to replace a U-joint than a U-joint, a driveshaft and all the air and electrical lines it ripped out when it let go.

 

You're funny...By not idling he would save himself a least a tank of fuel a week by having an APU. That's $300 plus savings right there. Yes there is a reason the used apu is for sale. It came off of a truck that was sold to a dealership that won't take APU's so the APU is sold separately. The place I get my used apu's from has the entire maintenance history from the day it was installed to the day it was pulled off the tractor. I comb through those reports and pick out the ones that have been treated the best.

I have a purchased a few used apu's with no issues. The "breakdowns" you are talking about hasn't happened so far but that's because I take of the apu's very well and keep up on the maintenance. You mention servicing like it's huge cost or expense. If I take it someplace it's $90 for them to do a pm with all fluids and filters included or I can do it all myself and it's easy easy easy and that's done every 2-3 months. If you think that's excessive for maintenance and upkeep for anything to do with the truck, maybe being and owner operator isn't for you. The biggest repair bill I have had on a single apu was $350 for a new water pump, glow plugs and main seal and that was done at the shop. That was 2 years of use of the apu. I think for a used $3,000 apu that's pretty #### good return on investment for something that saves me a tank of fuel a week by not idling.

 

I use GNUCash, a free open source accounting program.
I do my own maintenance and minor repairs, at $144 an hour shop rates you have too. I blew an air bag on my super-b a month ago, cost $600 total on the road and lost half a days running time. I replaced the other one myself on the same axle last weekend at a cost of $150 and no lost running time. Today I bought the other eight bags and will replace them next weekend as a preventative measure.
Keep an eye on your fuel economy, on these newer trucks some issues will show up there first before you really know you have a problem.

 

Curious how you came up with $300 a week? If you idle 10 hrs a day, or 50/week truck uses around 1 gallon/hour. That's about $110-120. APU also doesn't run on water and will use 1/4 or 1/5 as truck. So you may save $100 a week which is still significant. And of course save wear on the engine - that's why I bought a Prime truck that already had APU. Unfortunately it's not working right now and I can't seem to find the time to fix it. Wish I had a TK so I could have it done together with reefer service.