Caution Prospective Independent O/O! My Embarrassment.

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by TallJoe, Oct 20, 2017.

  1. JimmyWells

    JimmyWells Road Train Member

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    How many hours a week?
     
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  3. Scooter Jones

    Scooter Jones Road Train Member

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  4. Scooter Jones

    Scooter Jones Road Train Member

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    Looks like over 50 if my math is right ;-)
     
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  5. aussiejosh

    aussiejosh Road Train Member

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    Parking and Tolls seem to be quite high however its good to be able to see what an O/O can make and may help a few drivers thinking of going on there own think twice before choosing the only real benifit i see is you can drive and load which ever cargo you want have time off when you want other then that there's no real financial gain.
     
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  6. TallJoe

    TallJoe Road Train Member

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    I don't keep maintenance account nor truck replacement fund but about 20-25k on my business account and balance that with credit, if needed.So all of the above mentioned allocations must be included there in that available cash pool. What brought my attention to this was too much credit used. The profit is simply all the money I was able to generate after all the money I spent. I pay myself a 2000-2500 a month as payroll wage, the rest I pay myself as a dividend and all that was already a part of that profit. So the picture becomes even more alarming, if you consider the fact that I paid myself already 25k in wages and another 15k in dividends. I had to balance my minimum cash limit with credit, which is unacceptable any longer.
    I was not able to get the right rates (perhaps due to my ineptitude) or wanting to run more, to offset the cost side, which in my belief should be pretty representative for an average Joe with a dry van. In other words, I don't see that much room for improvement there but rather that the improvement should be on a revenue side.
    It is all right now, so the overall situation is not so gloomy. I also run for over 2 dol a mile, all miles in the last ten weeks, but is it going to last only till December and then again from January to June I'll have mediocre rates? We'll see...
     
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  7. TallJoe

    TallJoe Road Train Member

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    Chicago area parking; North West suburbs locations are 200 - 300 a month...South side up to 150 a month. I live in the North West part. At times, I spend money on reserved parking at truck stops too.
     
  8. TallJoe

    TallJoe Road Train Member

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    You have a hell of a job. Paradise! I am sure you'll retire a millionaire with that 401 k contributions too. Just don't get fired before 57 years of age.
     
  9. rollin coal

    rollin coal Road Train Member

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    January is usually strong all the way through the second week of it. Sometimes the whole month is. That's dry van on my lanes. You'll get an end of the winter lull slow period during Feb and March. April thru June have always been smoking hot months for me. Well, some years were. But even the slower years that period is still a money maker. You're looking at about an 2 month period of struggling for rates between now and the end of June with the rest of that time frame being split up about a 4 months period of really good rates and 2 months of so-so rates. That's generally what I see. I'm really optimistic for this whole entire 8 month upcoming time frame.
     
  10. TallJoe

    TallJoe Road Train Member

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    That's interesting concept. A perpetual truck payment is not something I have ever thought about. I even thought I could be more competitive with a paid off truck, meaning I could afford to run for lesser rates. Hell! If I had a new truck payment, I would have really gone under by now...
     
  11. rollin coal

    rollin coal Road Train Member

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    It's a huge myth that a paid for truck can be ran cheaper. You see the trashy rolling jalopies with a half dozen visible OOS violations? Those are drivers who say they can run cheaper than you because their POS is paid for. Replacement costs are what they borrow from the company to replace the broken junk that has them,on the shoulder of the highway with the 4 ways on.
     
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