Can you make money with a daycab, running local?

Depends on your contacts and the gig.the guys doing it have contacts in there pocket.
Id first talk to some guys and get the frieght lined up and firgure up what you can turn per week then check on truck payments,ins, put some in escow and if the math still ads up then take the leap.
Personally Ive never done local I prefer to drive cross country and back.

 

Buy a new truck ? No . I've know O/O's with daycabs that did pretty well but they never bought new trucks . You know best what is available in your area . I'm not familiar with it . Most of the daycab O/O's I knew worked out of railyards . I knew 2 that stayed busy bringing intermodal trailers from railyards to the repair shop then delivered them to UPS or Yellow after they were repaired .

 

I observed an owner-operator who hauled aggregate to one concrete plant. Of course, the work was seasonal. He was an older man who probably did not work in the winter.

There was another owner-operator who made short trips from one roofing factory. He trip-leased to one carrier and they saved a short load for him every day. He would load in the afternoon and go home. Then, he would leave rather early in the morning, deliver and deadhead back.

Both of these men owned their trailers and must have had an excellent relationship with their only customer.

 

i live in kunkletown and been an o/o for many years . i finally parked my truck last week and removed the insurance . my advice is you have a full time job stay there i really don't think it's worth the headaches owning your own seems every year you make less and less as expences go up but the rates don't because there is always somebody that will work cheaper .
never get a truck without a sleeper because you never know what you will have to do to pay the bills

 

i agree 100%
get a truck with a sleeper,be it a small one it wont add much weight but will add alot of comforts...
i used to run daycab and was always faced with the load that was just beyond reach in miles and logs,if i had a sleeper ,i could have finagled the log.

 

ps i have a 2000 classic midroof 58 " sleeper 500 cat 10 speed 15000 on inframe 796000 total miles if your interestd

 

Knew a guy that went to cdl school in VA with his brother and they teamed a Flat Bed picking up Shingles in Richmond,VA running it to Long Island. Then they picked up
trash in the Bronx and hauled it to Baltimore. They had endless work. They could work everyday
doing this, take a day off when ever they wanted. But one of the brothers quit because it did not pay well. This may be the norm on local and dedicated runs.

 

After seeing the rates on the trash coming out of the east coast I can see why one of the brothers quit. Man when I called on a load last fall they were only paying like 95 cents a mile. Not to mention it stinks up your trailer and tarps. i think I would rather deahead out then do that.

 

Why bother with your own truck when you can slam the door every night and just go home?? Collect your paycheck, health insurance, dental, 401k, vacations, sick pay, overtime...ect.

Say GOODBYE to it all if you have your own truck.. Say HELLO payments, oil changes, brakedowns, registration / insurance, IRS, Federal HUT, accounting fees, buying workmans comp insurance on yourself.. the list grows!