Crunching The Numbers, Am I Missing Something?? (newb)

The term "power only" has taken on multiple definitions in the last few years.
Judging from your estimated costs, you mention trailer rental, which indicates you intend to haul freight.

The original definition of "power only" meant you provided the tractor, hauled someone else's trailers, different trailer every trip, all drop and hook, were not responsible for loading or unloading the trailer.
Typically a portion of the business is new empty trailers from manufacturer to dealer or end user (least revenue)
Or repositioning equipment for various customers (better revenue) sometimes loaded sometimes empty.
Or time sensitive trailers, frequently entertainment related(highest revenue)

Most power only companies, I was with Trailer Transit Home require at least 3 years experience as an owner-operator. A call to their recruiter will answer that and other questions.

The idea of having a "house" larger than average sleeper with more than average amenities is fine, but in almost all cases it will impact your ability to haul good loads in the true power only business. It will impact your revenue in almost all parts of the trucking world. It is not a great idea for an entry level individual.

Good luck

 

A super sleeper is heavy... This may GREATLY limit the number of power only loads (or any load not already requiring an overweight permit) you would be able to pull.

Every pound that your equipment weighs is one less pound of cargo you can haul. 80,000 pounds gross (equipment, you, your stuff, fuel, AND cargo) is the limit on a typical 5 axle setup.

 

If you really want to start a business then go find yourselves a customer or two and put any equipment to work that they need. Otherwise, you're going to be nothing more than a glorified employee getting screwed in the long run. You've already noticed that your net is going to be low. That should be a warning sign to you. Good luck.

 

If neither of you have a CDL-A then attend a trucking school and sign up with Covenant Transport.
Husband & Wife can train together in the same truck at the same time. Do 12 - 24 mos. there, then decide if it's time to buy a truck.
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Covenant Transport - Covenant Transport
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Need to go to CDL School first?

At Covenant, we partner with many public and private CDL schools throughout the United States. After filling out the Quick App on this page and marking that you do not have a CDL-A, we will email you the partner CDL school in your area, based on your zip code.

Once you’ve enrolled in CDL school, give us a call so we can talk about pre-hiring for your graduation day and the orientation class at Covenant that will work best for you!

 

Also... 2000 miles a week is not that much. I averaged 3700 miles every 10 days (this includes 2 to 4 days off) as a solo OTR company driver.

 

Trucking is NOT a professional car trip/vacation. Driving is the least significant part of the job, it's the stress of idiots in cars/SUV attempting suicide by truck a dozen times per day, your dispatcher telling your customer the load is late because you are lazy, despite they gave you the load 2 days late. It's no parking in the area because your company or your customer took an extra 4-8 hours trying to decide if they want to put the load on your truck, and now it is 11 pm.

You obviously have the business skills to operate the business of owner-operator. This time in history trucks cost the most they ever have costs and there is a 12 month wait to get a new truck even in you walked into a dealership with $250k in cash or check. Freight rates are falling to below historical averages while fuel is exceeding historical maximum price. This is the exact wrong time to get into trucking.

You CANNOT trust monthly or yearly revenue from trucking companies. It is not in their interest to disclose accurate numbers, especially if you are taking all of the financial risks. They risk a contractor (you) walking away unhappy. B.F.D. you leave and are replaced by someone else who will pay the expenses of operating a truck. As the recession deepens you will have a perfect chance to buy lightly used trucks for deeply discounted cash prices, if you have cash. That's when I would enter the industry.

I think it is reckless to dump a ton of cash and start trucking before either of you have ever driven a truck. It would make much more sense for one or both of you to work as a company driver for a trucking company, let them pay the truck expenses and your wages, and then decide if you want to go Owner-Operator. The peopel on YouTube don't show you the frustrating parts of this job, the massive number of wasted hours while someone with a salary and fixed work hours just throws away your working/driving hours by the basket full.

Power only has less hassles than other types of trucking, but the rates for power-only also start lower than other trucking. The YouTube channel of Steady Trucker is informative and he shows his numbers every week. He's not trying to set records for miles and revenue every week, but his YT video library is excellent. I'd also recommend Trucker Education Network. Jeff Like is very wise about the numbers and has tons of experience.

80-90% of new CDL drivers quit before they complete one year in the industry. I would not put my money at risk before I had a year of experience in the industry. STAY AWAY FROM CR ENGLAND, NO MATTER WHAT.

 

Small sleepers work because one person is driving and one person is sleeping. That is how 90% of teams operate. The bigger the sleeper the more space is required for truck maneuvers, especially backing. Even the customers with lots of real estate quickly fill that excess space with old, damaged, unused junk until every place has just BARELY enough space for the best maneuvering trucks to back into the loading dock.

 

Start up costs are a lot in Trucking. Especially when buying a brand new big fancy sleeper Truck. Numbers look about right. Only thing I see is a new Truck payment may be more than $3500. I’m estimating $3500 per mo. as $150k financed for 4 yrs. Also 2k miles a week, for a Team is pretty low, even for a solo. Working Tradeshows, concerts, may be just the ticket. Lot of sitting, and good revenue. It’s a whole different sector. Otherwise running 4K-6k miles a week, 40 weeks a yr. seems more realistic. The 40 working weeks being split between holidays, vacation days, shop time. A working week being 6 days. Actually 6.5, if running constantly, taking 34 hr. off. Being a Team, you can run without ever needing to reset. Still 6 days is enough, so 240 days working per year. Though you may be gone longer, other days will be days off away from home. Still deductible for meals. I’d start at 2.00 pm and running 3500 miles adds up to 7k per week. That’s a minimum. The goal would be 5k miles per week, grossing $10k per wk. Fuel would be 5k per week, leaving $5k x 40 weeks, $200k per yr. In reality you should be able to get more than $2.00 pm. But in Today’s Market, $2.50 seems to be the norm for spot market dry van rates. Companies should have higher paying freight. Still will probably be subject to spot market loads, as much as half the time. Paying a % being Leased to a Company will cut into that. Though most Companies have discount programs on just about everything. The Tradeshows pay well, and some Carriers May have good paying Team Freight. Having Hazmat helps. Also Tanker, and Twic. I would talk to other Tradeshow Drivers and call the recruiters.