Do Any O/O's Run Strickly at 55MPH?

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr.../148503-10-mpg-possible-fully-loaded-80k.html

 

Come on up the weathers fine... for another month or so

 

You have some learning to do for sure. You are running 55 MPH to get fuel mileage and 3000 miles a week to try to make a profit. You end up running more than 150,000 miles a year for less than 1.00 CPM + FSC. You spend almost 49% of your gross for fuel and nearly 60 hours a week driving.

Now the smart owner operator is running 65 and getting a little less fuel mileage. He runs about 110,000 miles a year and logs less than 40 hours a week. He looks for freight that pays 2.00 CPM including FSC and even with more DH avevages 1.70 - 1.80 CPM. He spends 37% of his gross on fuel.

The lease truck grosses $48,000 more and spends $47,000 more on fuel. The owner operator makes $7,600 more net. He does this with one-third less hours. You will save a lot more on fuel by getting paid enough that you don't have to run yourself and your truck into the ground.

I can send you the spreadsheets if you don't believe what I'm saying!

 

Even if the load pays $10/mi I will run between 50 and 60 mph depending on the terrain. Faster when gravity is available.

The JBSwiftWerners are always getting tangled up in my hair though. They like to stick their 62 mph trailer doors 30 ft. off my front bumper. Too skeered to hang in the left lane to do a proper passing maneuver.

At the end of the day $40 is $40! Why blow it out my pipes just because I get a great rate? I rarely run as many miles in a day as the CPM-ers do. Who cares about spending an extra hour in a truckstop listening to all the engines running?

 

turtle.. im afraid you are mistaken. you are not safe driving slower than all the traffic around, but you are a danger more than you realize. driving 55 on an interstate that is set for 65 70 and now in TX on 10 and 20 you can do 85, is not only a hazard but completely illegal hence the phrase "Obstructing Traffic".
They thought that the inattentive driver that gets killed or severely injured by running under the ICC, wont win their case in court is not right either. their death or injuries are a cause and effect issue; your slow driving to "save fuel" and their inattentive driving does not justify the thought that you as the "professional" wont be held liable.


make sense otherwise for the sake of safety and courtesy of all of us do the speed limit.

 

The original question was running 55 vs. a legal log.
I have yet to see any responses to that.

And, I fail to see what one has to do with the other, unless one wants to have their cake and eat it as well.


turtletrucker, if you want to run at 55 to save fuel... then just do it.
No need to get any kind of 'confirmation' from anyone else. If I come up on you, I will simply pass you. No big deal. I won't be going all that much faster myself, being a Swifty.

And I really doubt that any cop would site you for going too slow if you were running at a steady 55 - unless there was some other factor involved.

My only real question is; is the fuel $$$ saved by running 55 greater than the $$$ gained by those extra miles per day?
If so, and if you can make your deliveries on time, then I see no reason to run any faster.

 

So if I am going 62 in a 85 zone, am I "Obstructing Traffic"? Even if I am governed to that speed?

Sorry, but there is a 'minimum' speed for a reason. And I have never seen a minimum speed of 55 or above.

Your use of "completely illegal" is completely wrong!

 

Been driving 55 mph for 22 years- If a cop ever wants to write me a ticket for it, I'll look forward to my day in court- as far as I'm concerned, a citation for "Impeding Traffic" is just a myth.

Hey- I'm buying the fuel, being paid a set rate. $1.33Cpm, so MPG's puts money in my pocket!

 

What will you do when you can not find your $2 rate. Because people will run it at a profit for$ 1.65?

I know then those that have figured out how will be rate cutters huh?

Yeah he may have locked himself into something lower than what you would have. Why would it be wrong for him to maximize his profit by adjusting his equipment, driving style, or whatever he wanted within the law to gain every penny.


Same as every midlevel company is looking to slim down if they have half a brain.