do fleet operators make good money???

Wow, the million dollar question. I have long been on record saying the model of the future is partnering with larger carriers. And $20 MM really isn't that large.

The big key that you have to look at when someone is willing to see you the trucks is if these are trucks being taken out of service or is he having trouble keeping trucks seated. If they are coming off lease then it is a smart move on his part. But if it is the later then it is a red flag. No one that is making money with a truck is going to walk away from money.

But the other factor that really plays into this is in addition to the rate per mile is what else he is covering and what levels of discount he can provide. I have seen fleet operations that can reduce your operating expense by as much as $.30/mile and others that really give you nothing.

The other big factor is hiring qualifications. Can he accept drivers with 6-months experience and a clean record? That is going to be your biggest pool of drivers because the Megas that do training just don't pay that well and these are the drivers that are more actively looking to switch.

Now in what you are describing I would say that he is a team operation. Most companies that are focused on team freight do an awful job running solos. Finding good teams is harder than getting a 20-year old hard body gold digger to date an unemployed, broke, out of shape 50-year old.

If this is something that you are looking to do I would go at this with a 100% business minded approach and keep the friendship factor out of it. This is business first and only.

But after all that I will say yes you can make very good money doing this. But you will want to be prepared to go after it planning on growing to 15-20 trucks. If you have 5 trucks and have 1 unseated and 1 out of service you will be eating into reserves because your 3 running trucks won't be able to cover the debt service.

Also make sure that you have 100% support on everything except payroll and hiring. If you have to manage drivers and repairs it will eat you alive.

 

thanks for the info...now this is useful to me

 

bill, I still say the biggest red flag is he doesn't want to add trucks on, but wants to shed overhead by passing the payments off to someone else along with all the corresponding costs of having an employee to someone else. and also on this guy to find all the drivers, and finding company drivers is a much harder and riskier deal than an o/o. perhaps that's why you modeled your outfit as 0/0 leasing on. I think there is way more to the story here.


regardless of whats he donated, thi shows maybe the business of his is looking for ways to shed overhead such.

and the ops last post says a lot. your posts tends to be more what he wants to hear, so its the only one that seemed to be useful to him. the others are of more use to him than he can realize

 

driver your post was just as important to me also...i respect everyone's opinion...i don't know about shedding costs..i asked for a way in the business and it may seem a lil different to others...but i see opportunity...do you think when i thought about the desire to own my trucking company...i didn't realize the emplyee side such as workers comp...hiring qualified drivers...taxes etc...but this is what i desire i don't shy away from this...i want to be more than an owner operator...my vision is bigger than that so i know this comes with many future headaches...but i embrace the challenge...i am not trying to be the next jb hunt...but i am seeing past one truck...and i respect everyone who doesn't desire to to do what i plan on doing...

 

I did what you want to do, it was tied to the housing industry, up to 8 trucks and 30 employees at any given time. the housing collapse took care of theat, and I can honestly say it is great being back to a one truck operation with only me to look after.

I still say be cautious, and don't let the friendship and previous help with your ministry enter into your business decisions on this matter. hard to do, I know

 

this guy is adding trucks on as we speak...he just bought out a fairly large popular outfit in texas...which is adding another 150 trucks and 400 traliers...so i don't think he's trying to cut costs...i'm thinking of getting in on this company because they are truly growing...i have truly done my homework on this company...just two years ago he only had 40 trucks and one terminal...now four terminals two years later...

 

Sounds like your friend is going places. Sit down with him and let him show you what he is offering. You can make some real decent money in this business, I know, I make some myself. Getting drivers is tough in this market and the competition for them is fierce. If you can offer a good compensation package and good equipment, you should do pretty well.

 

Wait, when did lease purchase fleet programs come out??

 

Your friend is mitigating his risks by passing on his ageing equipment to you, around the500000 mileage there are quite a few repairs coming up. I think you have a fighting chance if you have business smarts and can secure at least 1.8 per running mile paid to the truck after your friends cut and know how to hire and fire drivers or at least you are a quick learner.He could very well just want to lower his outstanding debt, might be a win win for both of you, as long as you are on the same team

 

Thanks I appreciate the input...thanks for your time