Do Owner Ops actually take loads that are less than $3.00/mi?

$3.23 out of Walbridge, OH this morning. Going to Fl. On the truck less than 2 days and 1,200 miles. I’m getting loaded now and there were other loads identical just sitting..

 

Honestly you will hear arguments both for and against. The reality is ridge is correct. You cant JUST look at rate per mile. You gotta look at total profit and connecting loads at least 2 or 3 deep. I know ive taken loads that give me only slightly above fuel cost because they were fast easy routes that took me exactly where i needed to go anyway. Ive also rejected seemly good paying loads because the reality was the pay per mile looked great until you looked at the route as a whole and factored in local fuel costs, fees, tolls and so on and realized you would be making less then a "lesser" load. And thats the trick. Cant ever just look at the shiny dollar amount at the end. Gotta see whata going to subtract from that amount first.

 

I've seen guys making money using pickup trucks to pull car trailers. They don't have to follow HOS. Can you make 180k/yr doing that?

 

No.

 

All the time

 

The two most dangerous words a man can say.

 

Those guys running with no HOS are very local and usually for a buy here pay here type set up

$180k would be pretty tough running in such a small circle

 

Times have changed with fuel prices. Definitely changed my attitude towards “gas money” loads. I used to always deadhead out of Florida when fuel was 50% cheaper.. Didn’t make much sense to waste the time..but now it makes zero sense not to. Running a 500 mile deadhead costs way to much now.

I will do it on a short run that puts me on a money load but, I’ll never take a cross country load for $1.50. Just watching what people take loads for out of Say WA..makes me laugh

 

Edited: You can haul 5 cars at once cross country doing that though. $800 per car. Then same back and forth. Thus, you can easily make $700 per day, if you drive all day and sleep for 8 hours every day. You just need to have lots of people wanting you to haul their cars. NYC to LA. Start running 5 pickups with drivers who dont even need a CDL and you will be rich. Thanks

 

Minus fuel, what’s left?
I guarantee you would make more working at Burger King.