FUEL!

So what is the ideal net per day, per truck, in your book?

 

I hauled one load the last 2 weeks. I dont have a truck or trailer pymt. I do not run out or back unless the rate is right. the weather has kept me home too though.

 

So you're saying, that $500 day put you in the poor house? You can't live off of $2500 per week (gross)? Man, what kind of a "high life style" you living?

 

I can have a good life with that money.

 

drivers who have to have the biggest, chromed out large car, & the biggest payment on their equip, will need a lot more money. I agree $500-600 a day can put one in the poor house. not this driver though! champagne taste on a beer budget will put you in the I need $5000.00 a week to survive category.

 

Just because you have a big chromed out large car doesn't mean you have a big payment or you may not have a payment at all. I know several geniuses that run shakers, Internationals and Volvo's with big payments like $2,000 or better. I don't think $4,000 to $5,000 in revenue a week is hard to make pulling a flat if you work smart. Some people on here and else where don't know what it takes to run and operate their business and that will send you to the poor house.

 

Exactly big john, i know more guys with the flleet speced trucks that are barely getting by than i do with the nice o/o speced big hoods.

 

Big John. I agree with you 100% I was thinking about when I got into trucking. I paid $15,000 cash for my truck. a 99' intl coe. most all the nice, name brand trucks, k.w. Pete, were at that time double the money & had more miles. I started out with 14 other neighbors, all flatbedders,all of us running the same lanes. when freight dramatically slowed, they all lost, either, truck, trailer, or both, some lost everything. except me & another driver. a lot of them had spent too much on non trucking related things too. new car, motorcycle, 4 wheelers. they thought the good times would last. I do not know how to make 4- 5 grand a week. or maybe I just do not want to do what is required to make that much. I am very picky on my load destination. I have not went more than 200 miles in about 2 years. some times it's what you DO with what you make, then what you make. I am not knocking anyone have nice equip. I love the nice large cars. I just think that, just like the housing market too many bought what they could not afford & it was a matter of time before it caught up with them.

 

here is how I figure it, You are gonna prolly average 400-600 miles per day right, so if you are only making $400-600 a day you are at $1/mi 2500 miles a week at $1/mi= $2500/wk Most of you guys have never hauled good freight and would be surprised how much you can actually make when you don't bend over for the broker. I prefer to be compensated for my time and equipment, just break down your gross pay by the # of total hours you are away from home and see what you have, $2500 divide by the 70 hours it prolly took to do it is $35.17/hr which is less than you would make with an under paid tandem dump and be home every night. Is $1/mi really worth it?

 

here is how I figure it,for a starting gross, take total miles for the day and multiply by at least 2 but then again I want to have the finer things in life like health ins, good rubber between me and the ground, food in the fridge, a nice home, and a nice car for mama to drive, and don't forget about college for the little one and some retirement savings so I don't have to be runnin the road till I'm 80. Maybe I'm wrong but if I am I don't wanna be right