Help with this please!!

I have been driving for about 5 years. I am 23 and most of my experience has been military. The company I am with now pays 70% which in terms takes their 30% off the load first off. They pay the O/O 3.30/mile estimated..... and I get 30% also. But if I were to buy the truck from my boss in speaking truck payment of around $500 knowing he wants $23,500 for a 2000 379 Pete, I would then be getting the $3.30 a mile. Roughly 500 miles a week, and advance fuel of $500. I need some help in determining if I will actually make some money by doing these small loads or go bigger say" 450 miles a day 3-4 times a week. Will I be better off buying, or staying company driver? Please help!!

 

MY opinion only...stay company driver and let someone else have the headaches!

 

i tried to run some numbers but i got confusing. what about tolls, truck repairs, flat tires and other expenses ? i would have to say stay/go company. it's really tough to make it on the O/O deals now. i have always done the company and left the headaches to them. hopefully an O/O will chim in with some insight on this.

 

Id be paying for Maint. and etc.... The only thing they pay for is their trailer insurance.... The tags Id have to pay the $1500 and fuel comes out of my check after the advance plus a $5.55 fee for that. Which is bull but thats more details..... The rest I know Id probably have to have an attorney to check the leasing contract. But for what I see how my boss gets paid thats the gist....

 

Stay company driver and make it easy for yourself.

 

If you really want to get down to figuring out cost you should do like the big companies do. You have to figure cents per mile and dollars per hour. The cents per mile is what it cost for that truck to run down the highway. All the maintenance cost like tires, oil, service, fuel, insurance, permits, wear and tear, and anything else you can find that cost money to keep the truck going. Dollars per hour is the figure that you'll use for your pay. That would include your wages, medical insurance, and even your retirement and so on.

You'll have to put your own numbers in and it will take some research. But if you want to see if being an O/O will pay better than a company driver then that's the level I believe you need to go to. I personally believe that there are company jobs that pay better. Those are the jobs drivers retire from and they only take the best. Good luck and let us know if you do run the numbers.

 

Well I did not expect to truck forever. I might get some beating for this, or I may not. But to keep in mind I remember who I am, and that is a person like everyone else. I actually have passed my State Patrol exam for the State of Ohio. I would rather in my lifetime be a Patrolman. But I do wish or intended to have a second income and that is to atleast own one truck and have someone drive it. I was looking for myself in driving it awhile until I get the news on my academy date. I realize if I intend to stick a driver in my truck and stay with the company I am driving for now, I will probably be loosing money....

 

If you don't figure where every penny is going to be spent on that truck you'll lose just the same.

 

Becoming an O/O nowadays is a high-risk venture. After you take away fuel cost, maintenance, insurance, etc... you find you've earned the same, or less than a company driver. Depending on what part of the country you're in, the freight volume may not be consistent. Then there's the instability of diesel $$ at the fuel pump. The political situation in trucking is questionable; they had not totally killed NAFTA. Its possible they had delayed full implementation of it until after the election is over. There's also the presence of all these giant carriers like Swift, JB, Schneider, etc who can charge a lower rate because they qualify for volume discount on fuel, parts, services, etc... You mentioned you've driven a number of years, but hows your mechanical ability to do some minor truck repairs? I'm in Southern California; I've noticed the container haulers in my region do a lot of their own mechanical work, changing the oil, replacing certain components, doing a lube job, etc...