How do my preliminary business plan numbers look?

Thanks!

What rules of thumb would you use for a 2002 of unknown maintenance history, a 2010 fleet maintained, and a new 2014? My plan would be to keep whatever I bought indefinitely so I would want everything to be very well-maintained. Any additional money in that "fund" would probably be spent of modifications I believed would ultimately lower costs (eg fuel economy)

I'm going off that blog posted earlier ( http://higb7.blogspot.com/):

Cab card: 2793
Heavy Highway Use Tax: 889
IFTA: 705
License and permits: 109
Taxes: 300

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4807

However, it appears that guy went through 2 trucks in the year, so that probably is high.

Good info, thanks. I really need to shop around and use actual numbers -- it just seems most companies don't do online quotes like car insurance and I hate to waste someone's time when I'm not ready to pull the trigger right this very second.

Bad Bill mentioned that too. So far it looks like Occupational accident policies are geared towards the business owner rather than the driver, and though I'd be both, I'd really be concerned about a slip/fall at a fuel island when not under their definition of "dispatch."

Another o/o I talked with suggested looking into disability insurance and/or aflac wage replacement...

Like I mentioned before, I would not pay $10,000/year for worker's comp -- but it is coverage I currently have as a company driver so I think it is important to see what you're giving up...

I do plan on running under my own authority. I might consider leasing onto a carrier provided I got to use my (or at least the same) trailer, run paper logs, and the total compensation -including benefits- is reasonable for the additional risks when compared to company driver at a decent company (eg not the 10% Higb is giving away to MAG for their doing his IFTA filings & factoring)

I'm slowly making my way through the stickies and have seen an excel spread sheet mentioned. However the forum asked for a password to continue to that link...

 

Your maintainance cost will pay for an inframe every year, looks pretty high to me unless you're planning for a lot of EGR related problems.

 

There are advantages to leasing to a carrier rather than running your own authority. You will save the cost of buying cargo and liability insurance when you lease to a carrier. You will need bobtail or unladen liability if you lease to a carrier, but won't need it if you run your own authority. A carrier may finance or furnish your base plates and permits. Most charge a fee for this, but they usually deduct a flat amount from each settlement. When you run your own authority you pay for all expenses up front out of your pocket. Carrier's don't provide benefits to owner operators. You are in business for yourself when you own a truck. You pay for everything. The carrier pays for cargo and liability insurance. They also find freight for you to haul, usually provide a fuel card with discounts at certain truck stops, file your IFTA, and will usually advance money on loads once they are on your truck. Most carriers will pay you weekly, whether they are paid or not.

Running your authority does require more initiative and commitment. You will be responsible for everything and all expenses. Some people are more comfortable leasing to a carrier and others are more comfortable running under their own authority. You need to decide which works best for you. Unless you are a very self reliant person with a lot of initiative, you may be better off leasing to another carrier. If you are a self starter and like running your own show, then you may be more comfortable operating under your own authority.