I'm new here

Do your insurance last
Otherwise you will be paying while waiting on other forms

 

It's a gamble and still has a lot of uncertainty with whats happening with the economy. Unless the economy makes a drastic turn in the coming months I'd say all bets are off. But with a change in political leadership the outlook may improve in 2023 especially by fall of 2023. In my opinion I would shoot for starting to run by March of 2023. But before you make that decision you need to really get an idea of what your operating cost will be.

Commercial insurance 2k to 2400/month
Truckstop loadboard 150/month
Truck payment ???
Eld $40 /month
A bunch of other little things that add up. Imo I'd be looking at keep the fixed expenses under 3500/month. And note that fuel will probably be between 30-40% of your gross But that is a variable expense.

And with starting to run full steam in March your goal would be to get your authority active in Janurary. This will put your authority active 90 days in March. Those first 90 days a lot of brokers won't mess with you at all. You must be able to afford to likely make little to no profits those first 90 days. Your options of what kind of freight you get during that period of time is going to be some of the worst like shipping containers.

I started with F450 limited and 40' flatbed gooseneck (35+5) mega ramps. If loaded right i can put about 17k on my trailer. But I've never hauled close to that and think my heaviest load was 13k. Its smart to always look for the lightest easiest to secure loads for the best RPM you can get. If the options are a trailer full of pallets or pipe paying slightly less im going for the pipe. If I was going to do over I would start with a flatbed truck. When I was sitting idle waiting for my authority to age those 90 days I wish I had a flatbed truck so I could do some local short hauls that would fit on the truck without trailer. Not that those loads were profitable but to use those loads to establish relationships with brokers. I didnt haul a single load my first 90 days because all I could find that paid decent was empty shipping containers. Shipping containers are known to weigh more than they say and they're really hard on your truck.

Any load posted that is over 10k is going to need a cdl. I've picked up many loads posted as 10k that turned out to be way less. I think brokers do that on purpose to flush out non cdl drivers.

 

Not knocking the 7.3 option on your truck...gas rigs are making a comeback as diesels have become more expensive and problematic for average truck owners and the gassers have become capable enough for most people. Most people don't drive OTR in a pickup though, let alone a gasoline powered one. That will be an issue. Getting in and out of typical gasoline pump islands designed for automobiles will be a constant chore and annoyance with a big pickup and trailer. Adding an auxiliary tank in the bed is not as cheap or easy (as I understand it) as a diesel tank because of how much safer diesel fuel is to store and handle. And lastly I would not recommend attempting to sleep in a gasoline engine vehicle with the motor running if it's too cold to sleep without heat...again being more of a safety concern than with diesel burning engines. That being said would I run a newer gasser in local and shorter distance work? Sure, under certain circumstances. So for what you are wanting to do I wouldn't do that. An idea for somebody new to trucking with a truck like yours who wants to see what life on the road is like, I would suggest checking into some of the RV hauling outfits in Indiana in the Spring. No trailer or CDL needed and a good way to get your feet wet driving for a living. The other option would be to put that idea on hold and go to CDL school and pull a flatbed or van with a company truck for a couple years.