is it possible or easy to gross (not pocket) $800 a day for o/o?

Take some time and search around this site and you will soon see that in most cases leases are just not a great option. Alot of these bigger companies make more money off leasing trucks to drivers than running freight. There are a few that make it thru the process and become successful O/O's but there are a ton that fail miserably. Alot of these boobs end up making less than they did as company drivers,some a lot less.

The real way to go is to sign on with one of the better companies and run that truck like its your own. From day one track all your numbers and get the feel for what it costs to run a successful business. Let the company pay the fuel and maintenance while you learn the ropes. Each week take that money you would pay on the lease and bank it untill your ready to go out on your own,a year at the least is my recomendation. You will have enough saved for a nice down payment and a healthy maintenance account. Get a nice used truck and get it on over here at Landstar,you will save yourself alot of problems and no one is going to take advantage of you.

 

To help you better understand how the numbers work lets try this. Over the weekend I got my numbers for the year all caught up and dialed in. My cost per mile to operate this truck is .84 per mile. Thats just the fixed and variable costs,things like equipment payments,fuel,maintenance,insurance and all the other costs to keep the truck on the road. Everything above that .84 is my profit.

Earlier I said my averge rate per mile was 2.79 for the last thirty days,I just double checked and because I had a few 2.00 runs to get home for Labor Day weekend its down to 2.55. Lets break it down useing that number and Landstar math. To start we seperate the linehaul and fuel surcharge,at LS we get 100% of our FSC. I like to use .45 for FSC,its easy to figure when booking loads and its pretty close to what were getting.

2.55 Gross Rate per mile
- .45 FSC

2.10 Line haul
x .65 My cut after Landstar

1.36 Gross linehaul to truck.
+ .45 FSC

1.81 Gross rate per mile to truck
- .84 Operating expenses

.97 Gross profit.

 

Very good Explanation Desert_skies, I would just like to make an observation for the OP. The .84 cpm does not include driver wages, So if you are going to pay yourself .40 cpm that leaves .57 cpm left over, It is good to take the .57 cpm and set it aside to offset the bad weeks or the elongated holidays or January & febuary when trucking slows way down and so on.

 

Very good addition to help make my point. I try very hard to get people to keep thier operating expense numbers seperate from thier personal expenses. Its the only true and accurate way to track and monitor the health of your business. For me with one truck that profit is my wage and covers all the expenses at home including what the wife puts away for vacations,holidays and the household 911 fund.

 

Its going to be different depending on the contract. Your trucks performance and your driving habits will dictate what you pay for fuel. Thats why I say to drive a company truck until your sure you really want to be an O/O. Some of these trucks (even brand new ones) are really sick and you could end up with a high cost per mile for fuel.

If you end up with a truck that struggles to get an average mpg of 6.0 and your paying 3.75 for fuel your fuel cost is going to be .625 per mile. Truck specs and driving habits are crucial and can make or break your business. My 90 day average for MPG is 7.57 (my 30 day is 7.88) my fuel cost is .48 per mile. With those numbers I pay .03 per gallon based on an average FSC of .45 cpm. Alot of times my FSC can be over .50 cpm which means I make a little on my FSC.

If your driving 2500 miles a week the difference between .625 and .480 adds up to 362.00 per week. Thats like a 40 hour a week job at 9.00 an hour. Fuel is money

 

They get by on $0.95 per mile because they're content to work for less than minimum wage.

 

They see that .95 cpm and they get all warm and fuzzy thinking how great it would be to own a truck and make a few grand a week. They never do the math and end up at .20 cpm or less after all the costs come out. I think its more they are uninformed than it is they are content to work for 7.00 am hour.

 

if you have any real bills at home you cant get by with that.....
sad truth.

there are industries that use trucks and you can make 800-1500 a day every day. but you beat your truck up and yourself and your away from home alot ......the oil, logging, heavy haul, gas, arms and ammo haulers come to mind first. check in with those guys. stay away from box van, refer, and typical freight. search for something specialized.

 

I respectfully disagree. Most of those niche areas you mentioned are unstable and are not dependable if your setting long range goals.