Some suggestions please

Well, 1st a little background of the situation. There are many faults within it, all of which I have learned from. I need to pick how I move on from here.

I bought a 2000 Volvo T660 in September of 2012 for the sole purpose of hauling hay and straw with the guy brokering my straw and bringing hay up here during the drought of 2012. He talked like it was all unicorns and rainbows driving truck. I should have known better, and did, but wanted to believe him since I was out of work. I managed to secure a $17,000 loan for the startup expenses and the truck. At this point he had me and knew it. He promised me 100k miles a year and the pay was to be $1.50 per driven mile plus buy my freight, which I was also turning a profit on. I'd been working with him for a while and he had always been true to his word, so I didn't get an "official" contract. He sent an email to the bank outlining his intentions and how we were gonna work. I found out later that this was not a legally binding document.

All was well for a few weeks. I was logging around 1800 actual miles a week. It was about 10% short but I was ok with it. Then things started going wrong. I wasn't getting miles and he didn't have money to buy my loads. I kept telling myself it was just dry spot in the financial flow as it take a HUGE amount of money to supply straw to the gas well drillers and contractors or West PA and Eastern OH, and it did. I did the math on it. However, he started asking me to run into Michigan with Ohio base plates, the PA, then WV. I run one empty up to Flint and bobtailed back and was left setting for 7 weeks. He was still moving as I saw his truck around.

Then the pay rate changed. Then he wanted to buy the loads out right and pay me to load them, and on and on and on. I was just getting going again on flat rate work(the best he could do....) and I got in a car wreck and broke me left ankle and tore the meniscus and IT band in my left knee. We basically got into a heated argument about how I was NOT going to drive that way. That was 4-18-13. In this time I had only put 30,000 miles on it.

It took me almost 11 months to heal up and now I have my own DOT as I had before and my own MC, IFTA, and insurance. I am a member of OOIDA and they have helped me with all the filings.

At this moment, I am waiting on my start letter to get plates and I'm off. I am signing on to do shuttle work with a local Company out of Butler, IN doing 12 hour shifts and pay every Friday. He said I could send him as many truck as I had and he would use them. I have spent(or will spend) everything I got to finish this up and get on the road. I have been making payments every month on the truck. I am license plates away before I stood back and looked where I am setting now. I can't afford to get the shaft again.

With all this said, where to from here?

I am looking at about 2400 miles a week with $1.64 per mile. That's how it equates but not the actual pay set-up.

The rough weekly figures look something to this effect:

Fuel- 400 gallon at $4.50 = $1800
Insurance = $365
Truck Payment =$110
Taxes =$500
Maintenance fund =$360
Pay =$600
Net profit for Company =$200

I plan on making extra truck payments out of my pay so this will then raise the net profit to $330 per week. Also note, there will be 8-9 weeks with no insurance payments as that is the way progressive commercial works. I would like to add truck to the fleet to the tune of 4-5 more, pre- 02 trucks. These will be more local work trucks and the truck type (day cab or sleeper) doesn't matter. From there, I would like to add 6-12 pre DEF trucks. 780 Volvos with 750,000 miles are $30k-$40k. These will be OTR trucks. The main hitch here is getting loads. I know they pay peanut off the load boards, but where do I start.

Yes, I have one infant and another on the way. Yes, I know the trucking industry doesn't care, but I want to be home so I will. I know I should have started out on someone else's truck but that isn't the hand I was dealt(or dealt myself, as the case may be).

Thought, opinions, or remarks welcome, just don't be too harsh

 

The accountant told me to take 35% of the $ after expenses as taxes. $1660 x 35% is $581. So honestly, I guess my pay is $1080 a week minus the expense account. Now the $500 is less than $581. I justify that by knowing I will use the majority of the expense account will be used as tax deductible items. In effect, I will just get a bigger return at the end of the year.

Does this clarify anything or make it worse?

 

I'm refiguring as we speak...err...type

 

After refiguring, I will have $34,900 a year for wage and company growth.