$450,000 revenue; $250,000 profit- conservatively

[lowrange]

So I'm at the TA waiting on repairs to my trailer lights, there's another driver there too. We start talking, I learn he's an O/O who got his CDL years ago about the same time as me. He says all he's done is pull cars. He runs from the Northeast to California and back. He works with ebay a lot, he uses Central Dispatch, he grabs up 10 cars and away he goes.

He says he's on pace to do $450k this year, he says his net profit before taxes should easily be a quarter million! He's been doing this for years, he says he bought a $250,000 tractor and trailer his first year and paid it off in about 10 months! He also says he doesn't consider that a whole lot, he says O/Os with Reliable can gross $600,000.

IS THIS FOR REAL!?!?!?!?! :eek: The situation I'm in right now, I'm probably not doing as well as some company drivers. I got my CDL 13 years ago. Have I really been missing out on riches like that? Have you? TIA

[Rev.Vassago]

I'll just go ahead and call BS on that one right away. I know guys who used to pull for Reliable, who were there for many, many years. They are not doing those kind of numbers.

[lowrange]

I'll just go ahead and call BS on that one right away. I know guys who used to pull for Reliable, who were there for many, many years. They are not doing those kind of numbers.

That's cool with me calling BS, I was just talking to the guy, I don't know why he went into the numbers like he did. The reason I bring it up, I always want to be open to those unpleasant truths that tell me I need to change, that I'm screwing up and that I'd better get with it. Sometimes it is BS, sometimes there really is nothing wrong with me (sometimes ), but I don't like to dismiss unpleasantness out of hand if there really is a correction I need to make.

A quarter million...that's a lot of tacos!

[Rev.Vassago]

Some people feel they need to embellish their numbers to make themselves appear better than they really are. They'll use gross figures and call them net, they'll multiply their real numbers times 2 (or 3, in the case of that Reliable guy), or they'll simply make up fake numbers entirely. It's usually done to boost their ego, and is really no different than the "US Marshalls" stories.

I'd demand he produce a 1099 from last year.

[Maniac]

"he says O/Os with Reliable can gross $600,000."


My friend Eddie who I have known for 30 years is with Reliable, NO WHERE near that, more like very very low 200's, and he runs his ***** off for that, home like 8 or 9 times a year.

Did Mr car hauler tell you how much his insurance is? and how much he pays out in damage claims?

And how competitive its become since everyone and his brother has a car hauler?

[GMAN]

When I hauled cars I knew people who grossed anywhere between $150,000-350,000. At that time most seemed to fall around $180,000-225,000 leasing to a carrier. You could do as well or better running your own authority. I don't believe that he paid off a $250,000 truck and trailer in 10 months unless he had a very big down payment. Not even counting interest he would have paid out at least $25,000/month. Most car haulers who had payments seemed to fall between $3,500-5,000 at that time and some struggled to make those payments. I have some serious reservations about his story.

[Walking Eagle]

No Way !!!!! I looked at maybe selling my Heavy Hauler and going to Reliable, as they have a terminal in Fl. and I was getting tired of breaking down my trailer then putting it back together. I talked to a lot of "Reliable" drivers and then cutting their numbers by 50% ( a good average) figured "Why bother ?". They were making far far less than me with a lot more hassles !!
Get a deck trailer with lots of axles, then you can make $$$s in this industry.

[lowrange]

Hey, I appreciate the responses you guys, that sets my mind at ease. I don't know why he'd sit there and tell me all that. The guy was from San Francisco...maybe he liked what he saw, I don't know? :eek:

Whatever, I'm still trying to do well with the $7800 in tanker modifications I just got. I hear there's more money out there and I'm trying to find it.

[Walking Eagle]

If you put the investment in something stick with it !!!! Jump around and you will loose it. Might be tight for a while but will pay off in the end.

[b00m]

I would say he's full of BS.My friend is pulling cars with his own authority and off central dispatch.Last run that he did he barely got out from the east coast cause he didn't have any cars to pull.The average price for a car was around $600 so times 8 go figure.You don't count your extra miles,time for loading/unloading.Usually he does about one run(back and forth)and a half a month and barely making his payments.His revenue is around 250k but with all the expenses,claims he barely makes it.The car business was great ,but since everyone got in it then prices went down and the business got tougher and tougher.Also,with the current economy don't expect to be any greater.

[BanditsCousin]

Reliable guys used to gross upwards of 500K years back, but it hasn't been like that for them the past few years. They do pretty well, though, but with 350 trucks, everyone's numbers will be all over the board.

They do a lot of exclusive movie shoots and tours, as well as projects for the big 3.

I don't know of anyone doing over 300K in the enclosed busines. I have a freind at Fedex, one at Horseless Carriage, and 2 at Reliable. From what I gather, the avg revenue comes out to around 2.50/mi (ish)

[tracer]

If you put the investment in something stick with it !!!! Jump around and you will loose it. Might be tight for a while but will pay off in the end.

That's good advice, eagle. I thought of selling my truck, but then figured i can get less than 10 grand above what I owe to the financial company (if I'm lucky to find a buyer). But if I wait till the truck is paid off and then decide to sell it, it might be worth 2-3 times that. So, I'm sticking with trucking. Will probably get own authority in the spring ...

[GMAN]

Hey, I appreciate the responses you guys, that sets my mind at ease. I don't know why he'd sit there and tell me all that. The guy was from San Francisco...maybe he liked what he saw, I don't know? :eek:

Whatever, I'm still trying to do well with the $7800 in tanker modifications I just got. I hear there's more money out there and I'm trying to find it.

I agree with Walking Eagle, lowrange. You have quite an investment in your equipment. You need to see a decent return. It takes time to learn the way your company operates. If you move around too much you will never get ahead. We are living in a very challenging time. I am not sure that you will do much, if any, better if you did switch. One thing about hauling cars is that you can have some very expensive claims. All it takes is a scratch on a car to take a big bite our of your profit. I used to haul for a car dealer who had used this car hauler who had damage on every load he brought in for them. I don't see how he stayed in business. Hang in there, lowrange. Things will get better. It is difficult in most segments of this business right now. The best thing is to hunker down stay away from the cheap freight and watch your expenses.