Scenario

[xcarsalesman]

Hey Fellas! I'm over here in Baghdad, i have been reading up on being an O/O. I have just a couple of questions. I would like to first thank CAD , and some of the season veterans. This board has tons of info on trucking. Anyway i work for Paschal Truck lines, i started with them last year 6/08 and drove for 6 months , before i had to come over here. I will be back in the states next year Jan and i will go back to work sometime in march. I'm thinking about becoming a O/O sometime in 2011, i want to drive for a year when i get back , just to get back in the swing of things. I am thinking about pulling a reefer. i live in NC so i don't know what lanes to choose from. I have some kind of plan put together at the moment. So, here it goes...

Base of a 2000 mi wk these are rough#'s

Trk and TRl $887 mo based on $35k 10% for 48 mo i can put some money down if needed. credit union. my beacon score is 700

Insurance for now i will say 10k yr .10cmp
base plates permits 2k yr .02cmp
maintenance 8k yr .08cmp
Tires 5k yr .05cmp
Dr wages 35k yr .35cmp
Pm oil changes 2,500k yr .024cmp
Phone & Internet 2,400 yr .024cmp
Tax on wages 25% 8,750k yr .0875cmp
Fuel 50k yr @ 2.50 .50cmp
Miscellaneous 2,400k yr .024cmp
ROI not sure i used .30cpm .30cmp

Total 1.56 is this doable i dont know what are the rates now. and i dont know what they will be in 2011

Is there any thing that i left out, i have health insurance through tri care, also in NC you dont have to have work comp, if you have less than people? i think i read that right..

Like i said before this will take place in 2011. In the mean time i will be saving some money up. i should have 20k saved, and about 10k on my credit card. My wages should pay my bills at home, i am not married nor do i have any kids.

In the mean time i will be making contact with shippers and brokers. Just like the car business the more hands you shake , the more cars you will sell! I wont be using any factoring companies. If there is anything i left out please let me know.

Thanks

[tracer]

Check out this thread Well I made it out written by a reefer guy. I read on the forum that reefers are not doing too good right now. I'm pulling a stepdeck ... leased to a company. It's more work but when I go to bed at night my bed doesn't shake

[xcarsalesman]

Yes i read all the post on merrick! Thats all i have been doing lately. Is reading much as i can. i just wanted to know if i am in the right ball park. Like i said before this wont take place till 2011

[GMAN]

I am glad to see that you have been giving this some serious thought. There is one thing in your figures that does jump out at me. That is the equipment costs. Reefers are expensive. If you plan on pulling a reefer you will either need to buy a newer reefer or retrofit an older unit if you plan on running California. If you planned on buying any other type of trailer and truck I would think that your figures would allow you to buy both with the amount of money you allocated. One other thing that I noticed is your interest rate. As a first time buyer your interest rate may be higher due to your lack of experience as a driver and an owner operator. A good credit score will help, but lenders also look at your driving and finance experience as far as running a truck. You will likely need a down payment of 10-30%. Even with good credit and finance experience you will most likely need a decent down payment. At this point there is no way to tell for sure what will happen with lenders in the next couple of years. There are also leasing companies that may be a bit more lenient with their lending terms. Some only require the first months lease payment down.

You may want to check on the workers comp in North Carolina. I believe NC is a state that requires workers comp even if you are the only employee. In any case you will need a occupational accident policy if you lease to a carrier. If you run your own authority it is also a good idea. OOIDA sells them for about $140/month. Since you included $10,000 for insurance I assume that you plan on running your own authority? If not then you won't need that much insurance. When you lease to a carrier you only need an occ policy and collision insurance if you have a lien on your equipment.

As far as whether it is doable or not, that depends on the economy and how well you manage your business. I have heard of some rates as low as $0.70/mile for reefers. In a good economy reefers seem to do pretty well most of the year. They don't seem to suffer the seasonal changes most other segments of this industry enjoys. Hopefully, the economy will have improved by the time you get back to the U.S. and get a little experience. If you want to buy a reefer then I would find a company that runs them and get a feel of what it will be like.

[solo379]

I am thinking about pulling a reefer. Total 1.56 is this doable...

Yes, it's doable, but the question is, would you do it? Also, to make that much, for "all hub miles" run, including d/h and personal, you'll have to make about $1.80 for all loaded. And i didn't see any trailer costs in your calculattion...reffers are expensive.... I assume youare going to have your own #?

[kotflb]

[QUOTE=xcarsalesman;462341]


Drivers wages at .35/mi is not worth the headache of owning a tractor trailer. JMO

[xcarsalesman]

Thanks for the responses. Like i said its in the beginning stages. The reason i choice .35cmp is , thats enough to pay my bills. The rest left over will put back into the business. Starting out is there a formula for dead head miles.?

[kotflb]

Thanks for the responses. Like i said its in the beginning stages. The reason i choice .35cmp is , thats enough to pay my bills. The rest left over will put back into the business. Starting out is there a formula for dead head miles.?

What about enough to EXPAND your business, to raise a Family, to put away some sort of
retirement, to take a vacation, pay child support, etc. But if you think that's all YOUR WORTH, have at it and good luck.

[xcarsalesman]

6mo has gone by.. are these numbers still doable??

[Useless]

6mo has gone by.. are these numbers still doable??

It all depends. I know a dude who made excellent dinero hauling reefer around the country....... until he got caught!!

[solo379]

6mo has gone by.. are these numbers still doable??

I still stand with what I've said before.

[xcarsalesman]

Thanks i was just curious!!!!

[xcarsalesman]

[QUOTE=solo379;479497]I still stand with what I've said before.[/QUOT

What you dont think i could get 1.56? is that to much pulling reefer? i dont know what the rates are....and i dont know where to look ... no one like talking about rates.. its always $1 to $3... so i never can get and handle on what to charge...if that rate is to high i need to know...

[GMAN]

Rates are up in most segments. It depends on where you run. For instance, inbound rates to the Northeast are pretty good, but coming out they are not. Rates going to the left coast are up, but not sufficient to lure me to run the west coast. Rates coming out are better than a few months ago, but not as high as they need to be for our operating costs. Reefer rates should be higher coming off the left coast than flats. Going west with a reefer tends to have lower rates. It is the opposite for flats. I know it sometimes sounds like some of us are not willing to share rates, but there are a number of factors which come into play when you are discussing rates. Things have changed dramatically for me and others that I know in the last couple of months. I attribute some of this to seasonal up swings which happens every year. Another factor is that there is more freight moving. Many carriers and owner operators have gone out of business during the last year and a half. Less capacity and more freight is the main factor in rising rates. The rates are still not going up as quickly as fuel costs. What could be a good rate today may not be a good rate a few weeks from now. If fuel goes up to $5/gallon then $2/mile is not such a good rate. However, if fuel is at $2.50/gallon then $2/mile is much more attractive. Things can change quickly in this business.