I'm not a trucker but I'm curious to know how you end up with a profit?

I understand you get paid per mile but how much of that ends back up in the fuel tank or for repairs?

When you finish with a load how do you get the next one or is it a long trip home before you pick up again?

 

Well that's a question for owner/operators. They don't get paid per mile but for the trip etc. Company drivers get paid per mile and the company pays for maintenance, fuel etc. So all you have to worry about then is getting from A to B, on time in a safe manner and you'll get paid for all your miles you run each week.

 

So a company driver makes less cause they only drive for one company? Or by company you mean someone who sets them up with loads? Where as an owner/operator does the setup themselves too.

 

Read some of the older posts "Grasshopper". :wink: If your talking about O/O then start there. Company drivers??? They don't pay for fuel. Either way.... When you get to where you un-load there is usually a load that needs to go somewhere else. It's like "Lion King" ( the circle of life ) :wink:

 

Guess that's what I had been kinda wondering all along. I was kinda so curious how much mobile technology you all use. I've seen a few trucker stop websites online too.

I saw some discovery channel thing with this enormous truck stop ( think in IN) that even gives you ac and cable. So you don't have to waste your gas to run the trucks AC.

 

It's called Idle-arie and they don't give it to you, it cost about $1.85 per hour and up depending on other serices(movies ect)

 

Owner operators are usually paid by the mile or percentage. The same is usually the case with drivers, although some may be paid hourly.

You make a profit by spending less than you earn. You need to be a good money manager to make a profit. Fuel and other costs will vary from one owner to another and the rate at which they haul, if you want to look at it as a percentage. In general terms I would count on fuel as about 40%. Fuel is your biggest cost when it comes to running a truck. At 5 mpg, and fuel at $3.50/gallon, you will spend $0.70/mile for fuel. We have written much about the cost of running a truck. If you do a search you should find exactly what you are looking for.

 

That was the Iowa 80 truck stop. I think it's the biggest. I saw the same show.

 

if i had seen that show a year ago, i would have thought WOW!!

now, while i type this, sitting at a truckstop, i think, wow :roll: