[DBE022576]

I have been approached by a stand-up guy with a proposal to haul freight for him. He is a freight broker and is working a deal to haul 400+ loads per month locally. The loads would be legit and @ 200 miles round trip. Take a load to warehouse and deadhead back to factory. He (and I) think that 2-3 loads per day should be possible assuming that it doesn't take too long to load or unload. The possibility exists that there could be loads coming back that would increase the pay. The pay is $450 per load. This requires that I have my own authority, truck, trailer, insurance, etc. I drove Class B trucks for 2 years and have been driving class A's for 3 months now. This should kick off Jan but being a broker they have other trucks that they can get to cover the loads until I can get started. I think by March I should know if 2 loads/day 5 days/wk is doable and if the loads are a real headache or not. My question is:
1) Would this be as good as it sounds?
2) Would you guys suggest just 1 truck for me or 3 trucks total of mine?
3) What questions should I ask about this (I have asked plenty but more are better)?
4) What should I look for in a used truck for this type of work?
5) Would it be wise to purchase a sleeper equipped truck in case this falls out from under me in the future so I could go back to OTR?

Thanks in advance for your help,
Doug

[GMAN]

I am curious as to why this broker would approach you with something such as this, especially when you don't already have your own authority, truck and trailer. There are a lot of small carriers who would probably be willing to take these loads. Do you know him? Have you checked him out? When will this guy pay you? If you follow through on this and buy a truck and trailer, you need to start with only one. It can be dangerous to put all of your eggs in one basket. If this guy falls by the wayside, do you have a backup plan?

I would go ahead and get a truck with a sleeper. If this fails to last, you could go on the road and not have to buy another truck. I would get a truck with about 450 hp and 10 speed transmission. You can get a good deal on a used truck if you are patient. Between now and spring, you should be able to just about name your own price. I would not concern myself about a particular brand as getting a good deal. If you are planning on doing shorter runs and backing into docks, I would probably think about Freightliner and Volvo because of their turning radius.

You may want to check on your insurance before you start buying equipment. They don't like insuring drivers who have less than 2 years of OTR experience. You may check with Progressive. Some have been able to start with them.

[Justruckin]

It sounds pretty good.

It is easy to get your authority, do it on the Internet.

But I think your biggest hurdle will be the insurance. Check around and see what the costs will be. I only say this because you only have 3 mos class 8 experience.

And then getting a truck, again your lack of time in the class 8 arena may hurt you if you need to finance. A hefty down payment will make it easier.

And then plan on at least 45 days of applying for your authority before you can even get behind the wheel. I think that was roughly the time I had to wait before hitting the road.

That really sucked, because I had to buy the truck, trailer and pay several thousand out in insurance, and I still had to wait for the DOT to say go. It was a long and frustrating wait. And the bills still had to be paid.

And how are you going to pay for your fuel? Is your broker friend going to give you advances? And what is his pay schedule? 30 day billing, or a week to ten days? You will need to know this up front. I figured you will need to buy roughly 80 gallons of fuel a day to cover 2 round trips, roughly $200 a day for fuel, or $1000 a week.

And the trailer(s), will one suffice? If I had a deal like you are speaking of, I would have at least 3 trailers. I would have one at each location being loaded and unloaded, and the one behind my truck for a fast drop and hook on both ends.

I would get this all in writing, and start calling insurance and truck and trailer dealers to figure your costs. Or if it is even doable. You have not said what your finances are like. I would think that you would need a minimum of $30,000.00 cash to get started, depending on how many trailers you plan on getting. And that is for the down payments, insurance and any repairs that you will have to make to the equipment. And their will be repairs, trust me.

As far as a truck, find a nice used one, with a sleeper, and keep your payments low or pay cash. Same goes for trailers, just make sure they are air ride. You don't want to get stuck trying to off load an old spring ride if things fall through.

I hope all works out for you, you may have a good deal going.

$900 a day x 5 = $4500 a week.

Fuel $1000 a week

Say a $40,000 truck and 3 trailers @ $27,000 (off the top of my head) your payments should be around $1700 - $2000 a month for all of your equipment.

Insurance say $500 a month for 9 months after your 10-20% down payment. Allot of this will depend on if you are crossing state lines. Which you did not say. Your insurance might not be that bad seeing as you are traveling such short distances. And check out Great Western Truck Insurance, they have the lowest rates that I could find.

Heavy use tax $550 a year on tractor.

Plates $2000 give or take a few bucks per year.

Quarterly IFTA taxes? I don't know if you are intrastate or not, or if it matters. Someone that is better informed on this can fill in the blank here.

Set your self up an LLC or incorporate. You will need a good accountant to handle all of this.

I would say you should net around $1800 to $2000 a week after your costs. Just off of the top of my head using mine and your numbers.

This is just all off of the top of my head and hope it helps. Just keep asking questions as I am sure others have better or more information then myself. Good luck!

[DBE022576]

Thanks for the reply GMAN. I'm friends with the guy and they can get the loads covered until I get started but they are willing to help me out by throwing me this "bone". They should have the loads available starting Jan 1, 2007 but they said I should wait until Feb or March to make sure that this is going to run as smooth as projected before I sign up for the loans on a truck/trailer. I was thinking of having 3 trucks because when I drove class B's a couple of guys I worked with had been OTR but quit to be home nightly so this would be a step out paywise for them and I know they're good guys with pretty good work ethics. But then again, it would be my butt on the line with the notes for the trucks and trailers . I guess that bridge should be crossed after I cross the first truck, authority bridge.
Thanks again,
Doug

[DBE022576]

justtruckin, thanks. your numbers are real close to the ones I have been working up myself but coming from you guys I have to put a little more stock in yours than mine since yall are o/o's. I would be crossing state lines and had figured around $2000/week profit after maintenance fund and payments and funds for taxes (2290,etc), plates, permits etc. I'm looking for a lot of info between now and Feb when I try to get it started if everything works out right.
Everyone keep the things to consider coming although I have to go back out til the 20th, I will read and reply then.
Thanks,
Doug

[Justruckin]

Originally Posted by DBE022576

Thanks for the reply GMAN. I'm friends with the guy and they can get the loads covered until I get started but they are willing to help me out by throwing me this "bone". They should have the loads available starting Jan 1, 2007 but they said I should wait until Feb or March to make sure that this is going to run as smooth as projected before I sign up for the loans on a truck/trailer. I was thinking of having 3 trucks because when I drove class B's a couple of guys I worked with had been OTR but quit to be home nightly so this would be a step out paywise for them and I know they're good guys with pretty good work ethics. But then again, it would be my butt on the line with the notes for the trucks and trailers . I guess that bridge should be crossed after I cross the first truck, authority bridge.
Thanks again,
Doug

Start with one truck. And try not to hire friends, they will burn you quicker then you can blink. If you ever get to a hiring stage, it is a shot in the dark. My buddy and me figured we needed to hire roughly 8-10 drivers to find a good one that would actually do the job and not need 24 hour care. Well, we didn't figure, that is just how it is.

Just my .02, been there done that.

[GMAN]

You don't want to start a new venture with more than one truck and no experience unless you have a lot of money to burn. You may want to buy more than one trailer to maximize your productivity. If you could drop and hook, you might be able to do 3 a day, but I doubt if you can do more than 1 or 2 if you live load. Something such as this can work if everything drops into place. It would be to your advantage to only start with the one truck until you learn something about what you are doing. If you were to buy 3 and the other two drivers quit then you will still need to make the payments, unless you have the money to pay cash. One other thing to remember is that whatever you pay in insurance for one truck, you can multiply by 3 if you have that many trucks. Unfortunately, most insurance companies don't give discounts for more than one truck.

[rank]

[quote="GMAN"]200 miles round trip. Take a load to warehouse and deadhead back to factory. He (and I) think that 2-3 loads per day should be possible assuming that it doesn't take too long to load or unload. The possibility exists that there could be loads coming back that would increase the pay. The pay is $450 per load. [quote]
3 loads a day? 600 miles? I don't see how that's possible. And if you're running through a major city, or two, or in the snow, I doubt of you could do 2 loads a day consistently. If either (or both) of these conditions exist, try recalculating the numbers based on 6-7 loads per week. Better safe than sorry. As for the backhauls, you haven't got time.

my $.02