[BigDiesel]

HVUT info.....

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2290.pdf

[lucky2]

Anyone want to quess on what kind of miliage a 430 rebuilt Detroit is going to get loaded. We are thinking somewhere around 5 m/p/g. Kind of hard to know from the previous owner as it only has 350 miles on it. So at 5mpg we should be able to go 1000 miles on 200 gal.which is over $900. So in order to go 8000 miles a month it sounds like we better plan on spending over $7200 in a month just for fuel. Assuming the 2290 cost $600 annually that would be $75 a month. $500 a month for maintenance(but we will probably up that) $61 for bobtail, $130 for occupational hazard,$149 for trailer,plus I added in for cell, food,and supplys. I come up with a rough estimate of exspences of $8515 a month, devided it by 8000 miles and came up with $1.06 a mile. Hopefully we can run it more than 8000 miles a month, but used that as a base to start from. The carrier that we plan on leasing the truck to said alot of his loads are in the Tx. Co. Iowa . Does anyone know how much their paying for loads in those areas? What is a good rate to go by? If we are getting 80% of what the truck makes that means that if the truck is making say $2.50 a mile then we get 80 % of $2.50. minus exspences. I love pushing a pencil, let me know if i,m pushing it the right way. Everyone has been really helpfull on here in trying to help us get our ducks all in a straight line. Thanks All.

[NotSteve]

I have a Detroit 500 hp and I get at least 5.2 and sometimes 6.2 if I pay attention to driving it the right way. I pull a flatbed and am pretty much always loaded close to 48k.

I think if you plan on 8,000 per month your on the right track. I ran 3,800 last week but that was rare and not what I like to do. I usually do a consistant 2,500 to 3,000.

Your figures seem to be right on and very realistic.

[BanditsCousin]

Like I said above- a team should be doing at least 4500 mi/week or 18,000/mo. Solo, a driver should be doing 2500/wk or 10,000/mo. Hard running teams will do 5-6000 mi/week, and hard rnning drivers solo will do 3500/wk.

Hope this helps as a base for expenses to estimate your net income.

[Red Clay Rambler]

lucky2, you list 149.00 for trailer as you are listing other monthly estimates. If that is a trailer rental fee, it's more likely 149 per WEEK. Or maybe I am misunderstanding you?

[lucky2]

Opps my mistake. yea the trailer is $149 a week rental not a month. I,ll have to go back and refigure a little. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

[eplurubus]

Originally Posted by lucky2

Anyone want to quess on what kind of miliage a 430 rebuilt Detroit is going to get loaded.

This is variable. What are your usual lanes and how heavy will you be? What's your rear end gearing? I have a 460 hp Mack E-Tech engine, 18 speed tranny, and 3.55 rears. I mainly run TX, OK, AR, and gross right at 80,000 lbs. My average mpg is 6.6, but I've got 7+ mpg many times.

We are thinking somewhere around 5 m/p/g.

I think you'll do better than that.

Hopefully we can run it more than 8000 miles a month.

I think 8,000 is fine. Remember, O/O is a whole different ball game than being a company driver. Focus on $$ per mile, not on miles, miles, miles.

The carrier that we plan on leasing the truck to said alot of his loads are in the Tx. Co. Iowa . Does anyone know how much their paying for loads in those areas?

Loads into CO usually pay good; coming out sucks. I run a lot of intra-Texas loads, and I see plenty of $2+/mile freight. I pick up a load Monday from New Boston, TX to Garland, TX that pays a gross of $450 linehaul plus $75 FS on 145 miles. I'll take these good-paying short hauls any day.

[GMAN]

Your 2290 runs $550/year and is payable in July. If you put your truck in service after that time it will be prorated. We used to be able to pay it quarterly until a couple of years ago. President Bush decided that we need to pay in all in one payment. You can find trailer that you can rent for about $350/month and up. If you rent one from a carrier they may charge as much as $165/week. I would allow from $0.05-0.15/mile for maintenance. When I estimate costs I like to use 10,000/month. That is in the range of what the average solo driver should be able to run when factoring in a few days off from time to time. I use 0.025/mile for oil changes. $0.05/mile for tires. You also need to calculate the cost of your truck. Again, I would use 10,000/month when doing my calculations. For instance, if your truck payment was $1,000/month, then your cost per mile would be $0.10. If you rent a trailer and the payment was $350/month, then the trailer payment would cost $0.035/mile. If you run team then your maintenance costs are going to be higher than as a solo. Teams should be able to drive 5-7,000/week.

[lucky2]

We plan on puting our truck in service hopefully by the first part of June. Becouse it is a first time plate we will have to go through the IRP in Lancing if we want to get it the same day. They are sending the application to us. We also have to go to Lancing for the IFTA sticker which is no charge. Also waiting for that app. One thing nice is with what we are puting down on the truck we are going to have it paid off in 6 months and our payments are only $500 a month and then it will completly paid off and ours free and clear. We are figuring like you said at least $10,000 a month for exspenses and 10,000 miles while we're still solo. Of course that will change alot when we start teaming it. We're just trying to figure after all is said what kind of money will be left in our pockets. Someone said focus on $$ not miles. After driving for company that is going to be different to get used to. But by knowing how much everything cost c/p/m is'nt that actaully letting you know how much your making in the end when your getting paid a % of the load.

[GMAN]

You will experience a huge relief when you make that last payment on your truck. When you are paid percentage you need to know what the load pays and your part before committing to the load. You will make mistakes starting out. We all do. The important thing is to learn from them. Everyone has somewhat different operating expenses. After you run for a while you should come up with an exact operating expense and be able to calculate that by the mile. I NEVER take a load that doesn't pay enough to cover my expenses and make a fair profit. I am in business to make money not just see the country. If you keep your nose to the grindstone and watch your expenses you will have half the battle won. The other thing is to set a minimum haul rate. One other thing to keep in mind is that your truck will break down. You will blow tires. Things just happen to trucks, whether they are new or used. It is important to put as much money aside, as quickly as possible, to take care of any contingency. Unless you have the funds available to make needed repairs, you are out of business. That is how many owner operators lose their business.