[strawberryrhubarbpie]

Does anyone know of any companies hiring to haul loads out of Cape Coral or Naples, Florida?

Our plan, if we can do it, is to haul a load up from Naples north out of the state, then once we have unloaded then we can work for a week or 2 up there. We have heard that the pay is not very good if you work in Florida because of the competition. We just want to avoid deadheading out of the state.

I realize this question may be something we have to figure out for ourselves once we buy our truck, but we just want to get a feel for what is out there.

[no_worries]

About the only thing you'll be able to find year-round would be more central, Auburndale area, and it's juice. The reason it's available...heavy and cheap...under a buck much of the year.

[Steel Horse Cowboy]

You will not likely find anything worth while out of Florida on a regular basis. If your running a flat you might be more likely that van but still, it's going to be dirt cheap.

Now loads from the Midwest (Minneapolis, Chicago, Des Moines ect....) will pay well going back down tho.

I have always had to deadhead up to Georgia or Alabama to get loads that paid well. Now, I dont even leave the midwest due to such crappy rates.

[strawberryrhubarbpie]

Ok another newby question - what is a crappy rate?

From reading other posts I get the feeling that $1.25 is pretty low... what is the minimum price an owner/operator should get? I'm talking just to pay for fuel...

[GMAN]

If you only want to pay for fuel you can run for about $0.60/mile, but you would have to be crazy to run for a rate that will only pay for your fuel. Most trucks get about 5-6 mpg. If fuel is selling at $3/gallon you can do the math. It will be $0.50-0.60/mile. Fuel is not your only expense when it comes to break even with a big truck. It is probably the single largest expense, but there are many others costs which should be considered when you are talking about break even. Everyone has a different break even point, due to everyone having different costs. If you look at all your expenses you are likely looking at somewhere between $1.10-1.35/mile to break even. Keep in mind that those figures are only ballpark numbers. To get an accurate figure you will need to know your cost of insurance, cost of truck payments, etc., Everything can be broken down into cost per mile, but you need to know what those costs are before you can get an accurate figure.