That really depresses me. I signed up there with the specific intention of getting banned, and it took a few weeks to actually happen. :cry:

pot... kettle... black....

You forgot ...calling

LOL....If Dad really is planning on retiring to WA and bought property there....tell hom to make sure he has awesome views from EVERY window!!!



Right now....at $1.80 per mile....your Dad is hauling Cheap Freight.

Taking into account todays fuel prices that is equal to .80 to 1.40 freight of a year or two ago. Short haul flatbed freight (400 - 500 miles) should be at least $1100 to $1400.

He bought property on a hill overlooking the straight of Juan de Fuca. Near Port Angeles.

As far as hauling cheap, $1.80 is what freight is moving for on the load boards.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

A buck eighty a mile won't cover the cost of living there.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

You truly are delusional......

Ooooooooooooh! That is good view territory!! Can he see Hurricane Ridge...or did he buy property on the ridge???

Build a loghouse...not one of them nasty azz stickbuilt ones...a real loghouse..with lot's of windows...stress those windows!! He could get this outfit I know in Port Townsend, to set him up properly Even go wiht a Cedar house!!!
Lot's and lot's to see out there. A Deck where you can sit and enjoy the view across to Vancouver Island, or turn and look up the ridge to the tops of the Olympics....that is a MUST DO item!

Jeez, is that all you guys are getting for a flat on GL & ITS? What length of haul is that?

BTW, is DH included in your Dad's $1.29? And what is his DH?

I disagree...kind of. Often loads that need to be tarped are commodities and commodities are almost always cheap freight. Lumber and coils are prime examples. Cheap cheap cheap. Now take machinery....rarely needs a tarp and pays much better. But when it does need a tarp, I can usually get $100 - $150 extra if they forget to mention it until after we've already established the rate.

Here's how I can get more sometimes. Y'know when they try to hide the fact that it needs a tarp.....like how they sneak it in on the rate confirmation after they've already called the customer to "authorize" that extra high rate that they supposedly couldn't pay? That's when I call them back and tell them they never mentioned a tarp and I need an extra $150. By this time they are too embarrassed to call the shipper AGAIN, so they usually cave.

ohhhhh yeah he did.

YA NO SHEET!!!!!!!!! Happens all the time. That and the delivery date AND when it's an LTL load the customer says it needs to be there yesterday. Then I tell them it's an LTL load and could take up to 10 days. Then they freak and come to find out, the customer ordered a dedicated truck and I tel them the broker listed it as LTL and is going to keep the rest of the money.

Then the crap fly's and I just sit and wait for double the rate. Happened a few times already.

Or, the 15' LTL turns into 30' because the broker tried to make you believe it could be stacked.

I've learned to get the conformation and sign it when I get to the customer site after I figured the real delivery date, size and weight. Then I have one pissed off customer.

Happened not too long ago when I had a small LTL in Arizona. I loaded then went to the truck stop near by and spent the night and waited the next day for another load. The customer called wanting to know when it would be delivered. I said I was still down the road. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He starts yelling at me and I had to tell him to "Shut the F*** up and listen to me". My exact words. I tell him the broker listed it as an LTL and is keeping all the money for a full load.

Sometimes it's fun when you know something is up and you have the upper hand like changing the delivery date to 7 to 10 days from pickup date on the rate conformation after picking up the load then faxing back the agreement. Also, don't forget to change the pickup date. They are sometimes 5 days in the past too!!

Whhhhhaaaatttttt ???? You mean that DH miles need to accounted for also ??? :shock:


:lol: :lol:

I've tried a few times to get the broker to allow me two weeks to deliver a partial but they don't want to give me that long so I don't do as many as I'd like. We have a pretty big storage facility here so we could warehouse lots of stuff, but if they want TL for an LTL rate.....sorry, no can do.

I should give it another try now that brokers are killing each other for Canadian bound trucks. :)

BTW Steve, got your fax. Thanks.

Those destinations are too far east for me. I'm not familiar with the maritimes and I'd be out of my element looking to reload from there. Not a heckuva lot of manufacturing out there....and I don't like raw materials. I'd have to do some serious research into the Port of Halifax before I quoted a rate into that dead zone.

For now, I'll have to be content with my little $2,000/550 mile day trips.

:)

How do you survive?

:lol:

Oh but those infuriating 3 minutes I spend clearing customs makes me want to charge $4,000.

:)

When I have hunted loads on my own the brokers always said it was a tarped load. BUT when the truck owner was looking for loads I have no way of knowing if he/she got extra money for tarping......and since we were using OUR tarps that could have been a good sum of money we were cheated out of....hmmm

tootie

I haven't seen much that payed well lately. Lots of stuff for $1.60/mi.

It took awhile. I got him a 190 mi run this morning it payed $400. 50 deadhead miles. It took him to a load that he just finished loading out that pays $2070 for 1022 miles 30 deadhead miles. Total $1.91/mi.

I always try to figure the deadhead into the miles. DH varies.

For example he is empty and must drive 50 miles to pick up his next load that takes him 400 miles for $2/mi. That means he is only making $1.78/mi. I don't think there is anyway to calculate it into the break even numbers unless your deadhead miles were fixed.

An easy way to do it is look at the dead head miles. Whatever the percentage of deadhead miles are compared to paid miles you subtract from your pay.
50 miles is 12.5% of 400 miles. $2/mi(rate)-12.5% = $1.78

Again, with the "break even" numbers.........Where is the Advil?

And yet, he owns this fine piece of property where the picture was taken...

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...espanarama.jpg

Like I said HOBBY TRUCKER, helping screw everyone that wants to do more than break even, and making some brokers very happy.

Why do you think Steve likes him so much? :lol:

Since he doesn't have a source for $4/mi freight he'll have to be contenet hauling for less.

Each person is different and has a different set of circumstances. Myself, I have no wife, kids are grown and no bills.

Bandit is also single but spends tons of money on women, concerts and booze.

Some people say they make $70,000 but after paying for child support and truck payment they are lucky to make $30,000 and on top of that can't even afford a place of their own so, it's all relative.

And yes, I gave up a 6 figure salary to do this. I've found that being happy is so much more important then money.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...nh/paystub.jpg

Wow! Leaving a forty hour a week job with that kind of pay for the life of a hobby trucker. Wow! :?: :?: :?: :?: :?:

Dad is in PA. His next job pays $2800 for 1169 miles (fairchance pa to new iberia la). The dead head to fairchance PA from glen hope PA is 128 mi. The job that gets him home from LA is taylorsville MS to shelbyville IN and pays $1400 for 691 miles. The dead head is 266 miles.

Since he wants to spend the night in Nashville on the way to LA it adds 71 miles to the trip total.

2325 miles
$4200

$1.81/mi

$0.52/mi above his break even.
[/u]

Really? You actually calculated his expenses to figure that out? Or is that using someone else's expenses for an entirely different truck?

Remember folks...Steve's situation is unique to him. He's already financed putting his kids onto the road of life and doesn't have a wife and lifestyle that demands the kind of cash that other's do. Plus he's already bought the toys (cars-motorcyle etc) so the high dollar items are all behind him now (welllll except for gittin old and paying for the old folks home :) ).
I think it's great that he can live like he does. Plus when you've been in the income level that Steve was at you can make the choice on whether you like it or not. Most haven't so can't know how good...or bad...that lifestyle can be.

So: assuming that others (kids etc) don't depend on you then....it's all about the happiness and lifestyle that you need.

Also remember: you can't take any of this with you at the end :wink:

Remember we calculated it that the break even was around $1.29. It was the same thread where you said yours was $1.22/mi... :lol:

Rev,

Please take into account that charged is an imbecile, his so called numbers are only partial and what this idiot wants to believe.... :lol: :lol:

With warm regards,

BigDiesel

You participated in the thread where I came up with the break even numbers. Several said their number was less than what I came up with including Rev. So, what is partial about the $1.29 break even number?

I guess I missed that thread. The only threads I remember are the ones where you "borrowed" other peoples' numbers so you didn't have to do any of the work calculating them yourself.

You are the true definition of insanity....... :lol: :lol: :lol: Go do your homework and let your daddy have his computer back....

I didn't borrow the numbers for the truck or trailer payment. The insurance number is real. As well as the telephone, internet and load board numbers. The only number borrowed is the maintenance. Mainteneance is difficult to figure because he has been in business a short amount of time and has spent very little in maintenance. I think we figured maintainance at $1500/8000 miles which is probably more than adequate.

What about the rest of the items? Where did those figures come from?

authority $100
road taxes $500
maintenance $1500
other?
truck and trailer payment $2000
insurance $700
phone $100
internet $50
load boards $100

no tolls
no oversize loads
no parking
figure gas at $4/gal and mpg at 6mpg including idle time
figure he runs 8k miles/month

That's the link and the numbers. I thought it was $1.29 but it looks like $1.30/mi. :lol:

Since he is running 300 more miles than he should this week his costs are going to be less.

That's the short list. Where's the long list? :roll:

Those are the base costs associated with operating a truck. If they are not then tell me what the other costs are.

At the chance of being told I don't know anything, I got a say in all this!

I wish you'd give Charged a break, from what I read his dad seems to be doing alright and coming out ahead. Not every new guy who buys a truck and gets their authority are clueless! Also not everyone has the same operating cost. Some may have a truck payment while someone else has a truck and trailer payment or doesn't have either. Also their insurance cost will vary. So before you guys talk about Charged not knowing what he is doing know his operating cost and remember you guys were in his shoes at one time and did you get bashed for asking questions that any new owner operator would ask? It never hurts to ask questions to find out what works and what doesn't.

Oh yeah don't even bother saying Double L the 18 year old who thinks he knows how to run a business when he doesn't. :roll: Just because I'm 18 doesn't mean I'm some kid who doesn't know what he is doing. Besides it doesn't take a degree to know how to run a trucking business or to drive a truck. Besides a business degree is helpful to have but not a requirement.