Quote:
Originally Posted by Matcron33
really, I would wait. I understand you to travel again. the road sickness is getting to you. I would buy an old coverted motor coach. you can pick one up cheap. and you will beable to travel at your lesure. but if you intend on running your own truck. I thought i would give you the cost stats..
authority/dot numbers/$6500 up front/$14,000 annually
base plates/permits about $2500. depending on the state and year of truck.
cargo insurance a million dallors policy is $1000 to $1500 a month.
mileage tax ranges from .11 to .21 cpm.
maitance cost about $500 on a good month.
fuel cost on a 6000 mile trip at an average of $2.859 a gallon is $3300 at 5.2 mpg.
oh, almost forgot! some states do require self employment insurance. it's $151. a month
I am not sure where you came up with your numbers, but you are way off.
Authority costs $300 as a one time charge if you do it yourself. There is no annual cost to having your authority other than insurance. There are services who will do it for you, but there is no reason to not do it yourself.
DOT number is free. Again, there are services who may charge you a one time fee to get it for you. I believe the figures you mentioned are for the annual cost of cargo and liability insurance. Carriers are required to maintain minimum coverage of $750,000 in liability and $5,000 cargo insurance (for common carrier) but most brokers and shippers prefer to see $1,000,000 liability and $100,000 cargo. You mentioned a million in cargo, but that is not necessary unless you regularly haul very high dollar cargo such as heavy equipment.
Carriers are required to have a representative in each state in which they do business. There are services which charge an annual fee or if you are a member of OODIA they will do it for you at no charge. Base plates and permits should not exceed $2,000 annually unless you base out of Illinois. The year of the truck should not make any difference unless you live in a state such as Georgia which charges an annual ad valorem tax on the value of the equipment each year. My state doesn't have an annual tax other than the cost of the base plates. Fuel tax rates vary from about $0.10-0.36/gallon. I believe Pennsylvania went up on their fuel taxes and they were one of the highest. It does cost a lot to run Oregon with their distance tax. Running my authority I rarely spent more than about $25/quarter over and above my fuel purchases. If you plan your fuel purchases you should keep additional fuel tax costs to a minimum.
Most states will allow you to have either workers comp or an occupational accident policy. The workers comp rule doesn't normally come into play unless you have a certain number of drivers. I believe North Carolina requires all to have one of the other, even with a single driver. Most carriers will require an owner operator to have one of the two before signing a lease with them. Occupational Accident policies usually run about $140-150/month. I think you will find workers comp to be more expensive. Whether it is required in your state or not it is a good idea for your own protection should you get hurt on the job.