only good thing about that state.


could you run that with under half a tank?

The load was loaded heavy to the rear of the trailer. The tractor duals were fine with the weight. All of the weight was on the trailer. To make the weight legal on the trailer, by stretching the trailer tandems, i would have been over on the bridge law.

Well, after 2 1/2 months, I'm at the following:

Total Miles Dispatched: 24,533 (26,992 hub)
Average Loaded Rate per Mile: $1.90
Average Total Rate per Mile: $1.60
Average Actual Rate per Mile: $1.43

The miles is good, but the revenue per mile, is kinda on a low side. You could make it on that gross, but you have to run hard, and if your miles will drop, it could be a problem....I'm not saying you are "in a red", just pointing out a possible complications.

Ya - I sort of had a messed up month and had to take some less-than-desirable loads just to get me to places I needed to be.

I guess I am just different. I would rather drive my paid for 2006 truck and pull my paid for 2002 trailer 1400 miles a week and be home everyday and still clear over $1500 a week than run my butt off and be away from home just to have a new truck.

To each his own and I hope you succeed.

Well, i'm sure you are not alone on this. Malaki has a bit different situation- he is not in a position to choose between those 2 options....

Exactly. I didn't have the money laying around to purchase an older truck outright, and definitely didn't have the money available in case of a major breakdown. I did this to get a start as an owner/operator. I have the truck for a total of one year. My personal and business bank accounts grow almost every week. At the end of the year, if I still don't have enough saved up that I'm comfortable with, I'll do another one-year lease. All I know is at this point, I am making (settlement) about 50-75% more than when I was a company driver. Going from $42k per year to $70k per year (estimated) is nothing to sneeze at, in my book.

I understand completely. I probably got very lucky when I started. I scrapped together every penny I could find when I got started. I barely had enough money for fuel when I took my first load. If I would of had a flat tire on my first load I would of been done.

It's been 4 years now and it gets easier everyday. I bought the truck I have now for $15K 2 years ago and I haven't had to do anything to it except oil changes and a radiator hose. It just turned over 800K miles and I am hoping for another year or so without any problems. If I have a major problem I will throw it away and find another cheap truck.

The loads pay the same whether you have a work truck or a show truck.

Profit per mile for October was $0.68. For November, it fell to $0.65. That's after all expenses. That's also based on hub miles. I can live with that.