I thought about jumping ship to be a Owner operator, but after sitting down with my girlfriend and going over numbers every which way possible, I just don't see how it's worth it. My girlfriend is a logistics coordinator and we had tons of work lined up, but even with low personal debt the cost of fuel, maintenance ETC ETC is just outrageous. Your lucky to net 55,000 , 60,000 a year after all expenses are paid.
Owner Operator
- Thread starter BumpDraft
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$55-60 after expenses? Better recheck those figures. I hear owner ops talking at different places and they say some loads are paying like a $1.30 a mile. Those types of rates are 20 years old.
I thinking more older than that, remember in mid 70's if it didn'tpay a buck a mile it wasn't worth hauling
And say run 294 East,to 80-94 East, to 76, to Philly = all toll
Maybe blow a tire,with a road service call
Don’t forget your yearly Federal Road Use Tax
Quarterly estimated income tax
$3,000.00 IRP plate
Oops. 2 hours late for your delivery appt in Philly. Next appt available; 1300 Monday. Have a nice weekend out there. Maybe some Facetime with the girlfriend?
But he has a placard load so 76 is out which will save him some money to buy that cheap breakfast at Snowshoe since he can't go thru the tubes
Waffle House?
yep
I don't have to recheck my figures, they are based on my expenses not everyone else's. The only pro's I see to me being a owner operator is I can turn down a load.
The expenses I named,are, what every o/o will incur, and that is not even everything. The untimely, unforeseen ones are the ones that get you. Did it 10 years until 1985. Was pretty good until deregulation, and many freight rates, especially truckload will decline anytime the economy slows down. Good luck...
Double Nickle
Living from direct deposit to direct deposit.
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And you can make that driving for somebody else, without the headaches.
canaryinthemine
Retirement....The Job I Was Born To Have!
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I did it for 9 years....from '84 to '93.......Got out of it when fuel went over $1.10 a gallon. My "break even" point was $.85 a mile....After that,...all money was profit......
Last two years,.....I only hit a couple days a month when my profits exceeded $.85 a mile......
It seemed that large truckload carriers were undercutting many smaller O/Os for loads out of..."undesirable" areas......I had a good deal with loads into Manhattan and surrounding NYC out of the Midwest......and marginal-paying backhauls out of Jersey that covered my costs.....
JB, Schneider, and other large box carriers started offering shippers discounts as low as $.75 a mile just to get their drivers out of the NY Metro area for the weekend. Upshot was that all the shippers started holding their loads from Wednesday on.....to get the "discount".....
One other thing........Run it like a business.......Too many guys think that being an O/O means Big Hammer, Large Chrome Pipes, Roaring Jake Brake, Shiny Wheels..........
....and then they cut rates so bad, they can't afford skirting for the broke-down mobile home they (sometimes..) live in.......
Have no clue what they're making per (hub) mile........But, Man! Listen to those Straight Pipes!
Don't be like that.........95% of truck drivers are hard-working bill-payers,.....and 5% are still little boys playing trucks in the sandbox........cutting rates just to roll the wheels......
Twice that. M-F. Sleeping in my bed everyday.
Ted Decker trk
When things are FUBAR, FIDO!
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Hate to jump in the negative band wagon but I've always wanted to own my own truck. Third generation driver, lots of experience and resources to draw on but I could never set down and put together a case for owning my own. Always comes out better in terms of risk/reward as a company driver. I know guys that have been very successful as O/O's but the intangibles of home life, kids, marriage etc always tipped the scale towards a company gig. More power to you if you can make it work for you. Just jump with your eyes wide open and have Plan A,B,C...etc., etc. to handle things you haven't foreseen .
Those considering becoming an Owner Op should take into account expenses most drivers on the road don’t share with you when you ask them what they are making. Something else to consider is are they running for someone or do they have their own authority.
Of course there is advantages and disadvantages to being an owner operator, and many, may do a cost analysis before jumping In. I am going to list a portion of expenses and considerations that one should take before doing so. and hope others will contribute things I miss.
…
What do you plan to haul?
Flatbed
Refrigerated
Dry
Intermodal
Local? Regional? Long haul
…
What do you plan for power.
Will you take on a note
Purchase outright- age and shape a considerable deal here as you may run into ongoing maintenance expenditures
Pre or post emissions- even many local intermodal companies now requiring 2010 or newer
…
Expenses:
Will you be incorporating? - Legal fees
Will you be getting your own authority or will you be “leasing authority”?
Will you be getting your own IFTA or “leasing” - quarterly taxes due either way so save for this
Trailer? Will you be purchasing, leasing on your own, or will you be leasing from the company you sign on with. Many charge weekly fees taken out of comp check. Will company provide trailers and fuel if refrigerated.
Fuel
Factoring
Are you saving for maintenance and replacement: Tires, Filters(new DEF Filters big $), PM’s, oil changes, etc....
Are you saving for quarterly taxes- don’t wait till end of year
Are you saving for various expenses such as fuel additives in winter, truck parking when not under load and off duty at yard, meals, straps/load bars/tarps etc.....
OIDA fees if you are a member
Insurance- Bobtail min and set to increase in 2020- new authority very expensive
Toll’s
HUT,IFTA, and KY fee’s
obviously there are more expenses than listed such as fees for use of brokerage sites such as DAT and percentages that a company you may be leased onto will take straight off the top of the load before you consider the rest of the fees and expenses.
In no way am I trying to discourage someone from jumping In. Please do your research and continue to read publications such as FreightWaves,CDLLife, landline and others to come up with a determination to what you want to specialize in.
Remember everyone needs to eat so refrigerated is always in demand, but you take on risk of loads and long detention times, intermodal hot when economy is rocking not only domestic but international, slow otherwise and equipment generally poor shape and overweight.
Of course there is advantages and disadvantages to being an owner operator, and many, may do a cost analysis before jumping In. I am going to list a portion of expenses and considerations that one should take before doing so. and hope others will contribute things I miss.
…
What do you plan to haul?
Flatbed
Refrigerated
Dry
Intermodal
Local? Regional? Long haul
…
What do you plan for power.
Will you take on a note
Purchase outright- age and shape a considerable deal here as you may run into ongoing maintenance expenditures
Pre or post emissions- even many local intermodal companies now requiring 2010 or newer
…
Expenses:
Will you be incorporating? - Legal fees
Will you be getting your own authority or will you be “leasing authority”?
Will you be getting your own IFTA or “leasing” - quarterly taxes due either way so save for this
Trailer? Will you be purchasing, leasing on your own, or will you be leasing from the company you sign on with. Many charge weekly fees taken out of comp check. Will company provide trailers and fuel if refrigerated.
Fuel
Factoring
Are you saving for maintenance and replacement: Tires, Filters(new DEF Filters big $), PM’s, oil changes, etc....
Are you saving for quarterly taxes- don’t wait till end of year
Are you saving for various expenses such as fuel additives in winter, truck parking when not under load and off duty at yard, meals, straps/load bars/tarps etc.....
OIDA fees if you are a member
Insurance- Bobtail min and set to increase in 2020- new authority very expensive
Toll’s
HUT,IFTA, and KY fee’s
obviously there are more expenses than listed such as fees for use of brokerage sites such as DAT and percentages that a company you may be leased onto will take straight off the top of the load before you consider the rest of the fees and expenses.
In no way am I trying to discourage someone from jumping In. Please do your research and continue to read publications such as FreightWaves,CDLLife, landline and others to come up with a determination to what you want to specialize in.
Remember everyone needs to eat so refrigerated is always in demand, but you take on risk of loads and long detention times, intermodal hot when economy is rocking not only domestic but international, slow otherwise and equipment generally poor shape and overweight.
Another thing to consider
rates in 2017-18 were at the top, but since April 2019 they have dipped to some of the lowest in a long time and companies like UberFreight,Convoy, and Cheap and Heavy are all offering loads but one really needs to consider the loss/profit of running them.
Owner OP’s are also In competition with those who will haul for nothing and undercut the next guy. You are not only competing with the bigs who are struggling
rates in 2017-18 were at the top, but since April 2019 they have dipped to some of the lowest in a long time and companies like UberFreight,Convoy, and Cheap and Heavy are all offering loads but one really needs to consider the loss/profit of running them.
Owner OP’s are also In competition with those who will haul for nothing and undercut the next guy. You are not only competing with the bigs who are struggling