Cost for running a straight truck
- Thread starter tbfoster
- Start date
It costs an arm and a leg. LOL! Welcome to EO!
IF you have never been an expediter I would suggest NOT buying a truck. My suggestion would be to run for an owner, for a year or so, to learn the ropes and decide if you like the lifestyle. A lot of us in here have picked up good buys, or repos, when newbies bought trucks only to find out they could not afford them, or they hated the business.
IF you are experienced, ignore everything I said, except the welcome!
Why have you been hiding SO long? We are not THAT mean!
IF you have never been an expediter I would suggest NOT buying a truck. My suggestion would be to run for an owner, for a year or so, to learn the ropes and decide if you like the lifestyle. A lot of us in here have picked up good buys, or repos, when newbies bought trucks only to find out they could not afford them, or they hated the business.
IF you are experienced, ignore everything I said, except the welcome!
Why have you been hiding SO long? We are not THAT mean!
paullud
Veteran Expediter
You may want to reconsider what you are about to do. I would guess that since you don't know how much it costs to run a ST and can't figure out how to come up with the costs on your own that you have no experience. You are about to make a serious financial commitment to a business that you don't know and don't even know if you will like it. On top of that you are getting ready to spend a lot of money and get involved just as things are slowing down. Why not drive for a fleet owner first to see if it is a career path you even want to pursue?
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paullud
Veteran Expediter
I basically covered what you just said, I missed your post. It is the wrong time of year to try and get started in an unfamiliar industry like this.
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I agree with these two fine members. Drive for a fleet owner first. Learn the business and watch how much it costs to run the truck. After a period of time, decide what you want to do.
There is no quick answer to your actual question. In expedite, one week you eat steak, next week you're on the hot dog diet. Then the turbo decides it's tired of working. I can tell you what that costs: $600 tow, $2500 repair, $250 motel bill. 4 days of no revenue.
If you can, attend the Expo next week. You will learn quite a bit by doing so.
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There is no quick answer to your actual question. In expedite, one week you eat steak, next week you're on the hot dog diet. Then the turbo decides it's tired of working. I can tell you what that costs: $600 tow, $2500 repair, $250 motel bill. 4 days of no revenue.
If you can, attend the Expo next week. You will learn quite a bit by doing so.
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Daffyduck528
Expert Expediter
And it's assuming you have the turbo fixed correctly and none of the blades went into your dpf and did damage.
I agree with everyone else. There is minimal investment to drive for a fleet owner and see what the costs are. One word of caution would be to try and drive what you can afford. If you get in with an owner that has all 2014 trucks but buy a 2007 used truck your costs will be wildly different and could sink you.
nunnsexpress
Seasoned Expediter
to answer you question.. what's it cost to run a box truck
This is you setting in the truck and driving it.
Just an ex sample and everything changes with the mileage.
truck cost, $500 month or $6,000 a year $30,000
insurance, 250-----------3,000
fuel, 7.6 mpg------------------52,631
Labor, 11h day driving-------12,474
repairs, maintenance-----------2,000
food, $27 a day-------------10,000
--------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------$86,105 / 100,000 mileage a year = 0.86 a mile
taxies, reg. and fees
co driver ?
hotel
your toys
your home
or anything you need that truck to pay for will raise your cost per mile...
Good luck.
This is you setting in the truck and driving it.
Just an ex sample and everything changes with the mileage.
truck cost, $500 month or $6,000 a year $30,000
insurance, 250-----------3,000
fuel, 7.6 mpg------------------52,631
Labor, 11h day driving-------12,474
repairs, maintenance-----------2,000
food, $27 a day-------------10,000
--------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------$86,105 / 100,000 mileage a year = 0.86 a mile
taxies, reg. and fees
co driver ?
hotel
your toys
your home
or anything you need that truck to pay for will raise your cost per mile...
Good luck.
Last edited:
Daffyduck528
Expert Expediter
And that's a pretty low costs setup. Look at a white glove type reefer truck and you can easily be at $210,000-$240,000 for the truck which is $3,000-$4,000/month note. And your insurance would be higher. And at only $2,000 in repair and maint a year if say you were doing a lot of work yourself and having great luck with the truck.
KickStarter6
Veteran Expediter
I wanna make 86k gross a year....that'd cover my costs completely and get me out of debt in that years time lol. Vans sucks
That 86K was COSTS, not gross income. I can tell you one thing for sure, our income gets more gross with each passing day.
A new TVAL truck would have to gross AT LEAST what it would cost to buy it, each and every year it was in service. That would be the MINIMUM for it to do well. With the rates we are seeing lately, that would not be the easiest task in the world.
nunnsexpress
Seasoned Expediter
To tell you the truth if my 16' box truck did 100k a year I would be one busy m-f...
it only does 15 to 20k a year or $1.00 a mile. I run 4 vehicles and looking for 19-26000k truck. DH, LG, 20-24', 95- 150k, my cargo van can't handle the freight, It always to small.
a Sprinter van , no! cpm to expensive, and you limited to the size and weight. like my van.
it only does 15 to 20k a year or $1.00 a mile. I run 4 vehicles and looking for 19-26000k truck. DH, LG, 20-24', 95- 150k, my cargo van can't handle the freight, It always to small.
a Sprinter van , no! cpm to expensive, and you limited to the size and weight. like my van.
paullud
Veteran Expediter
7.6mpg? That is not good at all. Is someone thinking that this is a race and not running it like a business by working to get better mpg?
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nunnsexpress
Seasoned Expediter
I rented a new International Ryder 26' went 180 mile and took 23.5 gal. that's 7.6 mpg.
Now my 16' GMC/npr gets 10 mpg for the same trip, but didn't have the room.
Now my 16' GMC/npr gets 10 mpg for the same trip, but didn't have the room.
Daffyduck528
Expert Expediter
Sounds about right for a in city Ryder class 7 rental. Those are geared low for in city getup and go and they are usually ridden hard.
guido4475
Not a Member
Very strong and sound advice that could save you possibly thousands in the future, and you may find that driving for a good fleet owner suits you even better.
Another thing you may need to consider....are you mechanically inclined? Too many times I have ended up fixing (Even though I don't mind) The simplest of repairs for a truck owner who should really know how to do the small repair like determining why a tail light or marker light isn't working, adjust brakes, grease a truck, and while under the truck, look for other possible problems as well. Things like this can run a owner-operator in the ground financially by paying someone else to do.Some people are just better off driving for a good fleet owner, in other words.
guido4475
Not a Member
There are quite a few on here that make that and more gross per year with good business sense and hard work, along with being leased to the right company.
[email protected]
Rookie Expediter
I have a 99 Freightliner cat 3126 st and I'm in the inspection process. I am currently trying to iron out insurance. What a b!! The only thing I can think of is putting the title against the bank. Any suggestions? It would be nice to make some connects and run 484 273 6050 thanks Len