cpm gas vs diesel

[Rocketman]

But he is pretty busy keeping track of 50 drivers I imagine. But I like him, he's a good guy, I'm just know I get 1/50th of his attention.

He is definitely spread too thin, but most small carriers are. It takes a long time for them to find, hire and train "good" dispatchers. That does effect your income and once you become o/o, it will be even more important, but at least for now I would stick with it and learn the ropes as long as they are honest and treat you well.

I was beat, so I just wanted to sleep.

But my sprinter isn't set up properly so even with the van running and the ac going, its still warm with no insulation. I slept about an hour.

This is a safety issue. I would probably ask them to insulate the van or something. I can't sleep well either when it's too hot in the vehicle. I would ask for help with that and I would be willing to do some of the work myself if needed. Just keep in mind too, summer is only one season and the rest of the time, you'll probably be fine.

So I called him at like 7:30 and seen if there was anything on the board and he said no, go ahead and get a room.

That's not bad timing. If he is the one that knows best, I would make a point to call early enough to talk to him. I would be specific that he is who I wanted to talk to also, don't be shy about it. Once you develop a good relationship with this guy, he will likely start taking care of you once he sees that your serious about working. Never sell yourself short. If your half serious about your work, there is a good chance that your well ahead of at least half their other drivers.

I'd really like to spend a week dispatching and seeing the bidding process but I don't want to take time away from driving either.

Yes, this is a very smart thing to do. Get a day or two at a time when the opportunity presents itself. You will be amazed.

I value my time, I understand its different when you are one the road but I'd rather spend the $20 to go home for 8 hours than sit 100 miles from home and be couped in a cage for $30, which works out to like $4/hr.

Welcome to trucking

 

[Rocketman]

I value my time, I understand its different when you are one the road but I'd rather spend the $20 to go home for 8 hours than sit 100 miles from home and be couped in a cage for $30, which works out to like $4/hr.

To further address this. It all depends on where the freight is and what it's paying. If your sitting 100 miles from home in a bad freight area...and their is good paying freight at home, then their may be options. If your 100 miles from home in a good freight area and your home is not near good paying freight, it would obviously be a bad move. (yeah, I know...duh)

I have delivered to Memphis many times and stayed there instead of going home. I stay out 3 weeks at a time generally. If it's not time for me to go to the house, then I don't even consider the option unless I was to deliver really, really close (ain't gonna happen). If it's close to time for me to go home (within a few days) and there is no schedule I need to adhere to, I'll go on home early and come back out early.

The freight winds up dictating everything you do in this business. You have to follow the freight to be successful. If the freight your running is not meeting your personal needs, then you can look at other types of freight, different carriers, etc that may meet your needs better. But, even then, the freight will dictate what you do.

All of these are the little things you learn by being there. It's a lot easier to learn them in their vehicle than one of your own also. Your doing well to use this time to learn the ropes and do your research. If you choose to stay in the business and buy your own van at some point, you will be glad you spent the time to learn the business.

 

[Rocketman]

But my sprinter isn't set up properly so even with the van running and the ac going, its still warm with no insulation. I slept about an hour.

Have you considered using a heavy blanket or something to partition off part of the van and keep the front cool while your sleeping? Out of everything you mentioned this would bother me the most. You have to get good comfortable sleep in this business to be able run overnight loads safely.

What do you sleep on? There are some threads here dealing with beds for vans. A lot of these guys have some pretty neat little cots and such that they use. They are pretty inexpensive and you could take it with you in your own van one day. Just be careful with the hammocks

 

[mcavoy33]

Have you considered using a heavy blanket or something to partition off part of the van and keep the front cool while your sleeping? Out of everything you mentioned this would bother me the most. You have to get good comfortable sleep in this business to be able run overnight loads safely.

What do you sleep on? There are some threads here dealing with beds for vans. A lot of these guys have some pretty neat little cots and such that they use. They are pretty inexpensive and you could take it with you in your own van one day. Just be careful with the hammocks

The van isn't set up to be a sleeper. That is why the company pays for my hotels. I have an air mattress that I use for times when I want a nap.

I am not sure what the long term plans for this van are, its technically not owned by the company. Its owned by the boss's good friend and he is just paid mileage by the company for running it. Its weird, company driver #3 is the one that takes care of it, in terms of maintenance and stuff but its not his van either lol.

The owner let me use it as a band aid solution so that I can learn the industry before I invest any money.

 

[mcavoy33]

The van is probably one of their "dedicated" local run vans. They call themselves a "Local" company that delivers nationally. They also talk about having a dedicated van fleet for local because most other companies use their trucks on the highest revenue runs, aka OTR.

But I've given them a preference for OTR, so they've been accommodating.

 

[mcavoy33]

Ok productive day at the library. I'm really glad, I decided to look at this properly and listen to everyone's advice in all the other threads about doing your homework and thinking as an entrepeneur and not just be a piece of meat and get a van and drive.

You can put some operating costs together pretty quick too. Always estimate high on expenses, low on income.

.22/mi for fuel + .12/mi purchase price + .08/mi? maintenance + .03/mi misc (ins, tags, etc) = .45/mi total cost to operate the van. You can probably find all of these numbers with some research also.

Ok I have my spreadsheet. I've calculated the cost per mile to purchase a used cargo van, a new gas HCV van and a used diesel Sprinter.

However, for maintenance costs. Should I budget a higher maintenance cost for the used vans?

aka common sense tells me that I'm going to have to spend more money on maintenance for a van with 100k miles on it as opposed to a brand new one.

I've already adjusted for how many miles a used van would get versus a new one.

 

[purgoose10]

Ok productive day at the library. I'm really glad, I decided to look at this properly and listen to everyone's advice in all the other threads about doing your homework and thinking as an entrepeneur and not just be a piece of meat and get a van and drive.




Ok I have my spreadsheet. I've calculated the cost per mile to purchase a used cargo van, a new gas HCV van and a used diesel Sprinter.

However, for maintenance costs. Should I budget a higher maintenance cost for the used vans?

aka common sense tells me that I'm going to have to spend more money on maintenance for a van with 100k miles on it as opposed to a brand new one.

I've already adjusted for how many miles a used van would get versus a new one.

This just me and what I do. If I buy a Van with over 100,000 I put it in my shop and go over it from front to back. Check Alternator (load), change belts, check brakes, change u-joits etc. If it looks worn change it. Better now than down the road. GM will be in the neighborhood of 3-5 cpm maintenance. My Vans also carry extra belts, fusses, hd lamp. I keep a fuel pump, idler arm, complete set of brakes, plug wire etc in my shop ready to go. At 200,000 I change fuel pumps, Alternators, water pumps, hoses etc. I have a list that's just off the top of my head. I also check wheels for cracks. Had one break with a load. Shocks every 150,000. That's just me, I go a little overboard on maintenance sometimes but I don't break down on the road with that stuff.

 

[Rocketman]

The van isn't set up to be a sleeper. That is why the company pays for my hotels. I have an air mattress that I use for times when I want a nap.

I am not sure what the long term plans for this van are, its technically not owned by the company. Its owned by the boss's good friend and he is just paid mileage by the company for running it. Its weird, company driver #3 is the one that takes care of it, in terms of maintenance and stuff but its not his van either lol.

The owner let me use it as a band aid solution so that I can learn the industry before I invest any money.

The air mattress is all you need. I would try to figure out a way to get a curtain or something up though. Just something that is temporary and removable will do and hopefully get it to where the a/c could keep up. You've got a couple of hot months coming up. You need good sleep during the day if your going to run through the night...safely.

I couldn't even start to give you accurate information on maintenance expenses like Purgoose and some of the others can. You should take what I say about actual van expenses with a grain of salt and what they say as gospel.

For what it's worth, IMO, you should seruiously consider the extra capacity of a sprinter, HCV, CargoMax or UltraMax van. They will cost more but it seems to have been proved that they produce more loads too. There may be others, but those are what I know of.

 

[Pakrat]

I have a 2010 Mercedes Sprinter and the "big nozzle" will fit. All the way. And on full blast takes about 6 seconds to fill lol. I drive consistently 68 mph unless limited to less. I try not to let fuel get below 1/2. I have gotten 22 for a high and 17 for a low. iPhone has an app that tracks fuel and for two months I have gotten an avg of 20.9 mpg. Just my experience. Btw, I also don't fuel in Indiana if at all possible. I do have a dot number so I'm exempt but it's still a hassle. I also won't fuel anywhere that doesn't have pay at the pump. It should be like ac on vehicles....STANDARD! Lol

 

[mcavoy33]

I have a 2010 Mercedes Sprinter and the "big nozzle" will fit. All the way. And on full blast takes about 6 seconds to fill lol. .... I try not to let fuel get below 1/2. ...Btw, I also don't fuel in Indiana if at all possible. I do have a dot number so I'm exempt but it's still a hassle. I also won't fuel anywhere that doesn't have pay at the pump.

Unfortunately fueling for me is a major hasslef in every state is a hassle, takes 10-15 minutes. I need to go inside, wait in line, give my Fleet One card so they can turn on the pump (because out front you can't punch in your data), go back outside and hope the clerk remembers to turn it on, pump the fuel which is slower on the small nozzle. Go back inside, wait in line again and then do my paperwork and hope that my points work and that a supervisor doesn't have to add them manually.

To top it off, I only have a 20 gallon tank. So on a long run, I plan to stretch out my stops as long as possible so I don't have to make an extra stop.

 

[ebsprintin]

For averaging your maintenance costs, I would come up with a general number regardless of the vehicle's starting mileage. We put so many miles on our vehicles in this line of work that only a few months wipe out the difference in starting point. Just be realistic about long you expect the vehicle to survive. The objective of cpm calculations is keeping track of the long run picture. A chunk of emergency cash in your pocket is for smoothing out the bumps.

eb