Do H/W teams prosper in Sprinters?

lowerbama2006 · Dec 11, 2005

My wife and I drove a straight truck for P-II this year for a total of 8 months. Our career was cut short by illness, but now we are both well and eagerly awaiting our moment to return to the expediting world. Our focus this time will be on driving an expediter packaged Sprinter. We want to drive for O/O before we decide to purchase our own. Right now I am treading the waters by coming on here and throwing my concerns at everyone, in exchange for helpful advice. We are considering selling our property here in Alabama, moving north to the prime expedite area. If we are totally committed to the task at hand. What kind of money could we expect to earn ourselves in a year's time? Thanks!

nb

davekc · Dec 11, 2005

I don't run vans but the revenue and load opportunities will be considerably higher in a straight truck verses a Sprinter. In fact, the numbers likely won't be close.

Davekc
owner
21 years

LDB · Dec 11, 2005

A H/W team should do significantly better than a solo or non related team since all the funds will go into the same pot however as already mentioned the potential is greatest in a straight truck. I don't run a van so I don't have specific figures to report however I've run a lot of what if spreadsheets comparing revenue and costs and the straight truck seems to always win. Good luck to you whichever way you go.

Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 3034
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

huntn1 · Dec 12, 2005

maybe you can do well but if it wasnt for my better halfs income and insurance from another source there have been times i wouldnt have made it.

DannyD · Dec 12, 2005

This is only my opinion. Other's may disagree but I'll do as best I can here. I would think that under optimal conditions, a sprinter could bring in 100K. That's what the truck would bring in, not what you'd make. Your portion of that would likely be about 60%. That does not include expenses on the road.

Generally I don't feel a sprinter or cargo van can bring in enough income for 2 seperate sources that need an income. A husband/wife, father son, etc is an exception to this though. However, if you 2 are driving for someone else, then it gets back to the 2 seperate sources needing an income off of one van.

Trying it out is a pretty good idea. If you were to try it out for a few months to see how it may work, that might be a good idea. Then you can get a better idea of how things would work if you simply owned the van outright.

I might hold off on moving up north though. Those optimal conditions I was referring to above would include being away from home a fair amount. If for some reaon it doesn't work out, would you still want to live up north?

I hope I didn't go back/forth to much in what I've stated here. In a nutshell I think a husband/wife can do fine in a Sprinter that was owned by them. I don't think it would work out so well if the driving was done for another owner though. I don't feel there's enough income to go around in that scenario.

Good luck to ya & be well,
Danny

ChopChop · Dec 13, 2005

Hb
Dave is right the numbers are not even close, my wife and I ran team in our sprinter for a short time. The largest week we had was 3150.00 the adverage week was 1875.00 to the van. Dispatch simply did not have the miles to offer a team.
I run solo now, the largest week I've had is 2975.00. I adverage 1750.00 a week to the van. My fixed costs are 67.00 per day. My fuel is a consistent 12.5% My other variable costs are mainly "lifestyle choices" some nights I like a couple of showers or a warm room so I treat myself to a room. My guess is that I keep about 35% of the gross after expenses for my actual income approx. 615.00 a week, not an amount I'd want to raise a family on but nice income for me as a semi retired guy who likes to drive. You might re-think the Sprinter with the sleeper, it's nice for your compfort but you'll miss some of the "Sprinter" loads. I mean those 3 and 4 skid loads that weigh 500 lbs each, lots of guys tell me that I don't get paid any more for those loads, they are usually the guys in the cargo vans that are still sitting there waiting for a load as I wave By-By. I am sort of kidding, but you will in fact run more loads with the larger cargo area. lots of other ways to handle the bunk.
Best of luck to you and yours, enjoy the Holidays

X1_SRH · Dec 13, 2005

ChopChop,

Excellent post, thank you very much for your honest input here on the site. Many people will benefit from your clear cut honesty.

Best Wishes - Scott

OntarioVanMan · Dec 14, 2005

The distinct advantage to running team in a van is like your the ever-ready bunny! going.going,going. No logs no scales! We don't get alot of team runs but when it's busy time ya gotta make hay as they say!
With chopchop figures thats 100gs for the van!
If I get a flat its a 100 bucks and I change it myself if the van needs repairs it's days not weeks, tolls are a heckofalot cheaper and if theres a backup I cut thru the mall and down the back alley and off to my next load...
I agree don't get the sleeper..unless you go with Fedex cuz they won't upgrade to the next level even if ya got on 4 skids. Did you get it for work or luxury?