Broompilot,
As stated on my web site (see truck specs link below), our truck cost $251,000 to build. That does not include the cost of our freight handling equipment. It also does not include finance costs and insurance, both of which will be higher than trucks that cost less.
For the record, a $180,000 DR-unit can haul more freight than a $250,000 CR-unit can. Only an idiot would spend more money for a smaller payload. And if I had it to do over again, this idiot would do the exact same thing!
We purchased the truck in June, 2006 at the best prices we could then get from our vednors. Since then, 2007 emissions compliance costs and raw materials prices have increased a healthy amount. Today, this same truck would cost at least $15,000 more to build.
Yes, the truck is a depreciating asset, and that depreciation has some value as a tax deduction, and a depreicating asset reduces one's net worth on a financial statement. But that is only half the story.
The truck is is also an income-producing asset that is not only well on its way to paying for itself but can be expected to provide an acceptable if not very good return on investment over its useful life. What is lost on the asset value side is more than recovered on the cash side, as the revenue flows in.
I'm not sure what the "homeless" part of your post has to do with. Kindly note that just because Diane and I do not own a house, we are no more homeless than anyone else that rents residential space.
As for other real property and how the rest of our assets are allocated among asset classes, that is personal. You need not be concerned for our well being. We're getting by.
Finally, would I advise someone else to buy a truck like ours? Absolutely not. I have never advised anyone to purchase a truck of any kind and I never will.
