ok here it is.a 2007 e350 ford.payment 400 month ins 300.here is where i need yalls input.based on avg 1300 miles a week with avg loads with fsc .92 a mile .total pay 1196 a week.ok fuel at 300 a week thats with dead head fuel added into the fuel.that leaves 896 then qc and ins 76 a week 820 left now.then every week put back some for truck and truck ins 170 a week. that leaves 650 a week after that i ll put back 50 a week till i get a maintance account of 6000 .that should cover a major break down.that leaves me 600 a week which is 200 more a week than i make now.so with these figures i cant see not trying it.i know you got cost of living but im already buying food and getting by paycheck to paycheck so i think .if i could hit these miles it would work .what do yall think?
-numbers always look so completely do-able on paper, but they rarely live up to real-life experience
-no way you should be counting on an average of 1300 miles every week for your biz plan.. the vanners can tell you much better, but I sure hear them complaining! Remember all the weeks when freight is on the dead side too, like perhaps 4 weeks per year.. if you average 1000 miles per week for 48 weeks per year, how will your numbers turn out then? That will eat up about $1633 of your estimated revenue per month right there.
-no way you should be counting on an average of $0.92 per every paid mile in a van; if straights are complaining about offers of $1/mile, I don't see how a van could get $0.92 as an average for every paid mile?
-as it stands, if you're doing 1300 PM and you add on 30% for DH, that's about 1700 total miles per week divided by what? 15mpg? So you'll need about 113 gallons of fuel each week? Average price across the land according to EO here is about $3/gallon? That would be about $340/week, and not $300/week? Oops I just checked up there and it's $2.70 average for gas.. but will this hold for an entire year?
-not sure about your QC and ins charges from the company so we'll leave them as stated?
-what about deducting for your carrier's escrow, at least until you have it up to the level they want it at? This of course will remain your money, but you won't have access to it until you're gone from your carrier.
-Save $50/week for RM, but what about the RM you will have in real time, aside from saving for a big pot of major repairs?
-will you have a cellphone?
-will you have internet charges from anywhere?
-will you need toll/transponder money?
-are you planning on keeping your current place of residence? if so, in combination with food requirements, will that continue to eat up the $400 you're currently having some difficulty making ends meet with at your current job? Or are you going to get rid of your worldly possessions and just live in the van?
-another thing to at least consider is the bank charge aspect, charges for exchanging money (will you be crossing into Canada?), charges your bank may charge for accessing ATMs at truckstops which aren't affiliated with their own brand? will your carrier charge for taking advantage of any prepayment options which might be available? for some who may not keep really accurate books, it may seem like just a buck here and a buck there, and perhaps not so bad if you're sticking in the USA, but man, those bank charges can really add up in a month, at least for us Canucks!
-re-do your numbers to more realistic levels, and come back to us
Call me a naysayer if you or anyone wishes to, but I'd sure rather a newbie come out ahead of their proposed plan, than behind.
