I have a Class A CDL and have driven fuel tankers for the last 17 years but now want a change. We are currently traveling in our RV out west because this past june i decided it was time to take a break
and reconsider what i want to do in the next chapter of my life. So far all the research I’ve done points to there is no money in expediting and owning a van, and working for a fleet owner is even more depressing. The numbers i have come up with for working for a carrier like Panther or Barrett seem to be about $1.00 per mile with an average of 2200-4000 miles per week. If you take that number and average it out to be 3100 miles per week for two people , that’s $3100 per week and you haven’t paid for your van payment if you purchased a new one so that’s minus $300 week avg. Fuel for those 3100 miles is going to cost about $1100 for the week if you average 13 mpg. Repair fund for WHEN the van breaks down and normal maintenance $200 week. Then hold onto about 25% for quarterly taxes= $775.00. And then insurance thru a carrier such as Barrett runs about $125 a week i was told. So after all expenses your looking at $650 in profit for the week . Even worse is if you divide that by the actual two people driving as a team you each made $325 for the week. That is absolutely pathetic and worse then working at a McDonalds. Would somebody please correct my numbers if I’m wrong somewhere? Cause i really wanted this to be profitable, but i just dont see how it can be. And those numbers came up using an average of 3100 miles. Can you imagine how quick you’d be negative for the week if it was really slow and you only did 1500 miles.
and reconsider what i want to do in the next chapter of my life. So far all the research I’ve done points to there is no money in expediting and owning a van, and working for a fleet owner is even more depressing. The numbers i have come up with for working for a carrier like Panther or Barrett seem to be about $1.00 per mile with an average of 2200-4000 miles per week. If you take that number and average it out to be 3100 miles per week for two people , that’s $3100 per week and you haven’t paid for your van payment if you purchased a new one so that’s minus $300 week avg. Fuel for those 3100 miles is going to cost about $1100 for the week if you average 13 mpg. Repair fund for WHEN the van breaks down and normal maintenance $200 week. Then hold onto about 25% for quarterly taxes= $775.00. And then insurance thru a carrier such as Barrett runs about $125 a week i was told. So after all expenses your looking at $650 in profit for the week . Even worse is if you divide that by the actual two people driving as a team you each made $325 for the week. That is absolutely pathetic and worse then working at a McDonalds. Would somebody please correct my numbers if I’m wrong somewhere? Cause i really wanted this to be profitable, but i just dont see how it can be. And those numbers came up using an average of 3100 miles. Can you imagine how quick you’d be negative for the week if it was really slow and you only did 1500 miles.
