Possibly Starting My New Expediting Journey Next Week...

[RellGins]

Good afternoon Expediters,

I've been reading posts for a few days now and have a basic understanding of how things work. I'm completely new to expediting and have a job opportunity working for a company driving a 2015 Dodge Sprinter as a 1099 Contractor. I'm responsible for my own fuel, the company pays .45 per mile and pays weekly. I asked the recruiter what the average mileage per month would be which was a now obvious "it depends". However, she did say that the highest amount of miles driven for one driver was 15k and the lowest was 5k.

I'm a former Marine so jumping into a firefight and being able to "adapt and overcome" is my normal mindset.... I'm recently married now though and my wife is definitely not the same way... This is my attempt to get some real life information on how my new career choice is really going to pan out for her sake.

She's scared to death that I'm not going to make enough money OTR to cover our bills which are pretty low in my opinion. Our actual bills are only around $1,600 per month which is what I normally cover and she covers everything else with her income. Do you experienced guys think that this is doable on a consistent basis after all of my fuel, food, etc. is paid for? I've read a lot of posts but maybe just haven't found the right answers to this question.

From what I've read about the company on this forum, it seems like they will be able to keep me moving most of the time but I realize that there will be down time. Does .45 per mile seem reasonable for someone that pays for their own fuel? The payment method is done through a card and I can't remember the name of it. How much can I expect to pay in expenses my first week (being on a poor man's budget) until I get my first paycheck? $500? $1000? More?!?! Would it be acceptable to ask the company to front me fuel costs and take it out of my first check? Newbie questions galore and sincere apologies for asking the ones that have already been answered!! Many thanks in advance!

Cheers,

Rell

 

[fastman_1]

45 cents a mile and you pay for fuel? Nope I'd pass on that then all the other expenses all long the way. Pretty much in the fast road to the poor house


Sent from the deep end.

 

[RellGins]

45 cents a mile and you pay for fuel? Nope I'd pass on that then all the other expenses all long the way. Pretty much in the fast road to the poor house


Sent from the deep end.

Thanks for your response! If I were to try and ask for a higher number, what do you think would be acceptable?

 

[xiggi]

It's going to cost you about 15 cents a mile to fuel the sprinter at today's fuel prices. I'm guessing they are only going to pay for loaded miles, if you haven't already ask them.

Going on that hunch after fuel you are getting .30 a loaded mile. That means you need over 5300 miles per month to pay 1600.00 in bills, that's before food, idling, deadhead miles etc, etc.

My semi educated guess is you are going to have one very pissed off wife. Personally with your bills I would opt on preserving my marriage and look for another line of work

 

[RoadTime]

45 cents and you pay fuel? Run like hell.

That won't even cover the cost of the divorce. Better off being home and working at McDonald's.

P.S.- you need to do more reading if you think that is a good deal. Keep looking.



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[RellGins]

Thanks for the responses. What would someone without a van need to be making per mile for it to be profitable? I'm sure they gave me the lowest number and I would imagine that they would negotiate a little.

 

[ucfd608]

Thanks for the responses. What would someone without a van need to be making per mile for it to be profitable? I'm sure they gave me the lowest number and I would imagine that they would negotiate a little.

In all honesty it is gonna be hard to turn a profit driving a van for someone else it is hard enough turning one driving ur own van look at getting ur class b cdl an drive a straight truck

This thingy majiggy

 

[Living the dream]

I pay my 2 van drivers .80 per mile in a van. An they are responsible for fuel as well as tolls. I cover all repairs. No complaints from them, except waiting for the next load. The van makes 1.20 loaded per mile. If you have to pay for fuel .60 or better is good. An no I am not looking for a driver yet.

 

[xiggi]

Honestly with your bills driving someone else's Van probably will not work. Let me also say .80 in someone else's van is extremely rare so I would take that as more of a unicorn than any norm.

 

[Turtle]

Xiggi stole my answer, almost word for word.

Since I gotta gotta gotta add something else, I'll go with.... standard split between owner and driver is 60/40, with whoever pays for fuel getting the 60 percent. At 45 cents a mile, and 60 percent, that would mean a line haul of 75 cents a mile. It's possible they are booking all of their loads as 75 cents a mile, but more likely they are getting between $1.00 and $1.20, on the average. So they're underpaying at 45 cents a mile. 45 cents is fair, for just driving. That's with them paying the fuel.

 

[RellGins]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I'm going to attempt to negotiate as I figured they would offer me the lowest price per mile at first... I mean it is business after all. Hopefully I'll be able to get a better rate now that I have some ammunition. This is kind of my only option right now as my car's tranny went out a week ago and it's going to cost me an arm and a leg to replace. Seeing as I don't live close enough to a McDonalds that I can walk to every day, like RoadTime suggested, I'm hoping this works out in some capacity. Broken dreams are better than a broken marriage I suppose so I'll definitely pass if I can't get a better rate. This forum could literally be a life saver!

 

[jcochristoph]

Have you registered with VA local representative and looked into their online job bank site? With your veteran hiring preference they work in conjunction with the state employment agencies to match you up with employment that suits your needs. They are very good at what they do in most areas

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[jcochristoph]

Forgot important thing, you could get free education /training through them as well

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[Bluewater]

Also being a Vet, Hilton Hotels gives you guys a Million Points to use to get rooms. I think most rooms start at 30000 points. Call their Membership # and check it out! Good Luck and Thank you soo much for your service!!!

 

[Solar]

I am a noob so take what I am posting with a grain of salt. It seems with Vans you miss a lot of loads that a Straight Truck can carry, plus you are both competing for the loads you can carry. So bigger can be better, earning power wise.