I think that phone figure is high, too. Though if you don't have Qualcomm to use for load communication, you depend on your cell phone a lot more than you would otherwise.
My monthly access charges (grandfathered unlimited data, 2gb hotspot, 500 text, 900 nationwide talk, etc) went from around $105 to $119 when I upped my service due to expediting for increased calls, texts, etc. I still often go over on my hotspot when out on the road, which adds another $20/mos. I sometimes pay $139. So, even at 119+8.54 taxes/mo it comes up to $1530/yr.
The insurance figure though, is on target, at least according to a lot of CV drivers I've talked with who pay their own, whether they work for one company or more. If you're getting insurance on a group plan through who you drive for, I'm sure it must be a lot less, but that's not available to a lot of CV drivers who run for a smaller company.
When I started looking around, I found a lot of outfits require you carry commercial insurance of your own with $1,000,000 primary liability and $100,000 cargo. My premium to do that, through CIS and with an excellent driving record, adds up to more than the average skyraider said his friends pay, though I went for a little more robust plan with lower deductible. I'm looking now at how to reduce it, as lousy as this summer has been for me.
My diesel costs are pretty much in line with the figure stated. I get no FSC. My mileage rate is it. My 08 van is paid for and in fairly great shape, so I don't have to worry about that. A lot of us do have to worry about health ins policies though, too, which if you don't have through a group plan at work (a lot of us don't have that available) can run anywhere from 150-250/mos, depending on coverage.
I'm not really into the multi-carrier thing, at all. It's fraught with too many problems and complications and keeping all parties informed continuously. I'm not convinced at all that it makes anyone any more real money or is worth the extra trouble. A lot of outfits don't want CV's now anyway, or won't pay enough to keep your vehicle and yourself going.
So yeah, it's rough financially, very rough, and I'm looking at what I need to do or to get out of it all together. Too many rat vans and drivers out there who don't own or maintain their own rigs, and will run for cheap cheap cheap just to get moving again. Hard to compete in a professional way in a good van against someone who will run for cheap regularly.
A lot of talk online and off about CV drivers coming and going and not being able to hack the sitting or lifestyle etc, and not lasting six months. I have no problem with occasional sitting of 1-3 days, sometimes more in certain spots, nor do I have any problem at all with the lifestyle. I've been living on the road in one way or another in CVs for well over a decade and have regularly stayed out for months at a time.
But I've been sitting way too much, way too many weeks, and am more than a little tired of hearing that it's going to pick up soon. I'm barely making it and have little if anything leftover each month for all my efforts. And it just doesn't make good sense to keep doing something like that.
