Advice to new owner/operator

[JimT]

Nothing wrong with trying something, then switching if it doesn't work out. It's your truck after all. That's one of the drawbacks for those lease-purchase guys, they are usually stuck with the one carrier until the truck is paid off, if they make it that far.

if those numbers are your take home after deductions then your doing pretty good, in my opinion. You'll probably notice that short hauls tend to pay higher rates compared to long hauls. But that usually means more work instead of mindless driving :)

Biggest thing you need to figure out, and noone else can do it besides you, is what your costs or expenses are. How much money do you need to make in a day/week/month to cover all your bills, expenses, taxes, savings to future maintenance, savings for downtime (expected or unexpected) and just general savings. When I first got started I had estimates and over some time I was able to get very exact numbers. I know exactly how much I need to make per day, week and month. In fact, I don't worry about actual cents per mile as fixed weekly/monthly costs make up the bulk of my expenses.

In the end, you find what works best for you, your lifestyle and your bank account.