END OF YEAR #'S; few thoughts for the newbies

[Lonestar10]

I did pretty well for my first full year as an O/O so far 1yr 4mo into this racket. my costs were gigantic and overall year end Net low due to alot of maintenance fixing 10yrs of previous neglect on truck but some of it was also self induced maintenance. i didnt need to replace my rear ends, i didnt need a high end "company" desktop and high end "company" laptop, also bought bunch of tools that i can both use for my classic autos and my truck so they were "company" tools, also buying some new equipment for truck like a new lumber tarp, straps, binders, tarp straps werent required.

in the end i had a net of only 50k but my truck is almost brand new with new....
injectors/head/crank dampner/crank pulley/front seal/radiator/hood bushings/air cooler on tranny/1 new ujoint/new rearends/1 new hanger bearing/new rear end yokes/all new fluid in all 3 boxes/new axle shafts in main drive axle/all new timing/metering actuators and shuftoff guts/rebuilt IFSM all new seals, dampners, sensors, check valves/new crank, imap, exh press, cam, oil sensors/new cam gear retainer correct style "thanks rawze"/4 new batteries/new fan bearing hub assembly/new serpentine belt/Air Compressor/cac boots/CAC/egr pipe behind engine/APU AC components/APU alternator/APU serpentine belt/China bunk heater + spare/bunk HVAC fan and resistor/AC dryer and probes/1 air bag/1 new set of brakes and wheel seal/air and power lines truck to trailer/air connection unit for lines to trailer on back of cab "screw international for its design"/lift pump


all that and she still treats me like poop. hauled a load of lumber from spearfish south dakota to iron ridge Wisconsin tarped babied the hell out of doing 58-60 never going over 20psi boost. 5.6mpg next load was tarped bagged crushed limestone for concrete right back at 5.0 babied some but not as much.

next trip to shop since ive got buncha air in davco will be all new

Shocks
fuel splitter
Aeroquip fuel lines
new 382 DAVCO with either 12v/120v heater or water heated havent decided
front cab bushings
new fittings to replace the push to connect crap on the air tanks that are leaking
new fuel tank vents as 1 broke as soon as i touched it.
and fix a small transmission leak somewhere on tranny.

so starting out the year great haha!

[Mattman]

Lonestar I was figuring your mileage would have improved when y'all got the, can't remember if it was injector or valve cam, timed correctly.

[Lonestar10]

im think the air in fuel is an issue buncha bubbles in davco and not champaign size more like a bubbler in an aquarium. so new fuel system here we come!. course a few people thought after i left rawzes with a new head on the horizon that ied just sell the truck to.....but im trying i like this truck its treated me great except the fuel mileage only been on a hook once which is when the bearing went out on the fan hub and i didnt want to drive it accross minneapolis in traffic with no water pump with serp belt off.

[Evotrucker]

On paper wise I would have netted healthy amount but I’ve been and still am replacing parts that were or are dead lol. I wish I found this forum before I got my truck but it isn’t so bad anymore since I’ve been on this forum. It’s helped me tremendously!.

I’m a second gen trucker that didn’t know any better but since coming here and being able to talk to professionals on all kinds of lvls makes a world of difference.

Newbie advise would be

1. Stay on this forum! Give back, teach/learn

2. Ask questions even if you think you have the right answer, their might be a better one that you have thought of before.

3. Stay healthy!!!!! Get out of the truck walk or run lol. Stretch!!

4. Stay flexible professionally in this industry and at home

5. It’s not all always about the money!

6. Most importantly! Be a better you or just be a decent enough person to help others along the way.

[SquareOne]

(01-07-2020 )Magard Wrote:  .... Most people don’t actually look at costs. All they see are big numbers and start thinking there rich and costs out weigh profits when a major expense hits.

This is all too true. Seems like exponentially in the self employed world. Like mentioned before, majority of my family has a commercial fishing background, so with that comes many friends who do the same. Very lucrative industry if managed properly. However, I can easily name a handful of my personal friends who are constantly in 'struggle-mode,' but actually make damn good money. Their issue??--- They look at the GROSS numbers and feel like the can spend money like water based off what they see. The 3-5k+ gross numbers a week are great.....buutttt not if your spending over 1/2 - 3/4 in labor and expenses. Let's also not forget about Uncle Sam's cut (which is usually never a topic in the story for many of these guys!)

[Lonestar10]

I'm hoping for another good year last year I i paid off all my credit card type debt "PayPal/amazon credit cards" plus a healthy amount of my auto loans. This year my goal is to pay off all i can of my personal debt leaving only my truck and trailer debt when achieved. After that its work on company debt but also I want to build a shop so that I don't get scorched in summer sun or my nuts froze off in winter

[SquareOne]

(01-08-2020 )Lonestar10 Wrote:  ....After that its work on company debt but also I want to build a shop so that I don't get scorched in summer sun or my nuts froze off in winter

Man, I hear that! The hell with working in the elements if you don’t have to. Nothing like taking you time, sipping a (enter your preference here), and finishing a job completely and at your discretion (rather than nature’s)

[Mattman]

I hear y'all on the shop. One day I will have one.

[SquareOne]

Ok, so as mentioned a few months back, I'm finally getting around to reporting my first FULL year as a new O/O (Mar 31, 2019 - Mar 31, 2020). Hopefully the newbies here can get a little insight on what to expect expense wise as well as a profit margin that can be maintained with some due diligence. Here are the important numbers....


Total miles - 92,643
Revenue/mile - $1.81
Expense/mile - $0.78
Profit margin - 232%

IFTA Q1 (2020) - 8.20mpg


Unfortunately, I'm not too happy with the 1st Quarter IFTA. I've been over this damn truck thoroughly and it's up to par. It seems like the weather conditions (temp, wind, etc.) are to blame. I've never ran the 1st quarter of the year, so really I'm was still in unknown territory MPG wise. I will say, it has been picking up as of the last few weeks. My last 3 fill-ups were 8.889 (finally a few 68-70k loads), 8.770, and 8.617 (had a couple of severe storms roll through with extreme head/crosswind). Overall, it seems like the mpg will slowly comeback. Last year IFTA Q2-3 were the best so let's see if that can be repeated.

For expenses, they were 72,261.54. Keep in mind, this is EVERYTHING that contributed to my operation. I have a truck, trailer, and a forklift. The numbers above are for the entire operation. Also something to remember, this included having to rig the entire operation with all that was needed to get started. New guys, make sure to factor in all these nickels and dimes into your business plan. They add up rapidly!


- I've said it before... I'm not a hair on a gnats a$$ to many of the guys on this site alone. I'm still very green to much of trucking outside of what I haul and am constantly absorbing as much info as possible in order to stay successful at this. Being aware the cost of EVERY mile you travel is critical. How will you know what to charge if you don't know what it's costing you (with great accuracy) to make the trip???

Insurance is very expensive. My first year was over 10k and I only travel within a 150mi radius. It only goes up from there depending on where you go and what you haul. The bright side is this--- my renewal this year went down about $980. Keeping your foot out of it and being safe on the highway will pay dividends in the long run...physically, mentally, and financially. ---- (Fun fact, typically if you pay your policy in full, you can save some serious coin. I know I know, not everyone has that kind of money laying around, but if you can manage your money enough to pay off an interest free credit card (they usually throw out a year promotion at 0%), you could save 10-12%+ off your policy.)

Fuel---no surprise--is your biggest expense. VALUE THOSE MPG'S DEARLY!!! My fuel was over 28k last year and I get damn good mpg for what I do. Also, it's just me, no big corporation with steep fuel discounts unfortunately, so I have to shop around for the best price. Be sure to look at the actual cost of the fuel without the tax added in order to get a fair comparison.

Anyway, just a little insight on how my first year as a CDL holder/ truck driver / Owner/Operator turned out. Hopefully this will give other hopefuls something to look forward to. With all the fog in the tunnel these days, it's sometimes hard to see the light at the end. Pay attention to this site and absorb all it has to offer. Practice what is constantly preached here and you WILL succeed.

Rawze and any other contributing members...your help and consideration is greatly appreciated and has been a large factor in my first O/O year.

Stay safe everyone and if any newbs need some advice or have questions, don't hesitate to ask.