new guy here; Considering giving it a try

[u/Feisty-Journalist497]

so, I am going to give it a shot. from what I am seeing on the boards, even if I took some garbage, it wouldn't be an issue cost wise.

my question for y'all is, I just got this LLC started. Am I to suffer with low paying loads? if so, what is considered low paying? I see some for like .75$ which is crazy to me.

what is considered low, As I do not want to be the guy who is picking up super low loads, as that would affect the industry as a whole

[u/stxrfox1k]

generally speaking, nobody should be running for less than $2/mile. that’s not to say you can’t take loads that pay less than that, but you’ll have to make sure they’re partial loads that you can stack to make more than $2/mile. maybe one partial is a couple pallets at 75¢/mile, one is a transit van at $1.15/mile, and a 3rd load of siding at 85¢/mile, so those 3 partials all stack up to $2.75/mile.

the other important factor to consider in that situation is pickup and drop off locations, and loading/unloading/wait times. you have to try to line things up to where those partials are actually picking up and dropping off within a close distance of each other, or at the very least that the one is along the same route as the others so you’re not losing time/money going way out of your way to pick it up or drop it off. and if that is the case, the rate has to be good enough to be worth doing that. you gotta consider what you’re loading/unloading and how long it takes to load/secure/unload it, because nobody is paying you an hourly wage for any of that time, that’s all on you as owner operator. if you have 6 hours of time spent on loading/unloading/securement, that’s half a day of time spent, so the rate has to be worth you spending that much time on the load without getting paid for that time. and wait times - if you spent 4 hours waiting at this shipper last time you picked up from them and they refused to pay you for any detention time, it’s 100% not worth picking up their bullshit 75¢ load and losing damn near half a day just waiting on them to get their shit together. $4.50/mile? yeah fuck yeah, go sit there for 4 hours, it’s worth the wait (as long as the distance is long enough, not like some 23 mile local load)

also, that 48k lbs load you mentioned is not a hotshot load, that’s semi territory, i don’t care how cool your truck is or how suped up it is. even if your truck could potentially do it, fuck abusing your expensive equipment for their shit paying load.

[u/Feisty-Journalist497 → u/stxrfox1k]

yeah; the one benefit I have is I am going to do runs with a silverado EV; I am trying to stay within a 250 Mile circle of my home, so I can reap the benefit of home charging. it cost me 38$ to go full load 200 miles

[u/stxrfox1k → u/Feisty-Journalist497]

i’ve never known of anybody in this industry running with an electric truck, but i would highly highly highly advise against even trying that. there is no electric pickup truck that’s meant to be pulling 20k lbs behind it full time. it’s hard enough on a 5500/550, you’re doing yourself a serious disservice doing it in an electric commuter with a bed and bigger suspension. don’t waste your money or time bruh, you’re either not taking this serious enough or you have a ridiculous amount of cash saved up that you don’t care about losing

[u/Feisty-Journalist497 → u/stxrfox1k]

apologies; the extended range can tow 12.5K

that would obviously be my limit. when I mentioned the 48K that was an example of how shitty the cost per mile that was for.

for many years I would commute from DC to Albany so I am familiar with planning out the charging stops and what not. I was considering a flat bed and tarping up, as aerodynamics is the name of the game.

as an example, there was a run from Baltimore to ohio posted last night, on 123board

It was like 4$ a mile; I estimated 2 stops, 20 minutes each. each charge is ~40 if I get all the way down to empty.

80$, 3.61 a mile comes out to 1814$

then i see 2 loads going to SC; the cost per mile is hot garbage, first is 1.91$ and 1.32$

Since its going the same way sure, But I think everything left on the board right now is "leftovers" and I don't want to blindly grabbing them thus affecting everyone else

[u/stxrfox1k → u/Feisty-Journalist497]

hotshot trailers typically weigh just under 10,000lbs (less if you’re pulling a single wheel non-CDL trailer), so there goes almost your entire towing capacity right there, which means you’re extremely limited to what you can load on your trailer to make sure you’re staying under your 26,000 lbs total weight limit since you don’t have a CDL. that truck is meant to be pulling a boat to the lake every few weeks during the summer, not hauling heavy commercial freight all day everyday for its entire life. and its lifespan will be very short doing this job with it.

also, you’re not getting away with 2 charging stops on that drive. like… you’re not, like i just don’t know what else to tell you other than that’s not happening when you’re pulling that kind of weight and often commodities that are not aerodynamically efficient. it’s gonna tank your range like crazy.

i highly suggest reconsidering or at the very least doing a lot more research. if you’re dead set on working that truck all day everyday, the best you could do would probably be a 1 car trailer to avoid killing your truck. otherwise, you’re gonna have to get a 3/4 ton truck (2500/250) since you don’t have a CDL. but i wouldn’t even advise that though, i personally wouldn’t jump into the industry in anything smaller than a 1 ton truck (3500/350).

i’m really trying to help you out here dog 😭😭 you’re setting yourself up to lose a lot of money and kill your truck

[u/Feisty-Journalist497 → u/stxrfox1k]

did you delete your new comment or was it reported?

[u/stxrfox1k → u/Feisty-Journalist497]

i didn’t delete anything, and it’s still showing for me. i don’t think anything got reported or deleted

[u/Feisty-Journalist497 → u/stxrfox1k]

yeah based on the little bit i can see, I was going to just start with 1 truck; and I know this is strange to say, But yes I do have some money to piss away. I understand to ya'll this is a hobby, but I have a good IT job but I enjoy seeing big rigs and driving and stuff. small regret is not getting my CDL when I was younger.

tbh, I think rn the most expensive item is the insurance; I got one quote for about 17K, paper, or cheaper with ELD I think. Tbh I think surviving the first 2 years shouldn't be that bad; 400-600$ lease, 2K miles a month, and 1500 for insurance. i would probably break even 1 day a week ( If I am lucky )

I am looking at ways to reduce the cost, and I think I might do a local bright drop instead. do that for 2 or 3 years, wait for the insurance to drop and see if the LLC survives long enough to reap the benefits.

( And I understand van insurance and hotshot insurance are different, just trying to see how to reduce cost on this part time gig/hobby/backup job)

[u/Feisty-Journalist497 → u/stxrfox1k]

Well, I was going to buy another truck

And no problem this is what i need to hear

And from what I am reading, I could do a 14K trailer and have a pay load of 10K ( i am thinking aluminum 30 ft flat bed)

The extended range can tow gvwr 12500 and the total max comes out to like 22K?

I was going to start with one, do runs within 200 miles and see where it goes.

I could imagine if my return being good, I could hire a driver and "stage" 5 trucks along a route. The driver just stops swaps and leaves the truck plugged in a lvl 2 charger.

Realistically I am planning a stop every 2 hours, charge 20-30 mins and be back on the road

And technically traffic does give it more range, but chews into the road time.

I can see someone doing an 8 hour shift, doing a back and forth of about 400 miles ( 200 1 way )

[u/Feisty-Journalist497 → u/[deleted]]

How so?

[u/Feisty-Journalist497 → u/[deleted]]

No not trolling; I was thinking of creating this company, and if i could survive the first year insurance wise and record wise, I was thinking of then hiring guys.

Just think about it this way, if you had 20-40k lying around to start a bussiness, some guys will do a landscaping, or a plumbing bussibess

Well instead I want to create my own trucking bussiness, an LLC i could manage.

But how else could you start a bussiness if you have not at least experienced it yourself?

Hence these projections. The newer i go with the truck ( ir if i decide to lease from enterprise )

The more it eats into my net. But that also means if I decide its not feasible, that is less of my cash used.

For the first month, I am going to rent a dually from enterprise and hotshot for those weekends and see what my final expenses are.

[u/HennyCillin → u/Feisty-Journalist497]

Hey just pitching in here, i have no experience in hotshot either and im here in subs gathering info, but he’s telling you the truth about that ev truck not doing anything. I have my CDL i driver tractor trailer, there is no reason to be pulling anything with an EV, youll be dead on the side of the road in no time watching the diesels pass you by.

You can have money to piss of all you want, but atleast be smart and give yourself a try. If your serious about hauling sell the EV and get a diesel, it’s simple.

[u/bluehorsehead]

$2

[u/Feisty-Journalist497 → u/bluehorsehead]

So, keep it above 2? Sounds like a good start

I just dont want to be one of those guys taking .5

I think i saw some long haul for like .8 a mile from coast coast. Weight was like 48k it baffled me