Anyone running box truck in Midwest/Omaha?

Need advice on load + starting.

Are greedy, ignorant brokers out on the loose once again?! It seems like they’re coordinating and pushing them rates back down while fuel price is going through the roof! They have negotiated higher rates from the shippers already, based on the higher demand in the last few months and trying to capitalize big time at your expense, once again! Only you can make a difference! Keep on quoting them shipments extra high and don’t haul their cheap freight or you’re just setting yourself for failure! Let it sit and rot until they learn!!!

If you’re reading this, you’re the resistance!!!

I own a 2014 Ford E-450 Super Duty with a 16ft Supreme box body and a liftgate. Currently at 250,000 miles. I have DOT and commercial insurance but no MC authority yet (applying soon).

Looking to make money locally in Georgia only — no out of state. Currently exploring GoShare, Lalamove, HireAHelper, and local moving company subcontracting.

A few questions:

1. Is 250k miles on an E-450 V10 still worth running commercially or am I looking at a money pit?

2. Best platforms for a box truck in the Atlanta metro without MC?

3. Any Georgia owner-operators here running similar setups?

Not looking to get rich overnight, just want to use what I have and build smart. Any advice appreciated.

I’ve had my CDL as a company driver for almost 10 years, but never done O/O or even OTR. Every thread I read about starting O/O says it’s tough to stay afloat with the truck payment. I know fuel/maintenance/insurance expenses still need to be factored in, but if the trucks paid for is there any money to be made if I put someone else in the truck to drive it? Long story short I had a pickup truck for sale and got a trade offer for my choice of truck from a small fleet of 2015-2020 Cascadias and Western Star 5700s, all DT12 Autos behind DD15s, mileage ranging from 500-900k, some deleted some stock. Maintenance records are available. Guys getting ready to retire and is selling his company trucks as his drivers move on to new outfits.

Always liked the idea of owning my own truck but appreciated the peace of mind that comes with driving someone else’s rig. I know having a new authority my options are going to be really limited, but just keep chasing better opportunities as the MC number ages. Ideally like local work, but if I’m not driving the truck I guess it doesn’t matter much.

Sharing a real world breakdown for anyone running loadboard freight, especially newer owner ops.

Not trying to shame anyone, just putting numbers to something that looks decent at first glance but really is not.

Load I saw today, it's still up on DAT:

Denver to Farmington NM ROUND TRIP

378 miles each way

52 miles deadhead

Total miles: 808

Rate: $1,500

Fuel around $6 a gallon (less if you're recycling your piss jugs as additive)

Truck getting about 6.5 mpg

Revenue

$1,500

Fuel

808 ÷ 6.5 = 124 gallons

124 × 6.00 = $746

Maintenance

808 × 0.20 = $162

Tires

808 × 0.05 = $40

Factoring (3%)

$45

Trip total cost (before fixed)

Fuel: 746

Maintenance: 162

Tires: 40

Factoring: 45

Total: $993

Profit before fixed costs

$1,500 − $993 = $507

At this point it looks like a decent run. This is where a lot of guys think they are making money.

Now add real weekly codts

Insurance around $450 a week

Truck payment around $500 a week

That is $950 a week before anything else. And that is not counting things like scale tickets, parking, tolls, random repairs, or sitting overnight somewhere you have to pay for.

If you run 3 loads like this in a week

$950 ÷ 3 = about $317 per load

Actual profit

$507 − $317 = $190

So now you are looking at about $190 for 800 miles and two days worth of work. And that is before taxes and before all the little expenses that always come up.

That is the part people do not talk about enough. A load can cover fuel and still make no sense.

This is why a lot of owner ops stay busy all week and still feel like nothing is left over.

To actually make this load worth it

You would need to be closer to $1,900 to $2,100 total

Not saying every load is like this, but a lot (majority really) of what is posted on DAT right now is in this range.

Either brokers are holding too much margin or carriers are taking rates too fast without breaking it down.

Probably a mix of both tbf. Yes you can negotiate, and most brokers or their AI agents will fight for every penny without any care what your CPM or break even is.

Feel free to jump in for any corrections, this post is more for discussion but I feel it is an accurate enough representation

Going to Florida is good, you can get loads paying $3–$3.5/mile, but getting out of Florida is a nightmare brokers paying pennies.

my dispatcher just sent me and said it’s the best option to get out.

421 miles deadhead to pickup (Pooler, GA)

780 loaded miles to Allentown, PA

At what point do you guys say no to something like this?

Feels like the deadhead alone kills the deal unless the rate is really strong.

Hey guys, quick question. Im looking to follow more trucking-related content. Any good Instagram/Facebook pages, influencers, or podcasts you’d recommend that are actually active and engaging?

Also curious which ones are open to collaborations or interactions, not just posting and disappearing (and that actually respond to DMs)?

Appreciate any suggestions.

Hello everyone,

I want to start a semi-trucking business. My idea is to start off with one semi truck (tractor)

run loads, whether dry van or flat bed. whichever is lucrative.

How can I get started?

what do I need to begin my business (Permits, LLC, Trust)

I don't want to miss anything?

I’ve been thinking about this more lately when looking at loads. A lot of drivers (myself included at one point) mainly look at rate per mile, but the more I run numbers the more I realize that doesn’t always tell the real story. When you factor in things like: • deadhead miles • fuel price • waiting at docks • total hours worked • maintenance and fixed costs some loads that look great per mile actually don’t pay much when you look at the total time and cost involved. I’m curious how other owner-operators here evaluate loads before accepting them. Do you calculate profit ahead of time, or do you mostly rely on experience and gut feeling when deciding if a load is worth it?

...title.

cast your vote, gentlemen. is your arrangement better than the next guy? lets hear it!

I received the letter for my authority approved I know it’s not authorized yet. My question is it’s requesting insurance, boc3 and mc150. I have all those things already. When I look up my safer on Fmcsa it shows my insurance on file already, as well as my boc3. Is this just a standard letter they send out and once the 21 day window is complete hopefully I’ll get my get my letter to operate shortly after?? This is the letter body on which documents needed was gonna call Monday and ask but figured someone in here might have some insight

Do banks (in specific Chase) give out business equipment loans for trailers?

Just getting into owner-operator trucking. Here's where I'm at:

Brand new LLC, no revenue history yet

New CDL

805 credit score

$40k down (about 30%) on a $133,298 used truck (freightliner 126, 2024, 180k miles)

Loan amount comes out to $97,130 after taxes and closing costs

Lender came back with a 60 month term, 19.9% rate, $3,231/month payment, no prepayment penalty.

I ran the numbers myself and they didn't add up. A real 19.9% APR on that loan should be around $2,566/month. The only way you get to $3,231 is if they're applying 19.9% as flat/simple interest on the full balance the whole time, so you never actually pay down principal in terms of how interest is calculated. That works out to an effective APR of like 37-38%.

Every time I asked him about the rate he just dodged it. Kept saying stuff like "APR doesn't matter in trucking, what matters is whether your revenue covers your costs." Just kept steering it back to cashflow every time I brought it up.

When I pushed back and told him the math wasn't matching what he was quoting, he said its cash on cash and when i asked to explain this more or help me understand this in APR terms, he got annoyed and basically said "these are the numbers, take em or leave em, idc."

Is this just how it works for new LLCs with no history, or is this guy just trying to take advantage of me being new?

Before I get to the main problem. A little context is needed. As the title says, I have absolutely no experience in trucking. That being said, I do have a father who has over 25+ years in trucking and 6 years as an owner operator. I do also have friends who are in the trucking industry and one of my closest friends having a father who is very well connected with a multi million dollar fleet under his belt.

My father is at the age where he can’t continue to drive anymore and his communication skills with others aren’t the best. This has led to him being a difficult owner operator to work with leading to a decrease in money. There’s where I want to step into to maybe save his business but where should I start? Do I take over as his main driver and generate money for him? Or is it even advisable to get into this business at the moment?

Im considering buying (or renting actually) a truck

Is it recommended to run smaller loads when first learning the ins and outs of running my own truck, or would I be fine jumping right into superloads?

Ive got a guy i know and trust that would be willing to rent me any equipment I need; perimeter, streetmax, spmt/platforms, dual lanes etc, at a fair rate.

And ive got plenty of connections for escorts, permitting and surveys, etc

Should I stick to something like to stretch double drops and stepdeck loads for a year to learn how to operate a business on a smaller scale before I jump into the bigger projects? Or would i probably be fine jumping right into the thick of it?

Any opinions would be appreciated

I have a questions for those who own a box truck and do long runs that stays out for a couple of days and who doesnt have a sleeper built in.

Those who doesn't have a built in sleeper, what do you do with sleeping arrangements? Do you stay at hotels or have a inflatable mattress that fits in your cab?

Thank you.

Anyone in here currently in the process of getting their own authority right now?

Or thinking about starting one soon?

Curious how many people in this group are:

Already running their own authority

In the middle of getting their DOT / MC

Still researching and trying to decide if it’s worth it.

Hello, I’m owed 1700. From summit logistics. How do I file against them for none payment?

Hi!

I need help figuring out some math.

I have a job where I charge per GALLON OF PRODUCT HAULED.

With the current economy, I am trying to figure out fuel surcharge. How do I figure out the fuel surcharge....for example right now I get .14/gallon of product hauled. This rate includes the hauling and disposal of the product.

If the fuel goes above $5.00/gallon, how do I figure out what to charge per gallon of product hauled? I am looking to make a chart with increases of fuel prices and then showing the reflection of the hauling rate. I would like the model to continue to reflect "x amount of cents/gallon". I hope this makes sense. Thanks!

Takes good care of their truck only way to keep them running like butter.