You sir are correct 100% Yeah, man, the cdl guys I know are hitting between 5500-7k average a week running the road the traditional way even with the current market. Time for something new. Pretty certain I'll go back to turning wrenches after I move.
Right on man. I set the bar super low- my goal is to make about $1700 profit a month, save $1000 for insurance for next year, and close to $1000 for maintenance. Which means i need to gross about $6000 a month. I have made a few planned errors (deadheads of 350 miles), a few unplanned errors (forgetting wallet at home and not realizing till i was loaded 2 hours from home), and not taken loads i should have. It is all about timing- and shit happens that throws that timing off. However, i can travel and do what i want- i am sitting at my family cottage right now after fishing this morning. I drove an extra 800 miles to get here averaging just over half the fuel economy. That said, one partial paid enough cash to pay for fuel for the whole trip, and the other $1000 partial will pay for insurance savings. What i find on the way home will pay my maintenance fund. I would say to do this job you have to come in with a ton of cash, have no payments, and low expectations. The reason to do it is to build a base so that you can eventually hire other drivers to do the work for you. Thats my 5 year plan. Did i mention no payments???there is no way you could do this and expect a life if you have to make payments. You are better off clerking at the gas station if your only goal is to make money now. Best of luck to you man in whatever you decide to do next!
This is why I’m not gonna jump in to it full time starting out. I’m gonna stay trucking as a company guy and on my 2 weeks off run my own. Get a feel for the business and todays rates on how I do. If all goes smooth I’m planning to be full time in a year or two. I’d love to go CDL hotshot but I’m not ready to get into a dually payment starting out. I’ll wait till I go full time. Seeing how rates are these past few years, fuel, insurance, my expenses will be about $4500 a month. Im hoping to make $8k a week and profit $3500 on the low end. I run hard. Even for the company I drive for. Harder you run the more money you make. I don’t do 34s I run split clocks. I’m praying it works out. Almost 10 years in the industry and I waited too long to go Owner Op and I hope this economy doesn’t kill my dreams
To be completely honest with you my man I don't think your plan is gonna be possible. You're gonna have to make a giant insurance down payment to only work 2 weeks then cancel everything. You're gonna do tons of work to get your DOT, MC, and insurance to only work 2 weeks? Unless I'm misunderstanding?? Your insurance won't allow you to work less than full time plus as an owner operator. 8k In a week as non cdl is basically impossible. CDL would even be tough to hit that consistently. Anything over about 5k a week for non cdl and 7k for cdl is tough, rare, and needs a lot of luck. I would stay with your company till we see what the election and economy holds. I went back to being a diesel mechanic for the time being.
@@TylerTheFieldServiceTech so the plan is to run 4 weeks in the semi and the 2 weeks in my pickup. I got an insurance quote already and it’s not too bad. $1100 a month with a $2k down payment for my pickup and two trailers (enclosed and gooseneck). Yeah I’m hoping to do $3k a week on the low end. I think I put $8k just as a hope, I know going in it’s not a reality to make that, just a goal cause I run hard miles. From seeing rates on all the loads I pickup with the semi, there’s gotta be decent rates for hotshot loads. There’s good and bad, you know? I just delivered a $4/mile load and now I’m under a $1.30/mile load. I know it’s not as good as it used to be a few years ago but I gotta give it a shot. If it fails, it fails but I gotta at least try.
My situation is different. I already have a 6 figure career, and only work 8-9 days a month. Hence filling up my free time each month being a hotshot. It's a side hustle and I don't need any money from it. I work 1 day on 2 off, normally. So on my 2 days off if I can stay local in the state of Florida or even venture to Georgia oc with a 3 car hauler or 40ft if that's any different. My truck would become my main transportation and trailer paid for in cash. Seems as though I'd only have to worry about insurance and gas at first. Maybe set a target for $1k a week and work towards becoming more efficient and make more money without pissing off the wife and kids. I figure clearing $50 k a year after expenses would be a good goal, better than sitting on the couch, or at a tiki bar, haha. I have 9 years until retirement with a pension, and don't plan on working at all after that, unless its passive income from real estate. Any comments welcome, still in the business planning mode. Hopefully it's worth it. Thanks for your time,......Chris
You could probably still gross about 10-15k a month, only working 3 weeks. The local saying is pretty tough to make money you will learn to make any real money you have to follow the frieght. Your first year insurance will kill you probably about 1200-1800 a month, depending on your equipment and other factors. If you can keep your primary income and do it on the side to learn and quite litterally throw money away, then why not. Your insurance and stuff will drop drastically over time so if you ride it out it will help you in the long run. Your recurring overhead with all your stuff paid for will be between 2-3 a month. I really enjoyed it. It's a great hobby to be honest. If you take the making money to survive aspect out of it I had a lot of fun minus the stress and being away from home. If you can afford to treat it as a hobby and just cover your direct and planned business expenses minus salary, then why not?
Thank you, and I appreciate you !! Much respect. As long as I can make it home for dinner time the majority of the time, then the sky is the limit for grossing as much as possible. I think non-cdl gives me more flexibility when it comes to having more control over my time schedule each day. I was also considering a flat bed so I could run freight or autos, vs. strictly vehicles. Also trying to decide wedge or gooseneck. HotshotDave mentioned wedge. I'll keep watching videos. Thanks again for your response above.@@TylerTheFieldServiceTech
@Chris-fw1jv Cars usually don't pay shit. You usually have to run a minimum of 2 always to break even. If you get a flatbed with a hydraulic tail and a winch, you will be able to do cars when needed. Wedge is good for running CDL setup for cars. Non CDL unless you get a derated dually, don't waste your time. You will overload your truck drive axle every time. Be aware of a max length of 65 foot unless you convert your pickup to either run a hotshot CM bed or you remove the bed completely. It gives DOT a reason to give you a headache if you run a trailer longer than 36 feet. Cars are always available litterally. Flatbed freight, you will run empty a lot. Most flatbed trailers can't load sedans and many SUVs due to ramps smash the bumper. Hence why the hydraulic tail Eliminates the issue. The winch will pay for itself fast. Most winched loads pay 2-3$ a mile for a partial.
I know a cdl guy who bought all his stuff out of state thinking he wouldn't have to pay taxes. 18 months later, he got hit with tax evasion for not ever getting license plates for his equipment. How he was able to run that long with no plates is beyond me. Needless to say his 10 grand tax bill looks cheap to the pickle he is in now and he lost his business.
Ok fellas let me offer a solution to high priced equipment . The answer is a credit union they work better with small businesses on auto loans , insurance , 401k . You pay lower interest rates on all the above I mentioned . Your hotshot companies are failing apart of it is your banking institutions . Another thing is financial education these credit unions offer you too . Another part of the equation is no CDLs . You seriously think you’re gonna hope into the trucking industry with no point of reference and just make ungodly money with no CDLs 😂 . Even if you decide not to use a credit union which is a very bad idea considering the fact you get low interest rates on car loans , commercial insurance . Use your local community banks instead not great but better than big banks . Last note please get your CDLs it’s gonna prepare you in the long run . Another thing good CPA can save you thousands . In business it’s not about how much cash you make but how much you keep .
You can do everything right, and the equipment will still fail and need to be repaired. The point I was making was that people pull all the money out of the business and think they are making money until something goes wrong and the business has no money.
Definitely depends on how many days you want to stay out and if it’s over the road or not good points Tyler
You sir are correct 100%
Yeah, man, the cdl guys I know are hitting between 5500-7k average a week running the road the traditional way even with the current market.
Time for something new. Pretty certain I'll go back to turning wrenches after I move.
Right on man. I set the bar super low- my goal is to make about $1700 profit a month, save $1000 for insurance for next year, and close to $1000 for maintenance. Which means i need to gross about $6000 a month. I have made a few planned errors (deadheads of 350 miles), a few unplanned errors (forgetting wallet at home and not realizing till i was loaded 2 hours from home), and not taken loads i should have.
It is all about timing- and shit happens that throws that timing off.
However, i can travel and do what i want- i am sitting at my family cottage right now after fishing this morning. I drove an extra 800 miles to get here averaging just over half the fuel economy. That said, one partial paid enough cash to pay for fuel for the whole trip, and the other $1000 partial will pay for insurance savings. What i find on the way home will pay my maintenance fund.
I would say to do this job you have to come in with a ton of cash, have no payments, and low expectations. The reason to do it is to build a base so that you can eventually hire other drivers to do the work for you. Thats my 5 year plan. Did i mention no payments???there is no way you could do this and expect a life if you have to make payments. You are better off clerking at the gas station if your only goal is to make money now.
Best of luck to you man in whatever you decide to do next!
This is why I’m not gonna jump in to it full time starting out. I’m gonna stay trucking as a company guy and on my 2 weeks off run my own. Get a feel for the business and todays rates on how I do. If all goes smooth I’m planning to be full time in a year or two. I’d love to go CDL hotshot but I’m not ready to get into a dually payment starting out. I’ll wait till I go full time.
Seeing how rates are these past few years, fuel, insurance, my expenses will be about $4500 a month. Im hoping to make $8k a week and profit $3500 on the low end. I run hard. Even for the company I drive for. Harder you run the more money you make. I don’t do 34s I run split clocks.
I’m praying it works out. Almost 10 years in the industry and I waited too long to go Owner Op and I hope this economy doesn’t kill my dreams
To be completely honest with you my man I don't think your plan is gonna be possible.
You're gonna have to make a giant insurance down payment to only work 2 weeks then cancel everything. You're gonna do tons of work to get your DOT, MC, and insurance to only work 2 weeks? Unless I'm misunderstanding??
Your insurance won't allow you to work less than full time plus as an owner operator.
8k In a week as non cdl is basically impossible. CDL would even be tough to hit that consistently. Anything over about 5k a week for non cdl and 7k for cdl is tough, rare, and needs a lot of luck.
I would stay with your company till we see what the election and economy holds.
I went back to being a diesel mechanic for the time being.
@@TylerTheFieldServiceTech so the plan is to run 4 weeks in the semi and the 2 weeks in my pickup. I got an insurance quote already and it’s not too bad. $1100 a month with a $2k down payment for my pickup and two trailers (enclosed and gooseneck).
Yeah I’m hoping to do $3k a week on the low end. I think I put $8k just as a hope, I know going in it’s not a reality to make that, just a goal cause I run hard miles. From seeing rates on all the loads I pickup with the semi, there’s gotta be decent rates for hotshot loads. There’s good and bad, you know? I just delivered a $4/mile load and now I’m under a $1.30/mile load. I know it’s not as good as it used to be a few years ago but I gotta give it a shot. If it fails, it fails but I gotta at least try.
My situation is different. I already have a 6 figure career, and only work 8-9 days a month. Hence filling up my free time each month being a hotshot. It's a side hustle and I don't need any money from it. I work 1 day on 2 off, normally. So on my 2 days off if I can stay local in the state of Florida or even venture to Georgia oc with a 3 car hauler or 40ft if that's any different. My truck would become my main transportation and trailer paid for in cash. Seems as though I'd only have to worry about insurance and gas at first. Maybe set a target for $1k a week and work towards becoming more efficient and make more money without pissing off the wife and kids. I figure clearing $50 k a year after expenses would be a good goal, better than sitting on the couch, or at a tiki bar, haha. I have 9 years until retirement with a pension, and don't plan on working at all after that, unless its passive income from real estate. Any comments welcome, still in the business planning mode. Hopefully it's worth it. Thanks for your time,......Chris
You could probably still gross about 10-15k a month, only working 3 weeks. The local saying is pretty tough to make money you will learn to make any real money you have to follow the frieght.
Your first year insurance will kill you probably about 1200-1800 a month, depending on your equipment and other factors.
If you can keep your primary income and do it on the side to learn and quite litterally throw money away, then why not. Your insurance and stuff will drop drastically over time so if you ride it out it will help you in the long run.
Your recurring overhead with all your stuff paid for will be between 2-3 a month. I really enjoyed it. It's a great hobby to be honest. If you take the making money to survive aspect out of it I had a lot of fun minus the stress and being away from home.
If you can afford to treat it as a hobby and just cover your direct and planned business expenses minus salary, then why not?
Thank you, and I appreciate you !! Much respect. As long as I can make it home for dinner time the majority of the time, then the sky is the limit for grossing as much as possible. I think non-cdl gives me more flexibility when it comes to having more control over my time schedule each day. I was also considering a flat bed so I could run freight or autos, vs. strictly vehicles. Also trying to decide wedge or gooseneck. HotshotDave mentioned wedge. I'll keep watching videos. Thanks again for your response above.@@TylerTheFieldServiceTech
@Chris-fw1jv Cars usually don't pay shit. You usually have to run a minimum of 2 always to break even. If you get a flatbed with a hydraulic tail and a winch, you will be able to do cars when needed. Wedge is good for running CDL setup for cars.
Non CDL unless you get a derated dually, don't waste your time. You will overload your truck drive axle every time. Be aware of a max length of 65 foot unless you convert your pickup to either run a hotshot CM bed or you remove the bed completely. It gives DOT a reason to give you a headache if you run a trailer longer than 36 feet.
Cars are always available litterally. Flatbed freight, you will run empty a lot. Most flatbed trailers can't load sedans and many SUVs due to ramps smash the bumper. Hence why the hydraulic tail Eliminates the issue. The winch will pay for itself fast. Most winched loads pay 2-3$ a mile for a partial.
Thank you !! @@TylerTheFieldServiceTech
Newbies: Don't forget to set aside money for taxes 🤓
I know a cdl guy who bought all his stuff out of state thinking he wouldn't have to pay taxes. 18 months later, he got hit with tax evasion for not ever getting license plates for his equipment. How he was able to run that long with no plates is beyond me.
Needless to say his 10 grand tax bill looks cheap to the pickle he is in now and he lost his business.
This math ain't mathing
Ok fellas let me offer a solution to high priced equipment . The answer is a credit union they work better with small businesses on auto loans , insurance , 401k . You pay lower interest rates on all the above I mentioned . Your hotshot companies are failing apart of it is your banking institutions . Another thing is financial education these credit unions offer you too . Another part of the equation is no CDLs . You seriously think you’re gonna hope into the trucking industry with no point of reference and just make ungodly money with no CDLs 😂 . Even if you decide not to use a credit union which is a very bad idea considering the fact you get low interest rates on car loans , commercial insurance . Use your local community banks instead not great but better than big banks . Last note please get your CDLs it’s gonna prepare you in the long run . Another thing good CPA can save you thousands . In business it’s not about how much cash you make but how much you keep .
This is a good video
Can you tell us what you mean by terrible economy?
Did your overhead estimate include the peloton your sitting in front of?
Haha it's actually a proform thankfully. That's all my wife's area. I borrow her office for filming.
I don’t believe you lol
If your equipment is breaking down that often your not doing it right
You can do everything right, and the equipment will still fail and need to be repaired. The point I was making was that people pull all the money out of the business and think they are making money until something goes wrong and the business has no money.
Haha bro did I meet you the other day? Moving your neighbor 😅 your dad got a 6.7l with nearly a million miles
No, haha, wasn't me. Million miles is impressive as hell though!