Any 18wheeler driver here?

[Ironhead]

the tax on fuel is a write off not the cost of fuel ,,if you own your own truck there is no allowance it comes out your pocket ,,the problem with the trucking industry is too much goverment regulations ,,for instance ,,if you drive according to dot rule they limit the hours you can drive and operate a truck ,,,if you are a pilot that flys a plane DOT says you are allowed to put in all the hours you want ,,now think about it you get in a plane with a pilot that has been flying for over 16 to 20 hours straight ,,sometimes they sleep when on auto pilot ,,but a truck driver is only allowed 10 hours a day ,,not to mention if you are a company driver if you get a load over weight the drive gets the ticket not the company ,,,if it takes you more hours than your allowed ,,many companys will tell you dont miss your appointment even if they know you are out of hours ,,if you get caught by the man driver pays the ticket not the company ,,is a hard biz to make a buck at

 

[Prof]

So the tax is deductible...but the cost of fuel is not?

I think that as a business owner if I use my vehicle for business purposes, I can deduct 58.5 cents for every mile I accumulate for business purposes, as long as I keep a contemporaneous log. Why would it not be the same or more for a commercial trucker?

And I have to argue a little about your analogy...commercial pilots have very strict regulations on how many hours they can fly in a 24 hour period...it may be more or less than a trucker but there certainly are time restrictions.

Anyway...is anyone else concerned about our ability to get products to market if our truckers keep parking their trucks due to the cost of fuel? And what can we do to manage that issue?

 

[eddie102870]

yes fuel is high, we get a fuel surcharge, weve slowed our trucks down to 59mph. our fleet average is 7.59mpg. most trucks get anywhere from 5mpg to 6.5mpg on a high. ask stinker ive talked with him about this at length several times. i think it has more to do with the way the trucks are spec'd. most owner operators run 500 hp or more trucks. ours are 435hp cats. we never turn them over 1400 rpm and teach coasting to our drivers. if all the trucks would slow down to 60 mpg every forth year would be free. we also pay drivers extra money to try for fuel mileage. most make between 200 and 400 amonth on fuel bonus alone. we also make money off of this. we added it up today and on 14 million miles(what our company runs in a year) the difference between 6mpg and 7.5mpg is 2.3 million dollars or 28 thousand dollars a year per truck. taxes arent a major expense insurance and fuel costs are whats killing companies right now. fuel is 50% of companies expense with poor fuel mileage. ours is 28% right now at 4.30 a gallon. we also run team drivers an spec the trucks light so weight isnt a problem. most driversr that get overweight tickets are too lazy to weigh the truck and get it right before they leave the shipper.dont get me started on hours of service. they are complete and utter bullshit wrote by someone whos never seen the inside of a truck

 

[ZCx]

i miss driving it made lots of money just take to much time to keep it clean trust me i know it was on the rotella show circut
now my pops drives it

beautiful rig, man.
can't beat a long nose Pete:rock: :congrats: :rock: :congrats:
did ya make the Rotella calender???

 

[ZCx]

yes fuel is high, we get a fuel surcharge, weve slowed our trucks down to 59mph. our fleet average is 7.59mpg. most trucks get anywhere from 5mpg to 6.5mpg on a high. ask stinker ive talked with him about this at length several times. i think it has more to do with the way the trucks are spec'd. most owner operators run 500 hp or more trucks. ours are 435hp cats. we never turn them over 1400 rpm and teach coasting to our drivers. if all the trucks would slow down to 60 mpg every forth year would be free. we also pay drivers extra money to try for fuel mileage. most make between 200 and 400 amonth on fuel bonus alone. we also make money off of this. we added it up today and on 14 million miles(what our company runs in a year) the difference between 6mpg and 7.5mpg is 2.3 million dollars or 28 thousand dollars a year per truck. taxes arent a major expense insurance and fuel costs are whats killing companies right now. fuel is 50% of companies expense with poor fuel mileage. ours is 28% right now at 4.30 a gallon. we also run team drivers an spec the trucks light so weight isnt a problem. most driversr that get overweight tickets are too lazy to weigh the truck and get it right before they leave the shipper.dont get me started on hours of service. they are complete and utter bullshit.

i agree. it has been years since i have done a "low power" complaint.
its fuel mileage complaints now.
overheads, checkin & settin parameters, quiet a few have gone back to tall rubber, real common for rear end ratios to be changed, fixin air leaks, installin APU's, etc
real common to go to a super single tire/wheel combo. have heard claims of 400 to 700 lbs. of weight savins.

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

I know nothing about long haul trucking...but it seems to me that it is a critical part of our economy. Are there any moves to some how soften the impact of the cost of fuel on the trucking industry?

What is the expense allowance for fuel...how far short do they fall from being just a cost of doing business? I presume that all fuel costs are tax deductible to some extent...are they not?

If not why the hell not? You truckers need some strong representation in congress! Seems that it should be a pass through and if you can manage the cash flow issues, it should come back at tax time...

What am I missing here?

What you are missin Prof is Truckers are a dime a dozen, we are basically a mushroom in a pile of sh$t!
the government isnt goin to do anything, they never will, because the trucking industry will never come together as a united party.

company drivers dont give a crap about what O/Ops pay for fuel, they are on a per mile based salary, so they could care less.

Just think about how most people , even a large majority here think about trucks on the hwy, they hetem , they are slow, inthe way, and just a pain, we are basically treated like the scum of the earth, until we are out of the truck and in general society.


the last of the great american cowboys are dying out, the larger companies are starting to take ahold, more government regulations are allready starting to take affect, and soon there will be no more owner ops, and the price of products will triple.

Just look at the price of shippin now, the price of steel goes up almost daily, your food products are sky high now, and soon to be worse.

I really dont need to get started onthis

 

[eddie102870]

What you are missin Prof is Truckers are a dime a dozen, we are basically a mushroom in a pile of sh$t!
the government isnt goin to do anything, they never will, because the trucking industry will never come together as a united party.

company drivers dont give a crap about what O/Ops pay for fuel, they are on a per mile based salary, so they could care less.

Just think about how most people , even a large majority here think about trucks on the hwy, they hetem , they are slow, inthe way, and just a pain, we are basically treated like the scum of the earth, until we are out of the truck and in general society.


the last of the great american cowboys are dying out, the larger companies are starting to take ahold, more government regulations are allready starting to take affect, and soon there will be no more owner ops, and the price of products will triple.

Just look at the price of shippin now, the price of steel goes up almost daily, your food products are sky high now, and soon to be worse.

I really dont need to get started onthis

small companies too bro. ive seen 3 in our town alone go under from poor management. im talking about trucking companies with less than 100 trucks. i still consider them small.

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

small companies too bro. ive seen 3 in our town alone go under from poor management. im talking about trucking companies with less than 100 trucks. i still consider them small.

yessir, anything under 100 or so trucks is considered to me still an owner op division.

Jsut as in your case, it is still run by family mostly , as with most small companies,

the ones I refer to is going to be the super swift, schnieder, trans, and some of the super companies with thousands.

it may not happen this year , or next, but I would say within 10, we will exist no more

 

[eddie102870]

yessir, anything under 100 or so trucks is considered to me still an owner op division.

Jsut as in your case, it is still run by family mostly , as with most small companies,

the ones I refer to is going to be the super swift, schnieder, trans, and some of the super companies with thousands.

it may not happen this year , or next, but I would say within 10, we will exist no more

hope not bro, i owe too much...lol i think there will always be a merket for service. two of our major customers require 98% on time delivery. let schnieder or jb hunt do that. we actually had 1 load late last year coming off the west coast(produce) and it was a mechanical failure.

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

hope not bro, i owe too much...lol i think there will always be a merket for service. two of our major customers require 98% on time delivery. let schnieder or jb hunt do that. we actually had 1 load late last year coming off the west coast(produce) and it was a mechanical failure.

I sincerely hope not my friend


while others here do not know of your company that much , it stands 10 times above most others in service and profit:congrats:

 

[eddie102870]

I sincerely hope not my friend


while others here do not know of your company that much , it stands 10 times above most others in service and profit:congrats:

we try bro. old man set a good example and runs it old school. suprised we havent had any lawsuits with some of the chit he does

 

[FATJACK]

Your Dad sounds like a great guy!!

EXCEPT when it is Stinker on the phone impersonating him!!!!!

 

[ZCx]

part owner of a family business, got 72 of em.

whats your company's name eddie?????

 

[Prof]

What ever happened to the Teamsters?

 

[Prof]

yes fuel is high, we get a fuel surcharge, weve slowed our trucks down to 59mph. our fleet average is 7.59mpg. most trucks get anywhere from 5mpg to 6.5mpg on a high. ask stinker ive talked with him about this at length several times. i think it has more to do with the way the trucks are spec'd. most owner operators run 500 hp or more trucks. ours are 435hp cats. we never turn them over 1400 rpm and teach coasting to our drivers. if all the trucks would slow down to 60 mpg every forth year would be free. we also pay drivers extra money to try for fuel mileage. most make between 200 and 400 amonth on fuel bonus alone. we also make money off of this. we added it up today and on 14 million miles(what our company runs in a year) the difference between 6mpg and 7.5mpg is 2.3 million dollars or 28 thousand dollars a year per truck. taxes arent a major expense insurance and fuel costs are whats killing companies right now. fuel is 50% of companies expense with poor fuel mileage. ours is 28% right now at 4.30 a gallon. we also run team drivers an spec the trucks light so weight isnt a problem. most driversr that get overweight tickets are too lazy to weigh the truck and get it right before they leave the shipper.dont get me started on hours of service. they are complete and utter bullshit wrote by someone whos never seen the inside of a truck

Now that is good data. Those who collect this kind of information have a hand up on those that don't. Outstanding input Eddie...very informative, and wonderfully supported.

 

[FATJACK]

Now that is good data. Those who collect this kind of information have a hand up on those that don't. Outstanding input Eddie...very informative, and wonderfully supported.

Boy is smarter than he looks

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

I dont know what ya talking bout jack:dontknow:

Eddies company is BWI, locally owned andoperated:rock:

and his dad runs a VERY tight ship, thats why I am not there, I think we might bump heads

 

[pokeytemplar]

We have a VERY small family business 4 trucks and 3 drivers. All local dirt hauling. When gas hit almost $5 it cost us $1/mile just in fuel. Yep we avg 5mpg all short haul/city driving (usually less than 30 mile radius). Lots of industries are hurting from fuel costs. Timber is our #1 crop and there are alot of guys shutting down because they can't afford the fuel to cut the trees and process them.

 

[Ironhead]

the outfit my dad had going was almost shutdown in the late 90,s cause snider came in and stole his loads ,,doing it fir 1/4 less ,,after that the companys complaints went through the roof cause they were never on time ,,the place they use to haul for also shipped in large rolls of paper ,,were they had to pick up was 40 miles from nearest scale ,,so when they got a chance to weigh it out they would have to double back to company to get it straight ,,granted some guys just took the chance ,,,he would not make it today with the price of fuel ,,its crazy

and stinker is right truckers are truckers biggest problem ,,if they got to gether it would change ,but company drivers in my opion are jelous of owner operators that do it right ,,i cant count how many times we would pull in to a truck stop and hear some guy on radio selling his company equipment and stuff on his truck ,,then telling the owner it got stolen ,,or you hear some guy offering to sell fuel out of truck for a cheaper price with a garden hose ,,

plus you hear all time time how people call them JUST A DUMB ASS TRUCK DRIVER,,till they got to get food at the store or buy a pair of jeans or get medication from drug store and on and on ,,

my dad ended up doing real good for many years hualing pharmicaticals for abboit labs ,,only he go robbed once,, he got his trailer stolen ,,but insurance coved it ,,
that place payed for half his fuel cost for 10 years,,and they were always light loads,,but he had to go into new york twice a month and man he hated that lol

 

[jbilledeaux]

We have a VERY small family business 4 trucks and 3 drivers. All local dirt hauling. When gas hit almost $5 it cost us $1/mile just in fuel. Yep we avg 5mpg all short haul/city driving (usually less than 30 mile radius). Lots of industries are hurting from fuel costs. Timber is our #1 crop and there are alot of guys shutting down because they can't afford the fuel to cut the trees and process them.

Where at in LA are u? I was in Sulphur/Lake Charles and I know when fuel went over $4.00 there were alot of tandems and trailer dumps up for sale?
I can only imagine how many are up for sale now!!