Some of you guys are funny. Next time your buddy asks to help him move his couch from his girlfriends house to his apartment for dinner, a beer, and $10, say you cant unless he purchases insurance and registers with the chamber of commerce

Seriously guys he's just helping out some family friends, it'd be the same as you mowing your great aunts yard for a plate of cookies. I never realized people got so butt-hurt over this.

-Dustin-

 

And these legal-eagles wonder why they have no friends except other legal-eagles. heh, gee, I wonder. Its what happens when you have a government that is so overbearing as ours is. You get three classes of people: those who follow the rules regardless of what they are for the simple fact that they are the rules, those who don't follow any rules and those who pick and choose which rules they are going to follow and which ones they will break. I am in that last category and my system for deciding which is which is based on whether or not the rule is necessary or if it was just put there to be difficult, make someone rich, keep somebody down or because some special interest group lobbied to put it there. I think that all people in the first two categories are idiots. Blind alliance and blind disregard to any system, group, person, government or thing has never resulted in anything positive for anyone at anytime in anyplace.

 

You can call it what you want but when there is an accident and you are not properly insured (commercially) you will be screwed!!

I am only a "legal-eagle" to protect myself and my family, there are many regs that I feel are stupid and would prefer not to follow. But in the end if I'm in an accident or a vehicle gets damaged I'm insured, I know my family and I are safe from sue happy people and the LEO's tickets and fines.

 

Farm plates on the truck and trailer and dont let the cows talk.

 

i get 60 an hour for truck and trailer with a 120. for the first hr and as far as undercutting if someone wants to do it for less let him i can sit at the house and go broke a whole lot easier then driving down the road and tearing things up and still be going broke

 

Just make sure that you have commercial insurance on your truck, and the farmer has insurance on his farm.
Then become an employee for him under his farms name. Then haul your own products for him.

Not sure how your laws work down there, but up here a person can haul their own products as long as they have their truck insured for commercial usage and only haul their own property.
Become an employee of all your friends farms, if your allowed to do this.

 

That was what I was thinking. A lot of states have really relaxed rules when it comes to agriculture. If you can be on the "payroll" it may provide a loop hole to stay legal.

I use my truck and trailer (30' flatbed) to help out my Dad and Brother a lot. I never really worry about it, plus it is all local.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I knew along time ago that hauling someone elses property w/out commercial insurance or paying taxes wasnt legal and was aware of the potential consequences. However that wasnt my question--I really appreciate the responses from those of you guys who provided some suggestions for what I should charge.
Thanks again,
Drew

 

I charge $45 to load and then 2.75 a loaded mile.
Some of the sale Rings offer a Insurance plan you can sign up for so the cattle are covered Heartford is the company I am signed under. I get charged .10 cents per animal.

 

Aren't we forgeting about depreciation and wear and tear??

 

Well, I guess if you have nothing to lose.... house, farm, vehicles, bank accounts and the like, then you don't have much to worry about !!
Only 60/ hr??!! ****, I wouldn't set foot in my truck when i had my opearation for less then $100/ hour! But, if it works for you!

 

I just did a search to see what it costs do have & drive a truck , thinking maybe a response for all costs , no labor / I can always add or see what someone wants charge .
Then I see that many get bent out of shape .
Now in my mind is why is everything in all of life costing too much , the free enterprise is not free anymore , we need to take the country back for the lawyers & politicians .
This is coming from a Libertarian perspective , the ones charging too much or too little will change or fail .

 

It is really too bad that we've come so far away from neighbors helping neighbors. When I need some help at my place w/welding or whatnot, a buddy pitches in. When he needs something hauled a little ways down the road, I swing by. Of course there is risk, and I often advise (on these forums and others) to play by the rules, and be fair to those out there struggling to make a livin' doin' what I do as a hobby.

But it is the reality of the world we live in. Even the "legal" opinions are just that, opinions, which is why even strongly-put ones belong on these forums. There can be many sides to even a simple question, and the author of the original post gets to read 'em all, sort through them, and hopefully make a more informed decision. Heck, we all got to live our lives, right ? A stupid man doesn't ask for opinions (or help) - a smart one does, and then realizes in the end it is still his decision. That is what freedom is all about.

As long as you are not putting others in peril, and you are not being reckless or negligent, and you know the potential consequences of doing a "favor" without, perhaps, being by-the-book 100% legal, and you ACCEPT those, well, help your friends out ! Charge enough to cover your fuel, a bit for the truck (tires, wear/tear, tags, insurance, next oil change....), and either something for your time, or not (if they are good friends or someone who deserves your compassion).

Everyone on here has their life experiences and their opinions. Everyone on here gets to make the choices for their own lives. One size does not fit all !
So take all the "opinions", shake 'em out, and see what works for you, and hopefully some of them have been of service to you ! I gave up getting bent out of shape at people who don't follow my advice a long time ago. I figure a good fit for me is putting in my two cents, adding to the conversation, and letting others take away (or leave) whatever they want. I wish no one ill, and hope things work out fine for everyone ! Just because it "happened to me" doesn't mean it is going to "happen" to you, but you still might like to hear about it, and then ponder a bit. I take nothing personal away from these forums, I just figure if we were all sittin' on the porch, discussion this or that, we'd all get our dander up now and again, and in the end, we'd all make up our own minds anyway !

 

I suppose it depends on the load, I would charge more to haul live animals than junk to the junk yard. Course I never charge friends or family, if they want to give me some bucks for fuel that's fine.

What really affects the decision here is if you are going to make a profit and report it as income on your taxes. I would look into have extra insurance to cover my butt if that was the case.

To answer you question, figure out how much you need to cover fuel expenses, and I think charge that plus 15-25% It has been a while but that is what a few truck drivers have told me before. Enough to put money in your pocket to cover fuel and time. If you are helping load and unload than charge a bit more.

 

Now lets see if we can get an answer to the original intent of the question ,
With maybe some help from those that have the data , those that do for a living ?
I have read that the feds allow .54 cents per mile to right offs , but not sure to who & how that applies .
Some of this is just going to one of the dyno or what ever gatherings , and a group wants pitch in what the costs to the driver are , fuel is one thing but does amortizing the cost of truck , ins, tire ect. as much as the fuel ?
As far as doing it for income , that is an other question .