diesel_deuce

Hi folks...I own a small moving company , and needed a break. It's physically very hard. So, I looked for another way to use my truck. After several months of research, I outfitted my truck to minimize expenses with the hope of hauling RVs. According to my reading, if you are not a cost-control expert you will not make it in this biz. I accounted for fuel, backhauls, deadhead miles, food, etcetera, and the numbers weren't encouraging. Since beginning pay (I leased with Horizon) is $1.04-$1.15 per mile, I did the following, hoping my large capital outlays would pay off over the miles.

-removed back seats, folded down rear platform and ordered a custom made 100% latex foam (the good stuff) mattress made for it. $500. Got a really good sleeping bag from Cabela's, $100, rated for -15 below. Basically I turned the back into a sleeper even though it's not DOT legal, it works very well and I'll log off duty not sleeper berth, or log trucker lounge, ect..yes, it's legal to sleep in a trucker lounge. Eeew. I also insulated the back of the cab where the seats were with custom foam and carpet, $50.

-removed center console and installed low amperage fridge/freezer, $600. I made a platform of plywood covered with automotive carpet and bolted it to the console mounts, then mounted everything to that to avoid drilling in my truck.

- deep cycle battery system to power freezer, computer, etc: $650. Inludes 2000 watt inverter and charging controller.

- B&W turnover ball 5th wheel and gooseneck combo hitch, $1300 including install. (ow)

- Bully dog chip, $450, increases MPG from 18 to 26 unloaded and from 10 to 17 loaded. YEAH! Save on fuel.

Basically I will buy groceries at Wal-mart or somwhere and put them in the fridge, and sleep in the truck. No eating out or motels. I'll use my Flying J card to buy fuel (flying J is usually cheapest) and get free showers for buying fuel.

-Do my oil changes myself, using Royal Purple synthetic, every 7k miles.

So, these are the cost control measures I've got in place. Can anyone suggest any other things I should do to ensure success? There are people doing this and making it, even though there seems to be so many who fail and then grump about it. Has anyone had any success? If so, please offer advice!!

Syndicate

you could blend your own Bio and run a 2nd tank in the bed. That would even help you buy the cheaper fuel in larger amounts while out on the road. you could also run a bypass filter to extend the life of your oil. Also make sure you pay yourself a base wage and leave enough in the company account for things like tires and repairs. You need to make money as the driver and the truck needs to make money. You just need to figure out the right split. Then you need to log as many legal paying miles a day as possible but you already knew that.

dodge2005

I had a friend was also working with Horizon for almost a year. He also had a really hard time making any decent money. The biggest cost saving he said were in in-bed fuel tank and splitting cost with another driver. Each had their own truck but would try to split costs anywhere they could example is hotels. But you found a way around that one. I heard from him that he had alot of one ways and very little two ways, which really sucks. Sorry I could not help out, Good luck to you.

RickCJ

Aren't most of the RV haulers retired and do this for some extra $$? How can you make a living at $1.15 loaded and only paid 1 way?

induchman

You can't.

I charge $2.50/per loaded mile and $1.25 empty on the return. That's hauling sheep, pigs, hay, whatever.

REF>Lancer

Thats pretty dang good...
I make it on the 1.30-1.05 but if I'm doing 1.05 I need a return load.
No sig makes it tough to know what you are pulling with,If its the same as mine better put it back to stock and get rid of it for a newer/older truck mines cost me big bucks...I'm so upside down in mine now that there's no getting rid of it!
I do what you are talking about,but I sleep across the front seat.
I eat before I leave, and get a snack or two between stops..change the oil about every 7-8k and I'm still working on the tire angle,thinking about singling out the truck and running H1 surplus takeoffs....but thats not in the works yet..Good luck

RATTLINRAM

Welcome to the site diesel_deuce,

Not to be negative but,,,,,,,,, I don't think you're going to see anywhere near this kind of mileage increase. Possibly one, maybe two mpg (and that's a very big "maybe") increase at the most. Then there is the ongoing fuel rates that can fluctuate tremendously from one day to the next as well as one state to the next.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

GAmes

Save each and every receipt, no matter how small, for tax time. Do not scrimp on truck maintenance. Oil changes with dyno oil every 4000 vs synthetic at 7000? When passing thru Oregon on I5 buy your filters in bulk from Cummins in Coburg (just north of Eugene). Oregon has no sales tax. Never accept a trailer where the deadhead exceeds the paid towing miles.

induchman

I'm using the 97 most of the time, but lately the Unimog is pulls the most weight.

diesel_deuce

Okay, here's the math, tell me if I'm making a mistake. Average length of haul for full time RV transporters is around 1600 miles at 1.15+ per mile; bigger trailers pay more. That's $1840. Let's assume 10 mpg. 1600/10 = 160 gallons times $2.50/gallon. That's $400. Return trip...assume it's deadhead although it won't be always: truck gets 19 mpg empty, or 85 gallons x 2.50 = 212. Total fuel cost is $612, for a net profit of $1,228. That is one trip, or monthly profit of $4,912. Two oil changes per month (12,800 miles at 3200 miles per week) will be roughly $200, I do them myself. Put some away for tires and repairs, say $500 per month, I'm still making $4,200 since I will not be staying in motels or eating out PERIOD. As for taxes, all my fuel and expenses are tax deductible.

So, what am I missing here? Seems a doable proposition to me...

jay05torque

do like the drywaller contractors do.. hire a bunch of illegal mexicans for 10$ a day, sit back and count the cash. if they bring your truck back

induchman

You forgot to add in the cost of insurance, the depreciation of the vehicle, the permits. $2.50/gal is now, it was $3.25 last summer. Then there's the required layup time, you can't drive straight thru exactly. If you have a second driver you need to pay him/her. You're net is about $500, not $1228.

GAmes

Also the 1600 mile average is a reach. There are a lot of 300 to 500 mile deliveries and everyone does his turn, especially the newbies.

jaysyl

Diesel Deuce, welcome to the site. I have thought about doing this but with two young kids at home I could not stand to be away from them.

You say no motels. I can see sleeping in the truck now, it is easy to put on more clothes to stay warm, but how are you going to sleep in the truck in July and August? Just something else to think about.

diesel_deuce

I thought about the summer heat...I plan to run a small a/c unit off a generator mounted in the bed. More money...that's the only down side of this so far...I've spent soooo much. A decent Honda generator is about 2 grand plus gas plus a diamondplate box to mount it in. *sigh*

As to the insurance, I run under Horizon's insurance/authority when loaded, so I don't pay commercial insurance. All I'm required to carry is non trucking liability, $50/month.

I'm a single gal, no kids, no life basically, no family so...what else have I got to do? I'd like enough to buy my own RV to live in. I hate apartments and refuse to saddle myself with a 30 year mortgage and property taxes. I can live with very litte and the truck is nice...the hardest part so far has been practical stuff, like the lack of a bathroom and safety. I keep a Tazer and a small tire thumper handy, but it's still hard to settle down and sleep sometimes. I've actually been sleeping in my truck for several months because I couldn't afford rent AND medical bills from cancer treatment; the doctor won't continue to treat me unless I pay back bills, so that decision was easy...a friend lets me shower at his place and stay overnight sometimes. The truck's nice, it isn't bad now in the winter in Texas. I headed up north to Indiana for my first orientation, got as far as Oklahoma and hi-tailed it back until it warms up. I don't have a generator yet and propane heaters are dangerous.

Overall, I like the simplicity of this nomadic life. It's not as bad as I feared it would be, and now I would'nt live any other way. I would like my own RV though, that's a goal to work towards. :-)