After Two Weeks On The Road As A Drive Away Driver I Can Answer Questions

Someone asked the name of the company..... the response was "several". That is vague and does not allow others to look into it. List the several companies... otherwise you are saying "I found a great opportunity you guys may like but I'm not going to tell you how to get it for yourself"

I was more than willing to help but after all the personal "advice" I was given i'm not going to offer up anything else after this post. It's really not hard to google "drive away companies" or fleet management. But here is a short list of some of them.... Apollo- never worked for them but hear bad things Mamo- mostly brand new from the factory (upfitter) lots of rydar tractors Amerifleet- biggest in the country been around for over 30 years. mostly fleet vehicles (cars. small trucks with a few large CDL thrown in) (no cdl required for the cars, DOT physical allows you to drive up to 26000 pounds. AAA interstate- don't know much about them Bennet transport- second biggest behind Amerifleet

Everything I do is a tax write off, from fuel to tolls to dinner and hotels

You said they're paying for your hotels and fuel. You can't write off stuff the company is paying for, you know that, right? If the company pays for your hotels and fuel you can't put that money in the bank and then turn around and write it off on your taxes. I mean, you can, but that's illegal. You can only write off any expenses they didn't cover, like if the hotel bill was great than their reimbursement.

Do you run a logbook?

Yes I run a legal log book, Sorry if my advice hasn't been up to par. Every company pays drivers differently, some pay fuel on a fuel card others give a fuel allowance based on the size of the vehicle you are driving (CDL vs Non CDL ) and it's up to you to find the best prices to maximize your profits, because if you go over fuel then it's on you. So in that case you can 100 percent claim it as a write off. Other companies use fuel cards and therefore it is not a write off.

Forget about drive away, I want to hear how you made 6 figures driving tour buses (which was mentioned in a different thread, unless I misunderstood). I think it would be hard to walk away from that.

In las Vegas it is not unheard of to make six figures driving tour buses, long hours and hard work in 115 degrees isn't easy but I walked away because I left that hellhole of a city behind. The crime is so out of hand I couldn't stand reading about yet another shooting just blocks away from my house.

I read this last night, too tired to reply. Aces I cannot determine what exactly the point of all this is.

Working as a 1099 for the same company beyond 12 months is an invitation to the IRS to audit you and the company you are contracting to. As. 1099 you must consistently show multiple, different sources of income. If you have one, ask your account.

You mention a variable work schedule of for example, one week on, two weeks off. Most of us on here require or want full time employment, not something that appears to be part time work.

The biggest piece of ambiguity in your post is you are evading basic questions, like who is the company, etc. It's seems like Repo work.

Sorry, appreciate you taking the time to share all of this, but for what we are here for, it has little to no value.

What is your source that working beyond 12 months as 1099 is an invitation to the IRS? There are plenty of people that do this type of work, let alone the millions of people that work under 1099.

The work schedule is whatever you want it to be, if you want to work six weeks and take a week off you can, want to work 1 week a month because you have another job you can. That was my point.

REPO work? Most of the trucks I pick up are brand new (less than 50 miles on them) some of the trucks for ryder or penski are used but I have never repo'd anything.

if I do three runs like that in a week 430x3=1290

Can you do 3,000 miles per week with a job like that? How often would that happen? As an OTR driver I could average nearly 3,000 miles per week but if you're having to jump on flights or get rental cars or get trucks registered and all that stuff I don't see how you could have the time for very many 3,000 mile weeks.

I appreciate that you're trying to give people information but whether or not it's very helpful information isn't clear. You throw a few pie in the sky numbers out there and make it sound like everything's a write off and you have it made but I'm skeptical that over the course of a year after all of the taxes and other expenses that go with being a 1099 contractor are properly paid that you're really in that great of shape.

Many OTR companies have you in the 40 - 45 cpm range your rookie year, you can consistently average 2,600 - 3,200 miles per week, you're in brand new or nearly brand new equipment, you have all of the perks and benefits that come with being a company driver, and you can legally write off meal expenses and any work-related items you had to purchase. I'd be interested in comparing that to what you actually earn after all taxes and expenses in a year. It doesn't sound like you have a bad job but there's no way we can really tell what kind of position you're in with the things you've said.

Brett, yes there are times I have to fly or get a rental but the rental could be an hour drive (yes I log it) and a flight for Chicago to Atlanta is two hours, lets say 4 even with checking in. However unlike traditional OTR companies I don't have to wait to be loaded, or unloaded. I pick up the brand new truck, do my walk around, sign a few papers and on my way to delivery. Some are quicker than others, some are governed some are not. Some require scale houses others do not. It's not all peaches and cream but for someone that wants to pick their hometime and make good money it's not a bad gig. There are several retired OTR drivers switching to driveaway.

I'm done with this topic now, Close it , delete it I don't care..... what started as something with a goal of being an insight to what I do and what is available to drivers out there has turned into what I feel is a personal attack....sure maybe I brought some of it on myself but not all of it. Stay safe out there.

It's certainly not an attack and we do appreciate the effort. But as you can see people are going to need quite a bit of very specific information to truly get a grasp on how that system works. If you look at our Paid CDL Training Programs we have four or five long pages of highly specific information on each company just to explain the basics of their training programs. Our Truck Driver's Career Guide is like 72 pages of information just to help people understand this industry a little bit and what it takes to get your career started.

So to explain the in's and out's of your setup isn't going to be easy. As a 1099 contractor you're running your own business. You're booking flights, rental cars, and hotels. You're working through several different companies and every one of them seems to have a different setup. You could literally write a book on what it takes to do what you're doing and maybe you should. But to just give a few examples and generalizations doesn't really help anyone understand whether or not it's a viable option. But I'm glad you brought it up. At some point maybe we'll add a section to our website about that driving option. At the moment I don't think anyone here except you really knows much of anything about it.

I dunno Brett.

Does appear as if some were attacking, or being aggressively negative/argumentative/accusatory.

LIGHTEN UP GUYS!

The man was coming back, a year later - and updating us with how he's doing in the driveaway/delivery end of the industry.

And I personally - appreciate the update - even if it is kind of off-topic for the focus of what we do here.

There is $$ to be made in driveaway. It's something I looked into briefly - but it's not as steady as the paycheck of a company driver. The exception would be, getting on with a bus or TT manufacturer - and most of these guys sub their delivery out.

Thanks for the updates Aces - if no one else appreciated it - I did...

Regards,

Rick

Wow, It sounds to me like the OP really wanted to toot his own horn, as opposed to "help" anyone by answering their questions. Although he claims to be done with this post, I can not refrain from several more comments.

He claims that "Everything is a write off". A write off on your taxes does not ELIMINATE your tax liability, it REDUCES it. I doubt that he can reduce his taxable income with his "Write offs" to the point that he would owe Zero in Federal Income taxes.( He still must pay FICA and Medicare Taxes, 15.65%).

He claims that he does not need an ACA compliant Health Insurance plan because he is a Veteran. This may or may not be true. Although Vets are entitled to some form of care through the VA, (Retired Vets are a different story in many cases), many if not most, are still required to purchase an ACA compliant Health Care Policy, either through the Government run Exchanges, or an Insurance Company or Broker. Depending on His income level, he may or may not be eligible for a subsidy.

Good luck with that "I use my cell phone for 60% business" "Write off". The IRS may be a total pain in the a$$, but the people there aren't STUPID! Trying to claim that will have them in your cell phone records, address book, and every other imaginable, and unimaginable part of your life. For WHAT! 4 or 5 hundred dollars? I sincerely doubt that with all of those "Write offs" that the OP will owe less than 10% in Federal Income Tax. So i will take the numbers from my original post and lower them a bit.

Social Security, Medicare and Federal taxes =25%. Im sure after he speaks with his accountant, if he has one, he will find that he may owe a HEFTY fine for not having an ACA compliant Health Care Policy. Probably along the lines of $3-5 thousand dollars this tax year(about the same as the cost of a policy itself). I could go on for pages, but I this Dead Horse has been beaten long enough! Happy Monday everybody!

"The IRS may be a total pain in the a$$, but the people there aren't STUPID! Trying to claim that will have them in your cell phone records, address book, and every other imaginable, and unimaginable part of your life."

That's the truth. I posted my response about tax deductions not necessarily in direct response for the OP, but to put it out there for anybody who wants to make certain write-offs. Sometimes it's not worth the money you save, i.e. comparing it with the hassle of saving and showing documentation if you are audited. It might not be much if you're a company driver, but if you're considering on going into trucking as a 1099 or undertaking any kind of self-employed business endeavor, you'd better be prepared for a random audit. And the more deductions you make, the more you better be prepared. You need to reconcile the claims on your tax schedule with what you can show to the IRS agent when being audited.

I read this last night, too tired to reply. Aces I cannot determine what exactly the point of all this is.

Working as a 1099 for the same company beyond 12 months is an invitation to the IRS to audit you and the company you are contracting to. As. 1099 you must consistently show multiple, different sources of income. If you have one, ask your account.

You mention a variable work schedule of for example, one week on, two weeks off. Most of us on here require or want full time employment, not something that appears to be part time work.

The biggest piece of ambiguity in your post is you are evading basic questions, like who is the company, etc. It's seems like Repo work.

Sorry, appreciate you taking the time to share all of this, but for what we are here for, it has little to no value.

What is your source that working beyond 12 months as 1099 is an invitation to the IRS? There are plenty of people that do this type of work, let alone the millions of people that work under 1099.

The work schedule is whatever you want it to be, if you want to work six weeks and take a week off you can, want to work 1 week a month because you have another job you can. That was my point.

REPO work? Most of the trucks I pick up are brand new (less than 50 miles on them) some of the trucks for ryder or penski are used but I have never repo'd anything.

Barely worth a response because you seem to have all the answers, yet when asked a direct question you do not answer it. And then you make-up a lame a** excuse for not revealing further information to people who expressed interest because of all the advice you have gotten here. Messed up. Why are you really here? Are you recruiting drivers? Are you self promoting your business by baiting people? Or are you just gloating? Not that I care, but there seems to be something highly suspect about you, that is; not above-board, fishy.

So my friend, you asked me a question. I will answer it with one on my own; "what is your qualified, professional source advising you that it's legally okay to work as an independent 1099 for only a single customer (single source of income) providing an essential business service for an indefinite period of time?"

My source is the US Department of Labor and the IRS. Whenever a 1099 works for a single customer and no other, providing an essential service (necessary to support their business operation) beyond a period of 12-18 months, it is possible they should be or could be reclassified as a W2 employee, taxed as such and possibly eligible for full-time benefits. By doing this you are walking a very fine-line and subjecting yourself and the company you are providing services for, to unwanted scrutiny and inquiries. You can argue your point all you want, but what you are doing carries an associated risk.

And other considerations you haven't even mentioned,...I don't think you are incorporated (you should be) and I haven't heard how you cover your potential liability. You are highly exposed and don't even know it. Stop debating us on this, hire an accountant if you really want to understand your risk of conducting business in this fashion.