Selling The Rental Property -gonna Go TEAM

First of all there is no chance your friend made $160k after expenses running his own truck. Ain't happenin'. There are three things you can count on in life:

1) Death

2) Taxes

3) Owner operators lying about what they make.

For years I've been telling people to stay away from buying or leasing a truck and for all of the claims I've heard of people making good money doing it I've never once been shown proof of it by anyone. I've never been shown bank statements or (even better) tax returns. Only lots of big numbers spoken with nothing whatsoever to back it up. Ask your friend to show you his tax returns from the past couple of years and then you'll see what he really makes after all taxes and expenses. If he cares enough about mentoring you into this business as an owner operator he'll have no concerns about giving you the nitty gritty details about revenues, taxes, and expenses.

He said 50k NET. They're not gonna double their income with 100k gross.

Ummm... How so? Assuming they file married jointly and don't have a ton of deductions... insurance and taxes (State, Federal, FICO, etc, etc) are going to eat up somewhere around 25 to 30 thousand... so that 100k gross is starting to look more like 70k NET? Am I missing something?

I don't know, am I missing something? They said they are used to CLEARING 50k, as in NET - take home, AFTER all taxes and deductions. So, I believe Brett probably misread and assumed they meant 50k GROSS, which is why he said they could double that with 100k GROSS. I simply pointed out that they are not gonna double their net income of 50k with 100k gross.

You're stating what I'm stating, that they will probably clear close to 70k NET, which is NOT doubling their NET income. Generally speaking, you can usually take 25% off the top of any GROSS earnings to arrive at what your NET will probably be after taxes. I estimated $75,000 NET after taxes on a $100,000 GROSS income.

So, aren't you and I stating the same thing? I don't believe you're missing anything - we are on the same page. As I'm sure Brett is too. I merely wanted to clarify because it seems like there's a lot of folks out there that don't understand the difference between net and gross. I've seen it on this forum again and again. People use the words 'take home' when describing gross pay, which is usually reserved for one's NET pay, i.e. 'take home' meaning what somebody literally 'takes home' after all taxes and deductions.

To the OP, I will say this, you CAN reach over 100k in NET earnings depending on where you go to team. But it's not the norm. I know at Old Dominion team drivers will pull in around $160,000 or more. That would leave a husband and wife team with $120,000 net income, assuming you're just calculating tax deductions at 25%. Add roughly another 20k and you're getting closer to $100,000 net income for the year. That would double your current net income. You're probably not going to get close to that at most truckload carriers.

First of all there is no chance your friend made $160k after expenses running his own truck. Ain't happenin'. There are three things you can count on in life:

1) Death

2) Taxes

3) Owner operators lying about what they make.

For years I've been telling people to stay away from buying or leasing a truck and for all of the claims I've heard of people making good money doing it I've never once been shown proof of it by anyone. I've never been shown bank statements or (even better) tax returns. Only lots of big numbers spoken with nothing whatsoever to back it up. Ask your friend to show you his tax returns from the past couple of years and then you'll see what he really makes after all taxes and expenses. If he cares enough about mentoring you into this business as an owner operator he'll have no concerns about giving you the nitty gritty details about revenues, taxes, and expenses.

I don't think it's IMPOSSIBLE to net $160K as an O/O. I have a friend that runs for Farm To Fleet that comes "close" to that. He has a couple of "dedicated clients" that pay an insanely good rate for short hauls - and he does A LOT OF THEM.

Remember, as an O/O - your "base expenses" (truck payment, insurance, etc.) don't stop when the wheels stop rolling - your REVENUE STOPS. So you HAVE TO KEEP ROLLING.

I don't see how a "solo operator", leased onto LandStar (which is probably about the best place to go for O/O's - especially NEW ONES), is going to NET $160K. Not calling anyone a LIAR here. If you've been on their system for awhile, have great relationships with their brokers, and know how to do your routing/logistics and don't run cheep - you could probably do close to $200k GROSS in a 100K mile year. Back out your expenses, and you're at $125K (give or take - not counting MAJOR BREAKDOWNS which is all on YOU - the OWNER).

Remember - when FUEL PRICES GO DOWN, so does the FSC. I know a lot of O/O's that were counting on their FSC as PROFIT, that are crying the blues right now, because they "lost profit" due to fuel prices going down.

I will still opine that getting through a training obligation and buying a truck right out of the gate - is probably NOT the right thing to do. I ALMOST DID IT a couple of years ago. I ran ALL THE NUMBERS (I'm an obsessive researcher) and probably could have made a go of it - but there was NO WAY I was going to put over $100K in my pocket in year 1 - maybe year 2.

And despite having capital in-pocket - I am STILL planning out going out for at least a year (more like two) driving someone elses equipment, before I even consider jumping in and purchasing my own.

Rick

He said 50k NET. They're not gonna double their income with 100k gross.

Ummm... How so? Assuming they file married jointly and don't have a ton of deductions... insurance and taxes (State, Federal, FICO, etc, etc) are going to eat up somewhere around 25 to 30 thousand... so that 100k gross is starting to look more like 70k NET? Am I missing something?

I don't know, am I missing something? They said they are used to CLEARING 50k, as in NET - take home, AFTER all taxes and deductions. So, I believe Brett probably misread and assumed they meant 50k GROSS, which is why he said they could double that with 100k GROSS. I simply pointed out that they are not gonna double their net income of 50k with 100k gross.

You're stating what I'm stating, that they will probably clear close to 70k NET, which is NOT doubling their NET income. Generally speaking, you can usually take 25% off the top of any GROSS earnings to arrive at what your NET will probably be after taxes. I estimated $75,000 NET after taxes on a $100,000 GROSS income.

So, aren't you and I stating the same thing? I don't believe you're missing anything - we are on the same page. As I'm sure Brett is too. I merely wanted to clarify because it seems like there's a lot of folks out there that don't understand the difference between net and gross. I've seen it on this forum again and again. People use the words 'take home' when describing gross pay, which is usually reserved for one's NET pay, i.e. 'take home' meaning what somebody literally 'takes home' after all taxes and deductions.

I just realized that I WAS missing something! I re-read your statement at least three times and missed the operative word "NOT" each and every time....and went on to make a counter point that completely agreed with what you had already said. I usually catch small things like that and have to be careful not to get hung up on the details....obviously this was not my day to shine.

OK so all the above was very convincing that after 2-3 yrs a team with a good company running the company truck will net about $120 yr if all goes well ...Whats the MOST under ideal conditions, running as a single driver ,in a company truck could earn then WHY couldn't that number be DOUBLED with TWO as a team ?

OK so all the above was very convincing that after 2-3 yrs a team with a good company running the company truck will net about $120 yr if all goes well ...Whats the MOST under ideal conditions, running as a single driver ,in a company truck could earn (then WHY couldn't that number be DOUBLED with TWO as a team ?.)

From all the research I have done (being new as well) 120k a year, first year is... well, a unicorn. It doesn't exist. (correct me if I am wrong, six string) That job that six string is talking about you would get as an experienced driver or in a location desperate for drivers. I highly suggest putting aside those income expectations until you have some experience under your belt.

Sorry, misread your post. I'll let the experienced drivers answer that question.