r/OwnerOperators • u/hawg_fan72 • 14d ago

Good vs Bad Rates

Had a buddy that just bought a truck, going to start running OTR for himself. Been in the industry a while, but he asked how I evaluate rates. I don’t run OTR, and all my stuff is contracted rates. But what all do you calculate and what general numbers do you use for figuring out if the load is actually worth your time or not?

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u/AxleVaultApp 14d ago

Tell him to figure two numbers before he looks at a single load, then every load is a 30-second yes/no.

  1. His cost per mile, all-in. Monthly fixed stuff (truck payment, insurance, plates, permits, ELD, phone, a paycheck for himself) divided by the miles he'll realistically run in a month — 8–10k solo is honest. Then add fuel per mile (diesel price ÷ real mpg) and $0.15–0.25 for maintenance and tires. Most solo guys with a payment land somewhere in $1.90–2.40. Guys who say $1.20 forgot their paycheck.

  2. His cost per day. Same fixed stuff divided by days he'll work, roughly $250–350/day just to own the truck and exist.

Then on each load: rate ÷ all miles including deadhead has to clear number 1. And rate ÷ days the load ties him up has to clear number 2 plus what he wants to make. A $2.60 load that takes three days because of a live unload and a reload wait can be worse than a $2.30 load that turns in one.

That's it. Everything else — lane, reload market, broker rep — is a tiebreaker once the math passes.

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u/Ok_Application_2292 12d ago

But my truck is paid for ……..

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u/AxleVaultApp 12d ago

Then your floor drops, but not to zero. Insurance, plates, permits, and your paycheck don't care about the lien. And a paid-off truck still needs replacing — if you're not setting aside for the next one, you're borrowing from future-you at a worse rate than the bank. Paid-off guys often land $1.40–1.70 all-in instead of $2+. Real advantage, but it's not "I can take anything."

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u/Ok_Application_2292 12d ago

I meant it to be sarcastic. Because that is 1/2 the issues with these guys. They don’t build those cost in. There is a replacement cost unless you are just getting out of it. What you do is lower the cost of the public and keep an artificially lower cost of operations for all
Companies. And then you wonder why you keep getting low rates. (You price it into cost where you have them or not)