Pick a preset that looks like your truck, see what it really costs you to run, then check any load against that number before you say yes.
Start with the preset closest to your operation. The numbers fill in for you — open “Adjust my numbers” below only if you want to change them.
Presets are starting points, not averages — each one comes in a day-cab and a sleeper version.
Reality check: ATRI puts the average cost of operating a truck at $2.336 per mile in 2025 — but that is a fleet average that includes driver wages, so use it as a landmark, not your number. FreightWaves on the ATRI figures.
Short version: the cab changes your numbers, not the math. A day cab is usually cheaper to buy and insure; a sleeper costs more and burns a bit more fuel. The presets already account for it.
No sleeper berth behind the seats. Lighter, and usually a lower payment and insurance bill — built for work that gets you home: local, intermodal, and short regional runs. If you sleep in your own bed, this is probably your truck.
A berth behind the seats, so the truck doubles as the hotel on multi-day runs. Heavier and pricier to buy and insure — that shows up in the payment, insurance, and MPG fields. Plenty of sleeper drivers still run local and regional and sleep at home; the freight decides the schedule, not the cab.
Dry van and reefer run the classic per-mile lanes (a reefer also burns fuel for the unit). Flatbed and tanker — including hazmat — carry different insurance and pay extras like placard and tri-axle premiums. Intermodal containers on a chassis pay by the move, with short miles and rail free time measured in minutes, not hours. Hotshot rigs run smaller numbers in the same shape. Every one of those setups is covered here: the presets get you close, and the accessorial fields in Step 2 catch the rest.
Run the offer against your costs from Step 1.
Detention reality: there is no federal detention rate — what you're owed is whatever your rate confirmation or contract says, which is why the free-time presets and the paper trail matter. Detention cost the industry an estimated $15.1 billion in 2023 (ATRI). Grow Trucking's detention guide · FreightWaves on ATRI's detention figures.
When a load fails your cost test, the fix usually isn't a better load — it's one of these three leaks. Figures are the programs' own published numbers, checked November 2026.
Factoring turns a broker's 30–45 day pay cycle into next-day money. The cost is real — run it against your cost per day above — but so is the cash-flow hole a slow broker leaves. CFX publishes its 2–3% rate and its partner terms openly.
CFX Factoring — rates & terms →That's the TCS fuel card's average discount for Q1–Q3 2026, via FirstLine Funding. On 4,000 miles a month at 6 mpg, 49¢ a gallon is roughly $325 a month back. A secondary comparison puts RTS card discounts at 18–45¢/gal.
TCS fuel card via FirstLine →That's the typical premium range for one owner-operator unit — often the largest fixed cost after the truck itself. Kinro writes local, OTR, hot-shot and hazmat in all 50 states and quotes referred drivers.
Kinro — commercial truck insurance →Disclosure: links marked Partner may earn this site a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you. The partner routes on this page are CFX Factoring, the TCS fuel card via FirstLine Funding, and Kinro insurance. Published referral terms behind these routes include $30 per quoted insurance lead (Kinro); CFX and TCS publish their partner terms on their own program pages.
© 2026 NoFreeMiles.com — know your number before you say yes to the load.