Do truckers really only make $18k.yr, with most of it going back into the truck?
Don't ask me. I'm not a truck driver.
My mother makes between 60K and 70K per year but she's not an owner operator. Also there's the fact that the individual states and companies have lots of ways to siphon money out of that 60 to 70K.
No idle laws in states like California end up costing the drivers. Schneider has a rule that says the truck can't sit and idle unless the weather is below zero. She has the choice of surviving the night or getting her bonuses. The company won't pay for a motel room. Also if the truck doesn't start due to the cold, she pays for the wrecker with a 50/50 chance of reimbursement.
It will depend on what type of truck, what type of hauls, etc.
The secret to doing well with a truck is to keep the truck loaded as much as possible. A truck that is moving somewhere without a load on it is a liability, not a profit center.
Then there is the issue of the truck itself. Some trucks owned by small-time owner/operators are second-hand rigs that have been used hard and put up wet, so to speak. A well-maintained truck could do 750K to 1 million miles before major money has to be put into it -- a truck that has been thrashed and trashed might need major work and money by the time it gets to 400K miles. If you're buying a truck at 400K miles thinking "it should have another 400K miles before major money" and you didn't spot the major problems, you've just bought yourself a major money sink.
Most people who are not around trucks simply don't realize how much money they cost to maintain. If you've ever complained about how much tires cost for your car or SUV, you might want to ask a trucker how much his/her tires cost, especially the two front (steering) tires. Think about prices up to about $600 a piece. So you're looking at possibly as much as $1200 for just the front two tires.
For $1200 on a car, you can get some really spiffy tires (all four or five of them) and have hundreds of bucks left over.
Time for an rebuilt engine to be slapped in there? Think in terms of $20K to $35K for a rebuilt engine. Rear end? Woof, we could be talking major moola if it has been thrashed.
And then there's always the issue of frame cracks, which if serious enough, could spell the end of the line for the tractor or trailer.
The big fleet operators pass these costs through to their customers - the owner/operators don't pass-through so well.
Well, that's their problem. They need to trade that gas guzzler in for a diesel.