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I want a discussion on trucks. I don't necessarily want to discuss the particular merits on one brand over another, because we all know tha Ford's were best, until last weekend. I want to know what you use as guidelines in purchasing a truck. 1. New, lightly used, or very used? 2. Why do you buy trucks that way? 3. How much do you think that it costs you to run the truck for expenses such as repairs and maintenance, and cost of the truck? 4. When you buy, do you prefer 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, 1 ton, or a medium duty truck? 5. Gas or Diesel? Why? 6. When you buy a truck, is it all bells and whistles, or a stripper? Maybe bells and whistles for you, and a stripper for the crew? So what do you think? My philosophy. I bought my truck used, with 10,000 miles on it, because it was a good deal, and Scott is about making money. :) I recently bought a truck new for an employee, it is a stripper, but is also a Super Duty. Previously, I bought an optioned truck, but found employees don't appreciate it, and just abuse the truck. SO I saved some money this time. When I buy a truck, especially if it is dedicated to towing a trailer, or is anticipated to towing a pressure washing trailer, I want a 3/4 ton. Sometimes, it is a dual use truck, and it still ends up being a 3/4 ton. My truck is Diesel. I drive enough miles in it that I can justify the expense. I actualy do a spread sheet with anticipated costs before I make the final decision. My employee truck does not see nearly as many miles, so I bought a gas motor. More than enough guts to get it and a trailer moving. He also only drives it about 400 miles a week. So no justification for a diesel motor. My other employee truck also sees about 300 miles a week, but it never tows a pressure washing trailer, so I bought a Toyota for a specific service. It is excellent for what it does, although everyone prefers driving the larger trucks. Since I know what kind of abuse some of my trucks go through, beyond driving from point to point, I buy an extended warranty from the manufacturer, to cover any potential problems. So enough of my ramblings. What do you do about trucks? Scott Stone

Can we please start spelling "poll" correctly? I swear, the ability of this group to spell or write coherently amazes me. Next, who cares what others are paying? Just as with what one charges, it is all based on factors that have little in common between companies, locations, type of work. Essentially, the poll and it's figures are meaningless. Next, despite what Ron, "Mr.-I-subcontract-everything", says, the taxes do not just fall on the employee. The employer become liable for all withholding that was never done, including penalties and interest. As an aside, is there a reason Ron is always trying to use this board to drive people to "his" board?

The law on hiring illegals has been around for years yet the companies that break that law more then others are meg-corps. They can afford to hire the lawyers to defend against government harrassement and enforcement. Back in the 60s and 70s while working the uniform business I remember many times those green cars scooping into the parking lot and trying to round them up, the company would hide them everyplace, under dirty laundry, in emptied washers and dryers, inside trucks just leaving, was a joke. Always happened just before the Holidays, year in and year out. IF just that one law was enforced 100% and IF there was a law saying no American company can out source to other countries there would be more American jobs saved. Like I have said before, show me just ONE AUTOMOBILE made 100% in America, 50% or more of those parts are imported so it is not made in America but assembled in America. I bet our pressure washers are no different, not 100% manufactured with American parts.

If you drive a vehicle which is strictly used for business, you are most likely better off to deduct all expenses separately (gasoline, oil changes, tune-ups, etc.) vs. using the mileage deduction as $0.365 will most likely not cover all these expenses. Insurance, license and other such fees are not included in the $0.365 figure from the IRS. Even of you use this method you can still deduct these on top of the mileage as long as you are using the vehicle full time for business. However, if you are using a vehicle which is used part time for personal/family and the other part for business, than you need to use the mileage ($0.365) deduction. In this case, you may not deduct oil changes, tune-ups, license fees and insurance. If you are using $0.365/mile method of deduction for your vehicle, you can still deduct fuel cost for your equipment. Obtain a seperate receipt for fuel purchased for your equipment.