I have never been much of a “car guy” or a “truck guy.”
Vehicles, for me, have always been a means to an end. I use them to get to and from where I need to for work, fun, or anything else.
One day, my friend had me drive his vehicle for him. It was a Ford F150. I had never driven a truck before, and it was amazing.
Being higher up made it easier to see while I was driving, and if I’m being honest… I just felt better driving it.
Then I stopped and got gas.
At the time, my Toyota Corolla car took between $25 and $30 to fill up. This truck, which wasn’t even empty, took $80 to fill.
In one day, I went from wanting a truck to immediately not.
As a gig worker, gas is one of if not the largest business expenses we have.
So, if you have a truck, SUV, or anything that guzzles gas, can you still make money?
The short answer is yes, you can make money with a gas guzzler.
But you have to do things differently.
The Math
We’ve talked before about how much it really costs to be a rideshare driver. Using the same techniques, we need to look at how much a gas guzzler would cost to operate as a driver.
The equation is pretty simple. Take the cost of gas in your area and divide it by your MPG. My average is $3 a gallon.
Cost of Gas per Gallon ÷ MPG
Looking online, a Ford F150 gets 17 MPG, though I know some get less. For this article, let’s assume we are getting 12 MPG, which means our driving costs $0.25 per mile.
Gas isn’t the only cost, though. We also have insurance, maintenance, taxes, cleaning costs, and savings for your next vehicle.
Insurance is typically only $20 more per month for rideshare driving, sometimes less. Maintenance for a large vehicle is going to be more for things like tire parts, oil changes, etc. Taxes, we’ll say 10%, as most, if not all, of it will be taken care of with the mile credit you get on taxes.
You’ll also have to save more for a new vehicle if you plan on buying another gas guzzler, as they tend to be more expensive than smaller cars.
We will base our estimates on driving “part-time” 3 days a week and 100 miles per day. We will also estimate:
- $2,400 a year for maintenance
- $40 monthly on a cleaning membership
- A goal to save $30,000 for a new vehicle within 3 years
Per mile, this breaks down to:
- Gas: $0.25
- Insurance: $0.02
- Maintenance: $0.15
- Taxes: 10%
- Cleaning Cost $0.03
- Saving: $0.64
Total cost per mile: $1.20 (assuming 10% for taxes)
Now that we know how much it costs us per mile to drive, how can we make at least that much per mile with gig work?
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Rideshare
Though you may be hesitant to use a gas guzzler for rideshare driving, it can be profitable if done right.
First, sign up for any additional services you can, such as UberXL, Lyft XL, or even Black.
Those who have a lot of people traveling with them or have a lot of luggage need larger vehicles, and they will pay more for it. Which means you will make more if you drive for those services.
Signing up for those services is not enough, though. You have to know what to accept and what not to accept.
Knowing that it costs you $1.20 per mile to operate means that you need to make at least that to break even. If your goal is to make $100 a day in profit, that means you need to make $2.20 per mile if you drive 100 miles a day.
That will mean being very picky about the rides you accept and maybe even waiting until you get one that is $3 or more per mile to ensure you make enough. But you can get that and make enough money with a gas guzzler in most areas.
Food Delivery
Unlike rideshare driving, there are no extra services you can sign up for with food delivery for just having a larger vehicle.
That doesn’t mean you can’t make money with food delivery. It simply means you have to be more patient and wait.
The math doesn’t change. It still costs you $1.20 per mile, which means you have to accept shorter deliveries that make $2 to $3 per mile.
You can also do Instacart or other grocery deliveries that allow you to spend the majority of the time in the store shopping, saving you those miles but making enough to make it profitable to drive a gas guzzler.
Catering
Right now, catering is my favorite and most profitable gig work that I do. Though the last few months haven’t been the same, it’s still incredibly profitable and easy to do.
Getting 2 to 3 catering orders in a day can make you $60 to $100+ in 2 hours or less while driving 30 or fewer miles.
If you’re driving a gas guzzler to do catering orders, you’ll again have to be more careful picking the ones you accept as you have to make more per mile.
However, it will also be easier to fill your large vehicle and travel safely rather than a smaller car with limited space for food.
Towing
Another option with larger vehicles is that you can tow things, or haul larger packages.
Services like Curri allow you to sign up to deliver large packages. Think lumber or other construction materials needed.
Rent Your Gas Guzzler
One way to make sure that you don’t spend money on gas is not having to pay for gas.
Renting your vehicle out with services such as Turo or Hyrecar will put that cost on the ones that need the vehicle.
It will also give you the ability to make money without having to be out physically driving your gas guzzler.
The important thing, though, is to make sure you look at the math.
Will you make enough if they drive 50 miles, 100 miles, or 1,000 miles a day?
Looking at Turo’s calculator, a Ford F-150 would make an average of $9,556 a year. This comes out to an average of $183.77 per week.
If we aren’t paying for gas, we can subtract that expense ($0.25 per mile) from our total cost per mile, leaving us with $0.92. This means we would need whoever is driving the vehicle to drive 200 or fewer miles a week simply to break even.
It could be worth it, as some people are renting a car until they get a new one and only use it for to and from work and not gig work.
Do Your Own Thing
The great thing about gig work is that you aren’t limited to working for a particular app. There are a ton of apps out there that allow you to get to work easily.
If you want, you could put up your own ads on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, or the local newspaper, marketing your services. You could help people move, pick up scrap metal, and sell it, or anything else.
Being your own boss, figuring out how to make enough money to pay your bills and expenses, and living the life you want to live is the goal.
Each of us, whether we drive a gas guzzler or an electric car, can live our best life.