πŸš›

Trucking Cost Calculator

The AV Dept.

ℹ️ How to Use This Calculator β€” click to expand

1. Enter your full starting address and destination address, then click Calculate Mileage. Distance, route regions, and fuel pricing are all computed automatically. You can also type miles manually or click Verify in Maps to double-check.

2. Select your vehicle β€” MPG, fuel type, and tank size auto-populate. Use the Own / Rent toggle: Rent adds Penske/U-Haul average daily and per-mile rental costs (editable). Own skips rental.

3. Set driving days (auto-calculated from miles, or flip to Manual to type your own) and pick a travel month β€” fuel prices adjust by route regions and season automatically.

4. Set the daily labor rate per tech. Driving labor = driving days Γ— 2 techs Γ— daily rate.

5. Toggle additional costs on/off: DEF fluid (diesel only), overnight lodging ($/night), per diem ($79/day/person β€” auto-enables when driving days > 0), and miscellaneous (auto-scales: $200 base + $50/driving day for parking, tolls, insurance, etc.).

6. The results panel updates live with every change. Blue = great rate, Yellow = moderate, Red = premium (based on client $/mile).

7. Click Print Quote for a clean, professional PDF-style page to hand to clients. Click Save JSON to download the estimate for your records.

8. Open Advanced Settings at the bottom to customize default rates like markup %, DEF price, max miles/day, and driving speed. These are saved to your browser.

πŸ“ Trip Details

Name of the show, event, or job. Used in the printed quote header and export filename.
Full street address, city/state, or zip. More detail = more accurate mileage.
Full street address, city/state, or zip of the venue or drop-off.
Auto-calculated from addresses, or type to override manually.
Toggle ON to double the mileage (gear out + gear back). Default: ON.
0 total mi
Fuel prices vary by season. Summer = higher, winter = lower. This auto-adjusts the estimate.
Fuel prices are calculated automatically based on where you'll be driving. Regions are detected from your origin, midpoint, and destination.
Enter addresses & calculate mileage

🚚 Vehicle

Own Rent
Choose the truck/van for this run. MPG, fuel type, and tank size auto-populate.
MPG
β€”
Fuel
β€”
Tank
β€”
Truck Rental (Penske/U-Haul)
$β€”
Date you pick up the truck from Penske/U-Haul.
Date you return the truck. Rental days = return βˆ’ pickup.
Auto Manual
Total days Penske charges you β€” pickup to return. Drives all per-day fees. Auto pulls from dates above or driving days. Switch to Manual to type your own.
Base daily rental rate from Penske/U-Haul. Override with your actual quote.
Mileage charge from Penske. Typically $0.27–$0.30/mi for commercial.
Add-On Fees
Damage Waiver (LDW)
$ /day
Liability Insurance
$ /day
Environmental Fee
$ /day
Licensing Recovery Fee
$ /day
Estimated Tax
%

β›½ Fuel Pricing

Auto-Estimated Price/Gal (weighted by route)
$β€”
Leave blank to use the route-weighted auto price. Enter a value to override.
Tank
β€” gal
Gallons
β€”
Fuel Stops
β€”

πŸ“… Trip Duration

Auto Manual
Auto: calculated at 450 mi/day max from total miles. Manual: type your own driving day count.

πŸ‘· Labor (2 Techs)

Daily rate per technician for driving days. Default: $265/day. Set driving days above (auto or manual).
Driving Labor Total
β€”
On-site labor is calculated separately.

βž• Additional Costs

DEF Fluid Diesel Exhaust Fluid: ~3% of diesel gallons Γ— $4.25/gal. Diesel vehicles only.
$β€”
Overnight Lodging Rate, nights, and rooms are all editable. Nights auto-fills from driving days; rooms defaults to 2 (one per tech). Override any field as needed.
$ /room/night Γ— nights Γ— rooms
Per Diem Daily per diem allowance per person for meals and incidentals. Auto uses driving days Γ— 2 techs. Manual lets you set custom days and people.
Auto Manual
Miscellaneous Auto-scales: $200 base + $50 per driving day. Acts as a buffer for floating costs that are hard to predict upfront β€” venue parking, highway tolls, ferry fees, supplies, and the gap between estimated and actual expenses (fuel overruns, extra mileage, higher-than-expected rates). Override by typing your own amount.
parking Β· tolls Β· ferry Β· cost overrun buffer
βš™οΈ Advanced Settings β€” default rates & markup (saved in browser)
Percentage added on top of internal cost for the client-facing quote. Default: 30%.
Price of Diesel Exhaust Fluid per gallon. Default: $4.25.
Maximum miles a driver covers per day. Used to calc driving days. Default: 450.
Average speed for driving hour calculations. Default: 55 mph.

Estimate Summary

β€”
Enter details to calculate…
Internal
$0
Client Quote
$0
Internal $/mi
$0.00
Client $/mi
$0.00
Cost Breakdown
Category
Amount
% Total
Markup: 30% β†’ Client pays $0 over internal cost

πŸ’‘ Booking Tips

Calculate mileage and select a travel month to see tips…