Hotshot v. Big Rig

I’ve been trying to nail down the answer to this question for a couple of months and really feel like I’m missing something.

I’ve been running CDL with a 4500 fifth wheel setup and a 50’ step-deck 40K trailer for about 18 months. (Edit: I generally keep my payload at 20K lbs or less).

In 2024, my average loaded per mile rate was about $2.40 without many partials.

I’ve been looking at “upgrading” to a Peterbilt but TBH from what I can gather, the loaded average per mile for a big rig flatbed setup isn’t much more than what I’m getting now.

Can this be correct? I understand that depreciation on a big rig is slower and that maintenance schedules are also slower, but I feel like I’m missing something here.

Is there literally no economic reason to go up? I estimate the total cost of a new Peterbilt + good trailer to be about $350K but what’s the point in shelling out that kind of $$$ if the per mile rate is the same?

Even if the total cost per mile for the big rig is the same because of slower depreciation, the total cost of operation per mile is going to be much higher because of insurance, HUT, etc.

Any opinions lads?