Under the Hood

How LoadWise calculates your verdict

We're big believers in transparency.

Here's exactly how LoadWise gets from your load details to a green, yellow, or red verdict. Every number is checkable. Every step is reproducible.

What you bring

Before evaluating any load, you set up your cost profile once. LoadWise remembers it. You can change these inputs anytime.

  • Truck payment (monthly)
  • Insurance (monthly)
  • Other fixed costs (monthly — registration, permits, etc.)
  • Fuel efficiency (miles per gallon)
  • Maintenance reserve (per mile — industry average: $0.20/mi)
  • Tire cost (per mile — industry average: $0.05/mi)
  • Target earnings (your minimum acceptable $/hour)

Then, for each load offer, you enter:

  • Load rate (what the broker is paying)
  • Origin and destination
  • Loaded miles (miles with freight)
  • Deadhead miles (empty miles to the pickup)
  • Pickup date

That's it. LoadWise does the rest.

The math — three examples

Real results will reflect your actual cost profile and current regional diesel prices.

Driver profile used in all three examples:

  • Fixed monthly costs (truck payment + insurance + other): $3,000/month
  • Fuel efficiency: 6.5 MPG
  • Maintenance: $0.20/mi | Tires: $0.05/mi
  • Target earnings: $45/hour

🟢 Example 1: A clear yes

The load offer: Sacramento, CA → Los Angeles, CA
Loaded miles: 380 | Deadhead: 25 | Rate: $1,400

Step 1 — Total miles

Loaded + deadhead = 380 + 25 = 405 total miles

Step 2 — Fuel cost

We look up the regional diesel price for California routes. Current rate: ~$4.80/gallon.

405 miles ÷ 6.5 MPG = 62.3 gallons × $4.80 = $299

Plus Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), a standard additive required by modern diesel engines — estimated at 2% of fuel cost: $6

Step 3 — Per-mile costs

405 miles × $0.25/mi (maintenance + tires combined) = $101

Step 4 — Tolls

Sacramento → Los Angeles via I-5: $0 (no toll roads on this route)

Step 5 — Trip time

LoadWise assumes a default driving speed of 55 mph, adds a 4-hour buffer for loading and unloading, and applies a federally-required 10-hour rest break for every 11 hours of driving (per FMCSA Hours of Service rules). Both speed and rest assumptions are adjustable in the slider view after you get your result.

405 miles ÷ 55 mph = 7.4 hours driving Plus 4 hours loading/unloading: 11.4 hours No HOS rest break needed (under 11 hours driving): 11.4 total hours

Step 6 — Fixed cost allocation

Your truck payment, insurance, and other fixed monthly costs don't belong to any single load — they're the overhead of running the business. LoadWise spreads them across your working hours and charges each load its fair share based on how long the trip takes.

$3,000/month ÷ 220 working hours/month = $13.64/hour $13.64/hr × 11.4 hours = $155

(We use 220 hours/month as a reasonable estimate of a working owner-operator's monthly hours — roughly 50 hours/week.)

Step 7 — Net profit

$1,400 rate − $299 fuel − $6 DEF − $101 per-mile costs − $0 tolls − $155 fixed costs = $839

Step 8 — Hourly earnings

$839 ÷ 11.4 hours = $73.60/hour

Step 9 — Verdict

Target: $45/hr. Actual: $73.60/hr.

✅ GREEN — Take it. You're earning 64% above your target.

🟡 Example 2: Negotiate — and here's your number

This is where LoadWise earns its keep. A load that looks borderline isn't just a "maybe" — it's an opportunity to counter with confidence.

The load offer: Sacramento, CA → Los Angeles, CA
Loaded miles: 380 | Deadhead: 25 | Rate: $1,050

(Same lane, same driver profile — just a lower rate offered by the broker.)

Step 1 — Total miles

380 + 25 = 405 total miles

Step 2 — Fuel cost

405 miles ÷ 6.5 MPG = 62.3 gallons × $4.80 = $299 + $6 DEF = $305 total

Step 3 — Per-mile costs

405 miles × $0.25/mi = $101

Step 4 — Tolls

$0

Step 5 — Trip time

Same route: 11.4 total hours

Step 6 — Fixed cost allocation

$3,000 ÷ 220 × 11.4 hours = $155

Step 7 — Net profit

$1,050 − $299 − $6 − $101 − $0 − $155 = $489

Step 8 — Hourly earnings

$489 ÷ 11.4 hours = $43/hour

Step 9 — Verdict

Target: $45/hr. Actual: $43/hr. Close, but short.

🟡 YELLOW — Negotiate.

Step 10 — Counteroffer

What rate would hit exactly $45/hour on this load?

$45/hr × 11.4 hours = $513 needed in net profit $513 + $305 fuel/DEF + $101 per-mile + $155 fixed = $1,074

LoadWise rounds up to the nearest $25 and tells you: counter at $1,075.

You're not guessing. You know your number.

🔴 Example 3: Pass

The load offer: Sacramento, CA → Los Angeles, CA
Loaded miles: 380 | Deadhead: 85 | Rate: $800

(Same lane again — but the broker has you driving 85 empty miles to the pickup. Watch what that does to the numbers.)

Step 1 — Total miles

380 + 85 = 465 total miles

Step 2 — Fuel cost

465 miles ÷ 6.5 MPG = 71.5 gallons × $4.80 = $343 + $7 DEF = $350 total

Step 3 — Per-mile costs

465 miles × $0.25/mi = $116

Step 4 — Tolls

$0

Step 5 — Trip time

465 miles ÷ 55 mph = 8.5 hours driving + 4 hours loading: 12.5 total hours

Step 6 — Fixed cost allocation

$3,000 ÷ 220 × 12.5 hours = $170

Step 7 — Net profit

$800 − $343 − $7 − $116 − $0 − $170 = $164

Step 8 — Hourly earnings

$164 ÷ 12.5 hours = $13/hour

Step 9 — Verdict

Target: $45/hr. Actual: $13/hr. Not close.

🔴 RED — Pass.

The counteroffer to make this load work would be $1,200 — 50% above what's offered. Dead on arrival. Move on.

How we estimate tolls

The fuel, mileage, time, and fixed-cost math above is fully deterministic — give us the same inputs and you'll get the same numbers every time.

Tolls work differently.

Toll amounts vary by road, by state, by which specific bridges or tunnels a route uses, and by vehicle type. A complete toll database for Class 8 commercial vehicles across every possible US route doesn't exist as a clean API we can tap. So we use AI.

Here's what actually happens:

When your load crosses a region known for toll roads — the Northeast corridor, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Illinois Tollway, Florida's Turnpike system, and others — LoadWise asks an AI model to estimate the total tolls for your specific origin-to-destination route. That estimate assumes:

  • A standard 5-axle Class 8 tractor-trailer (the most common configuration for freight)
  • Cash toll rates (no E-ZPass or toll pass discounts)
  • The most direct interstate route (not rerouted to avoid tolls)

The AI is looking at what it knows about which toll roads typically fall on a given route and what Class 8 commercial vehicles pay on those roads. It's an informed estimate, not a lookup from a live database.

We're transparent about this for a reason. The toll estimate is shown with a clear label and an information icon that explains the methodology. If you know your actual toll cost for a route you run regularly, the slider view lets you adjust it — and your verdict updates instantly.

We also have a thumbs-up/thumbs-down feedback button on every toll estimate. If you know the number is off, tell us. That feedback helps us improve.

For routes with no significant toll roads — most of the West, large parts of the South and Midwest — the estimate is simply $0, and that's almost always correct.

We welcome your feedback!

LoadWise doesn't pretend to know things it doesn't know. The math on your load's profitability is exact. The toll estimate is an estimate, and we say so. Your cost profile is yours — the more accurately it reflects your real truck and costs, the more useful your verdicts will be.

If you spot something that doesn't add up, we want to hear from you. Contact us →

— Ben

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