Profile For Nick L.

You're making over 100,000 net as a company driver? What are you hauling? In the math that has worked for me with owner operator it's about a 50/50 with the lease purchase. What you gross you get about half of after taxes and expenses.

If you're out right an owner I think it's more 60/40 from gross because you don't have the write off for the truck payment so you're paying more in taxes but you're getting an extra $2,000+ back in your pocket a month.

But pretty much my friends making 30% more than I am. The way I'm looking at it I'm leaving about $500 a day on the table. That's $3,500 in 7 days, $14, 000 a month, $168,000 a year (obviously that would be if rates stayed the exact same and I never went home). I just can't let that opportunity pass.

I think what you see in me that you mischaracterize is that I'm struggling or not content with my pay but in reality I'm just hyper ambitious and I'm trying to milk as much as I can out of this. I never expect anything less or more than what I have put in. Hopefully within the next 5 years I will own my own truck and I will be starting my semi retirement. Probably work a week or two out of a month and have my rental properties pay me for the rest of the year.

Nick, I'm not judging quickly. You are the one who is dissatisfied. You are complaining about a "predatory" lease that you agreed to.

During these last 4 months I have made 95k gross and net 45k.

I believe you Nick. Those numbers appear realistic to me. My point is that you are not going to make a whole lot more money than what you are. You keep thinking you're leaving money on the table. I'm not so sure you are correct in that. Where will it come from? This is a commodities business with an average profit margin of about 5%. You are getting just about as much as you can. My net is very similar to yours as a company driver. Only mine will stay good no matter if fuel is going up or rates are crashing.

I can never seem to make the math work in favor of truck ownership or leasing. Trust me, I've tried hard to make it come out. It never does for me.

First things first, it's funny you say I've struggled at trucking,

Here's my story about how I became a trucker and where I am today.. three and a half years ago I was working 40 hours a week as an assistant kitchen manager at outback while simultaneously putting in 40 hours a week at my trucking school, that went on for 8 weeks.

I graduated the trucking school and joined Western Express, one of the lowest paying mega carriers out there. For 3 months I made $0.35 a mile with $25 tarp pay.

After 3 months of doing that I asked the company if there was any way I can get more money, they said become a trainer, so I did just that. Still making my $0.35 per mile but running teams with trainees for another 8 months. I got burnt out working 20 hour days between driving my shift and staying up the majority of my trainees shift.

So after I have about a year experience I find this job work as a company driver get the high miler award my first year qualify for every quarterly bonus and got number one rank in my company for two quarters in a row. Made around 80k gross as a company driver.

4 months ago I signed on a lease to the same company, I knew the terms and conditions but I'm a Hands-On kind of guy so when I start doing something I can obviously understand it more in-depth.

During these last 4 months I have made 95k gross and net 45k. I have redacted settlements but I do not know how to send them to you.

Until a few weeks ago I didn't have all the numbers I needed to compare i.e other companies settlements, but now I do and I addressed this to my company hopefully they will consider increasing our pay, I know there's more money to be made.

Have a good day old school and don't judge so quickly!

I'm still making double what I was as a company driver.

That right there is the craziest statement I've seen in a long while. Could you give us some actual numbers? Honestly, that statement tells us you don't even understand your own numbers.

Nick, you've struggled with truck driving from the beginning. All the ideas you express have no bearing on success at this. Where do you get the idea that the only way to do well at trucking is to be the owner? That's a huge fallacy and it's crushing your chance at making a go of this.

The little time we've had with you is strictly limited to how frustrated you are with your pay. I think you have miscalculated this job. This is a great career with some decent pay, but it's not ever going to make you rich. Stick with real estate. Hopefully you understand it better, or atleast have a better chance at being lucky with it.

I'm still making double what I was as a company driver.

That right there is the craziest statement I've seen in a long while. Could you give us some actual numbers? Honestly, that statement tells us you don't even understand your own numbers.

Nick, you've struggled with truck driving from the beginning. All the ideas you express have no bearing on success at this. Where do you get the idea that the only way to do well at trucking is to be the owner? That's a huge fallacy and it's crushing your chance at making a go of this.

The little time we've had with you is strictly limited to how frustrated you are with your pay. I think you have miscalculated this job. This is a great career with some decent pay, but it's not ever going to make you rich. Stick with real estate. Hopefully you understand it better, or atleast have a better chance at being lucky with it.

That's funny I drove 134,000 miles last year's a company driver and grossed 85k. 4 months into this lease I've grossed 95k. Last quarter I netted $40,000. I definitely know what I'm doing and I run my ass off I work 70 plus hours a week 7 days a week running recaps. I've been hyper successful in this industry I just know that I'm leaving money on the table I have examples from friends at other companies that are leasing for instance I net around 3K after all expenses a week but my friend nets around 5k

I'm still making double what I was as a company driver.

That right there is the craziest statement I've seen in a long while. Could you give us some actual numbers? Honestly, that statement tells us you don't even understand your own numbers.

Nick, you've struggled with truck driving from the beginning. All the ideas you express have no bearing on success at this. Where do you get the idea that the only way to do well at trucking is to be the owner? That's a huge fallacy and it's crushing your chance at making a go of this.

The little time we've had with you is strictly limited to how frustrated you are with your pay. I think you have miscalculated this job. This is a great career with some decent pay, but it's not ever going to make you rich. Stick with real estate. Hopefully you understand it better, or atleast have a better chance at being lucky with it.

I am 100% agree that is the end game to own my own and make as close to 100% of what the load is worth as I can. You have to start somewhere I'm leveraged heavily in the real estate market and I do not have the finances to buy a truck at this moment. If I went to financing route I would have to pay an upwards of 12% APR. And I'm still learning about load boards and brokers.

Why lease anywhere? Rent their truck to haul someone else's freight? What does this gain?

I get $1.35 loaded with 100% fuel surcharge, Plus $1.15 for empty miles. They pay accessorials for instance lumber tarp would be $100. Now I'm getting screwed is the fact that average flatbed rate per mile is $3.14. all that being said it pretty much breaks down to I'm making 50% on every load while taking on 100% overhead and liability.

The reason I'm leasing is because even though I'm getting screwed on this deal I'm still making double what I was as a company driver.

Thank you for the response look forward to hearing back from you.

I've been looking at companies with 75% of the line haul and 100% surcharge.

Also considering pursuing the FMCSA to report a predatory lease if they do not have their pay. Every other lease driver current and former agrees 100% with me just no one was ballsy enough to step up and tell them that they are full of s*** and need to give us more money.

I've also seen their analytic load board but not the rate confirmation. Also some of their customers have told me what they paid for said miles for instance I just ran a thousand Mile load and he said he paid $4,000 and some change, while I only made $1,350 so honestly it pretty much breaks down to less than 50% of the line.

Pretty much in a nutshell, I think I am involved in a company who has a predatory lease agreement due to lack of compensation.

I like to live in the solution so I address this to the general manager and to the head of finance at my company. Waiting to hear something back by next week.

Although I have taken the steps and given them proof that they are severely underpaying their lease drivers I am not optimistic that anything will change without legal intervention.

I also would like to ask if anyone knows of any non-predatory lease agreements with a caveat I have a felony that is 7 years old non-violent drug related. I've considered CRST and Nova lines but Nova lines does not pay fuel surcharge.

I hope this post finds you all well. Be safe out there and good luck truckin'!

Is there a particular reason you specifically want to be tied to a lease versus driving for a company non-lease?

Leases are generally setup to pass off many of the expenses of running a truck to the driver. When you say that it is a situation of underpaying, are you being paid CPM and not getting the miles or a % of the load and have evidence that the company is being deceitful about the freight rates? This is an important distinction because not getting enough miles is tough to say whether it is the company, the driver, the market, or some combination of these.

There is a part of me that sees every lease program in trucking as predatory, so I personally don't think you will find the situation you truly desire. This is from my own personal perspective.

Pretty much in a nutshell, I think I am involved in a company who has a predatory lease agreement due to lack of compensation.

I like to live in the solution so I address this to the general manager and to the head of finance at my company. Waiting to hear something back by next week.

Although I have taken the steps and given them proof that they are severely underpaying their lease drivers I am not optimistic that anything will change without legal intervention.

I also would like to ask if anyone knows of any non-predatory lease agreements with a caveat I have a felony that is 7 years old non-violent drug related. I've considered CRST and Nova lines but Nova lines does not pay fuel surcharge.

I hope this post finds you all well. Be safe out there and good luck truckin'!

Hey thank you old school, for the quick and detailed response.

I really do wish that it had something to do with my productivity level or something I could do to increase my pay, trust me I have tried.

At my company I have received top HOS efficiency, two quarters in a row. I run recaps mostly 8.75 hrs average a day out of an 8 day 70 (when I get a good week). When I don't run recaps I do as close to my 11 hrs of driving a day. I generally try to start my day at 3 am and finish by 2/3 pm if I'm just driving (not getting loaded / unloaded).

I've never turned down a load, NYC or anywhere NE (I personally don't mind the NE). Some of the guys at my company are older and turn down NE and lumber loads (because the tarps are heavy), which I understand.

I used to go home every 2 weeks but started staying out for a little over a month now and I have not seen much difference in pay.

I really do like this company and would like to stay, the issue I think is they give the senior drivers the few good loads they do have.

Long story short if the miles were available I would be ready and willing to run them, it just hasn't been the case. I average around 2400 - 2700 miles weekly (putting my pay around $1100 - $1300 Gross). I just ran 3,400 ($1,650 gross) this last week but this is a rarity.

I'm just hungry for work, don't want to sit around at truck stops away from my family with not much to show for it.

I don't know if this is the place to post this but I'm going to give it a shot. I have been flatbedding and driving with my CDL for 2 years now and I am currently looking for a well-paying flatbed job, I have a clean driving record and I have only had two jobs in this industry. Maybe I expected a lot more coming into this industry but I am currently making 55 to 60,000 a year and was hoping to make an upwards of $75,000 Plus.. I have a stay-at-home wife with two children and it's hard to put food in their mouths while saving enough money to buy us a house off of this little.

I would love to find a job with minimum pay because that normally seems to be the issue with miles which I am only at 48 cents a mile which I heard in flat bedding you should never take less than 0.50 CPM.

I would need a job that has insurance and the option to get home about every two weeks I live in North Carolina and also have a drug-related felony that is 5 years old.

If anyone has any leads or information about good companies out there please let me know I do appreciate it in advance!

Keep on Truckin'!