Profile For Cotter Pin

As far as getting the truck, Lone Mountain isn't a bad place. Hell, you could get one through Penske or IdealLease if you wanted.

As far as who to lease to, Landstar isn't bad and I know guys who haul for Hall Brothers out of indianapolis, they make good money.

Great thanks, I will look into them.

Well a load board sounds like a good option. Without knowing anything about them though, I have a couple of immediate, knee-jerk questions/reservations about them:

Do they prioritize certain drivers over others as far as choice? Or is it just first come, first served?

Do they put ALL the loads the company has available up on the board, or do they reserve some of them for the company folk? If so, how would they determine which loads go to which group?

Are you limited to only those loads or can you go outside the company too? Like I delivered to a Menard's DC today and there was a sign that said "Drivers, we have outgoing loads available in almost all directions, please ask for details."

The driver I spoke to said that he doesn't have to compete with company drivers for loads, and that it will say available, which just involves clicking on it and its yours. This was a Schneider guy. Not sure about grabbing loads from available shippers that aren't on the load board. I have heard of smaller companies that allow this, because you have the option to negotiate your own rates, fuel surcharge, toll pay, etc. directly with the shipper, but the information I found about that came from a thread that was three years old.

Are you totally committed to leasing in general? In other words, are you open to the idea of going company at all? And if so, are you able to get out of your current lease fairly easily?

I only ask this because it seems you are making the same, if not less, than company drivers, and you have all this added hassle.

I don't have any experience with leasing, but honestly, I have serious doubts that you'd be able to find a better situation than the one you're in now. Any company you lease from basically holds all the cards as far as lease terms, freight availability, etc. I don't see how or why any company in that situation wouldn't do everything in their power to maximize their own profit and minimize their own risk at your expense.

I was thinking the other day: I bet companies push leasing so hard because they have such a tough time getting trainers, so by putting you in a position where you are totally dependent on something they have virtually compete control over (namely: your income), they can leverage you into training after a while to help meet their own demand. It sounds like that's what's happening to you. They've made it steadily harder and harder for you to make money as your experience level has gone up, and I bet they're hoping that at some point these factors will reach a critical mass and you will be forced to take on a student.

Makes total sense. I'm not against going company, to be honest, I miss pulling up to a fuel pump and not worrying about decreasing my income and calculating just enough fuel to get me to where I'm going. I have spoke to some drivers that are company and steadily bring home $1,500 after taxes weekly, but who knows if they are truthful or what. I have found that either landstar or Schneider at least let you pick your loads from a load board, plan your route, and your own home time. At Prime, the dispatchers are some of the dumbest people I have ever dealt with, and have no experience whatsoever in planning your routes, so I am at their mercy so to speak. It is like me trying to tell a cardiologists how to perform a heart transplant.

Cotter, you hit the nail on the head with one statement. The company is out to make money both in freight and off the L/O.

Hence the reason I said to give yourself a fighting chance is to go with a lease that doesn't tie you to the company you're leasing from.

Great, any suggestions? I have found several lease dealers, but a lot of companies won't let you lease on without going through their preferred leasing company. I have seen several ads from independent brokers in my area that only take 5% of the load pay, and are looking for drivers to work with, but I would need to make sure they can keep me rolling.

Seriously guys, I didn't post this for heated debates, just factual responses from anyone in other lease programs. If it starts going that way I will just unsubscribe from the thread, and let it takes its course. I appreciate your comments, but really I'd like to stay on topic. Thanks

I know there are a lot of negative opinions regarding leasing a truck, which is not hard for me to understand. It's just that Prime has become another overly corporatized company that tries to make as much money on the logistics side, as well as make as much off of their drivers. There really is no long term success with their lease program unless you are willing to train, and now they are changing the requirements in the training division, which means less training that is going to backfire. And to be honest, the majority of students recruited lately seem to have been scraped from the bottom of the barrel. I know the ins and outs of leasing a truck, but I was wondering if there were others out there that have leased, are leasing, etc. with other companies. There are tons of companies out there, and many I have researched, but you don't want to fill out applications and have recruiters calling all day and night just to find out about their programs.

Out of curiosity, why did you decide on lease?

I couldn't do it myself. I'll be making $700/week just in training. Maybe 550-600ish after taxes. That's pretty good as far as I'm concerned.

The only reason I got into this again was for job security and to make some good money. I could make $500-600 being home every night, showering daily, and sleeping in my own bed. I may try changing dispatchers, which is probably where my problem is to be honest. I have cleared anywhere from $346-$2400 net. Average has been $1400 net, but lately I have only been getting crap runs for the last few weeks. I went lease to make more money really, but missing birthdays, anniversary, holidays, etc. just as a company driver doesn't cut it for $500-600 a week. After training, give it a few months especially if you have a family, and you will understand. The job is not hard, stressful at times, but not always, and definitely not a bad way to earn a living. It can be a great career, but I wouldn't want to work for somebody else the rest of my life. As a company driver they can basically spit in your face and you can't buck back. As a lease operator, I can tell them where to go and how fast to get there. I'm not tied down to Prime, as I can lease my truck wherever I want, but there are much better terms out there then what I am paying with this lease. So this is what I am trying to find out if anyone else out there has any positive experiences leasing with any other companies or truck lease programs. You are going through Prime right?

Hello folks,

I am currently a lease operator for Prime, and am looking into better companies that offer a real lease purchase opportunity. The loads are up and down, and since starting the lease, Prime has dropped the fuel surcharge every week down to 0.15 cpm currently, Not to mention never getting reimbursed for tolls, washouts, etc. I currently get home about 3 days after a month out, and would like to hear from someone with experience with other companies. If I could get home more that would be great, but making $$ is the real deal here. I have been clearing about $900 net, and still have to pay quarterly taxes on that. I could go home, work 2 jobs, and bring in that much or better. Prime's lease payments are excessively high compared to many companies that I have looked into, $933 for the truck weekly, and $70 for the apu, not to mention several other deductions. Also, I used to know a guy years ago that owned his own truck and trailer, dealt with independent brokers, picked a load to run every other day that would pay $2500, dead head home, and be home every night, and off on the weekends. If I were to lease independently from the many lease dealers not associated with any company, and work with an independent freight broker, could that be an option? I know there are many people on here that may be more knowledgeable in this area then me, therefore I seek your help. I am operating under my own LLC currently. Thanks!

Do you really not know that this is the wrong site to be asking such a question???

Schneider Choice IC drivers seem happy.

Yeah I knew it would be risky posting this here. Just trying to go further than the BS the recruiters always promise. I spoke with a Schneider IC the other day in Maine, and he had a lot of positives to say about them.

Hello folks,

I am currently a lease operator for Prime, and am looking into better companies that offer a real lease purchase opportunity. The loads are up and down, and since starting the lease, Prime has dropped the fuel surcharge every week down to 0.15 cpm currently, Not to mention never getting reimbursed for tolls, washouts, etc. I currently get home about 3 days after a month out, and would like to hear from someone with experience with other companies. If I could get home more that would be great, but making $$ is the real deal here. I have been clearing about $900 net, and still have to pay quarterly taxes on that. I could go home, work 2 jobs, and bring in that much or better. Prime's lease payments are excessively high compared to many companies that I have looked into, $933 for the truck weekly, and $70 for the apu, not to mention several other deductions. Also, I used to know a guy years ago that owned his own truck and trailer, dealt with independent brokers, picked a load to run every other day that would pay $2500, dead head home, and be home every night, and off on the weekends. If I were to lease independently from the many lease dealers not associated with any company, and work with an independent freight broker, could that be an option? I know there are many people on here that may be more knowledgeable in this area then me, therefore I seek your help. I am operating under my own LLC currently. Thanks!

The recruiter at Swift wants me to take a few online courses to prepare for the permit test. She also told me to get the permit before making the trip to Swift's training school...Maybe I will go ahead and get a student permit before I travel to whatever school I end up attanding...

At Swift, having your state's permit (+ medical card) saves you time and, I think, $100 up front. You can skip a CDL class & go right into the academy.

The online "courses" are just to fill out some forms, not something you need to learn. 10 minutes, you're in, you're out. I had my MS permit. There may be courses if you need to take the CDL class.

BTW, Swift works with your local state CDL if you already have the permit - they don't "force" you to get a license in the state you take your class in.

I've read somewhere that there is some kind of reciprocity among states, but that we are to get a license wherever our state requires us to.

I highly recommend getting the learner's permit (written test), out of the way with whatever school you go to, especially Prime. I wouldn't waste money on a DOT physical if going to Prime, because they will do their own anyway, unless there is something you aren't sure about, which may be worth the $70 just for peace of mind at least

You gave a ton of great advice Alan! I'll take it! Thank you! Maybe I'll see you at Prime's Headquarters in a week!

You bet!