New Article From Old School About Buying Or Leasing A Truck

1.75 per mile seems rough, my buddy with his hotshots hits that and upwards of 2.00/mile

I didn't mean "you" as in YOU sorry I meant "you" as in anyone. Sorry.

I can absolutely tell you not to.come to.prime then. I know the drivers aren't getting anywhere near $1.75....they wish. And it seems the load pay has gone down since I started, not up.

I have a friend who went from lease at Prime to owner at FedEx left for landstar, then back to FedEx.

She seems to do really well there...but.. Her brand new truck had an issue. The non warranty part of $10,000 made her warranty part go bad. Guess what? They didnt cover the warranty part either which was another $5000. Who expects that on a one month old truck? She's had the truck about 7 months now and teams with her hubby. Which teaming needs to be considered. All that is double wear and tear. So those thinking "I can train and make double the miles" never consider double the repairs. I'll have to ask her what her repair bills equal at the end of the year.

And as I pointed out.,if I have the potential to make $100,000-$140,000 per year as a company trainer, why on earth would I want the burden and aggravation of lease/OK???

1.75 per mile seems rough, my buddy with his hotshots hits that and upwards of 2.00/mile, and id imagine with considerably less cost on the trucks as well. Another reason hotshots are on the future potential list.

I have a buddy who went to hotshot last year. He's an experienced driver. Bought a brand new pickup with a big diesel, a 40 foot trailer, got his own authority, learned how to get loads from a load board, and found a broker to help him find loads sometimes.

He did great for a year. He did complain sometimes about sleeping in his pickup. (He converted the back seat to a bunk.) He's always run really hard and hustles.

Last I talked to him, he had had a $2500 tow bill (great story, lucky he didn't die, but I'm too tired to retell it). He also had about $4000 in repair bills for his truck and trailer. I haven't heard from him since that conversation, which he usually does when things are going bad.

Here's another clue: Yes, that Dodge Ram pickup will pull quite a bit of weight. No, it isn't designed to run a million miles. It's a pickup, not an actual Class 8 vocational truck designed to do that kind of work. (I think "heavy duty" pickups are Class 3.)

He did get some loads that paid $3 or $4 a mile, but he always complained on the way out of wherever he took it that the rates were low. He had trouble learning to average the rate for the round trip, could only see the big payday on the way out.

He did get some loads that paid $3 or $4 a mile, but he always complained on the way out of wherever he took it that the rates were low. He had trouble learning to average the rate for the round trip, could only see the big payday on the way out.

Great point! Going into Florida pays great but coming out is horrible. Then some people will sit in FL rejecting loads to come out cause they pay low, and sit two days making no money but still have all those payments and maintenance costs.

My one trainer did learn all the freight lanes and pays. She knew to get a load to say MA that could get her a high paying lobster load out. Or take a short low paying load to out her in a good freight area.

But seriously, I know where the good freight is too, and can easily ask "hey you think you can get me to Dallas so we can try a Laredo load?"

Prime to Dallas is 500 miles. Grabbing a Laredo load can easily be 1800-3000 miles with several stops so just by asking, I could make the same as what a lease/ OK makes and get paid CPM without aggravation.

He did get some loads that paid $3 or $4 a mile, but he always complained on the way out of wherever he took it that the rates were low. He had trouble learning to average the rate for the round trip, could only see the big payday on the way out.

Great point! Going into Florida pays great but coming out is horrible. Then some people will sit in FL rejecting loads to come out cause they pay low, and sit two days making no money but still have all those payments and maintenance costs.

My one trainer did learn all the freight lanes and pays. She knew to get a load to say MA that could get her a high paying lobster load out. Or take a short low paying load to out her in a good freight area.

But seriously, I know where the good freight is too, and can easily ask "hey you think you can get me to Dallas so we can try a Laredo load?"

Prime to Dallas is 500 miles. Grabbing a Laredo load can easily be 1800-3000 miles with several stops so just by asking, I could make the same as what a lease/ OK makes and get paid CPM without aggravation.

That's what many lease ops don't understand. Sometimes you have take a crappy load just to get you set up for a well paying load

Hey rainy, forgot to mention it but dont sweat it. It takes more than that to offend me.

He did get some loads that paid $3 or $4 a mile, but he always complained on the way out of wherever he took it that the rates were low. He had trouble learning to average the rate for the round trip, could only see the big payday on the way out.

Great point! Going into Florida pays great but coming out is horrible. Then some people will sit in FL rejecting loads to come out cause they pay low, and sit two days making no money but still have all those payments and maintenance costs.

My one trainer did learn all the freight lanes and pays. She knew to get a load to say MA that could get her a high paying lobster load out. Or take a short low paying load to out her in a good freight area.

But seriously, I know where the good freight is too, and can easily ask "hey you think you can get me to Dallas so we can try a Laredo load?"

Prime to Dallas is 500 miles. Grabbing a Laredo load can easily be 1800-3000 miles with several stops so just by asking, I could make the same as what a lease/ OK makes and get paid CPM without aggravation.

That's what many lease ops don't understand. Sometimes you have take a crappy load just to get you set up for a well paying load

The Shiva,

In don't think some.company drivers understand either. They are like the terminal rats in Brett's article. Complain complain. Then why would a dispatcher even bother to try to get them miles? Lol

Hey rainy, forgot to mention it but dont sweat it. It takes more than that to offend me.

That sounds like a challenge!!! I'm sure this Jersey Girl can come up with something! Lol

Just kidding

I'm an owner operator. I started out on here awhile ago and I make a pretty good living now, but I also had to survive the meat grinder.

In order to be a successful owner operator , you need to ask yourself:

-are you willing to roll your sleeves up and work on the truck yourself? -are you more worried about profit or 'looking cool'? -are you willing to accept all decisions during your 70 and regarding your truck as a business decision and willing to do things you don't want if they are in your business's best interest? -are you being honest with yourself? -are you more worried in having the newest, shiniest truck, or do you want to truly OWN your own business compared to making payments? -are you willing to be proactive to not just stay off of a hook, but stay safe and profitable? -do you have a detailed and tailored business plan that doesn't entail relying on your companies promises and is geared towards maximizing your equipment life? -are you willing to slow down to reduce wear and tear? In most cases, mileage=longevity. -are you willing to research the details on taking care of your truck yourself to keep it out of the shop and safe? -are you willing to research companies and talk to drivers before leasing to a company? Do you understand the difference between a purchase plan and a lease or lease purchase with option to buy? -are you willing to devote your entire 70 every week into driving? That last load you don't take might be the difference between just paying the bills that week or making a profit. -are you willing to assume the ethical, financial and legal risks and responsibilities of truck ownership? -are you financially responsible and mature? -are you proactive or reactive? -do you understand that the industry's ideal O/O business model serves itself more than you and will more than likely leave you broke and at the mercy of repair shops?

Those are just SOME things to consider. I've already seen a number of O/O's fail and go back to being a company driver. I would be lying if I said I didn't almost fail either, but I was determined to succeed. So when my engine quit and my company left me in the dark, I took my rig home and did the engine repairs MYSELF, for 3 weeks in the wonderful summer sun in GA. Next month it will not only be in great shape with a good engine, it will be paid off, and she runs better than ever.

Their solution was a new truck. This was not in line with my business plan for multiple reasons, and would have most likely led me to financial ruin.

Being an owner operator isn't for everybody. It's for very few. I was able to succeed, but that's thanks to mechanical skills, a business background, common sense, financial maturity and an old infantryman's determination. It's no cakewalk, that's for sure, it's a burden that alot of people struggle to carry.

I'm an owner operator. I started out on here awhile ago and I make a pretty good living now, but I also had to survive the meat grinder.

In order to be a successful owner operator , you need to ask yourself:

-are you willing to roll your sleeves up and work on the truck yourself? -are you more worried about profit or 'looking cool'? -are you willing to accept all decisions during your 70 and regarding your truck as a business decision and willing to do things you don't want if they are in your business's best interest? -are you being honest with yourself? -are you more worried in having the newest, shiniest truck, or do you want to truly OWN your own business compared to making payments? -are you willing to be proactive to not just stay off of a hook, but stay safe and profitable? -do you have a detailed and tailored business plan that doesn't entail relying on your companies promises and is geared towards maximizing your equipment life? -are you willing to slow down to reduce wear and tear? In most cases, mileage=longevity. -are you willing to research the details on taking care of your truck yourself to keep it out of the shop and safe? -are you willing to research companies and talk to drivers before leasing to a company? Do you understand the difference between a purchase plan and a lease or lease purchase with option to buy? -are you willing to devote your entire 70 every week into driving? That last load you don't take might be the difference between just paying the bills that week or making a profit. -are you willing to assume the ethical, financial and legal risks and responsibilities of truck ownership? -are you financially responsible and mature? -are you proactive or reactive? -do you understand that the industry's ideal O/O business model serves itself more than you and will more than likely leave you broke and at the mercy of repair shops?

Those are just SOME things to consider. I've already seen a number of O/O's fail and go back to being a company driver. I would be lying if I said I didn't almost fail either, but I was determined to succeed. So when my engine quit and my company left me in the dark, I took my rig home and did the engine repairs MYSELF, for 3 weeks in the wonderful summer sun in GA. Next month it will not only be in great shape with a good engine, it will be paid off, and she runs better than ever.

Their solution was a new truck. This was not in line with my business plan for multiple reasons, and would have most likely led me to financial ruin.

Being an owner operator isn't for everybody. It's for very few. I was able to succeed, but that's thanks to mechanical skills, a business background, common sense, financial maturity and an old infantryman's determination. It's no cakewalk, that's for sure, it's a burden that alot of people struggle to carry.

Compelling...

Perhaps another question to ask before doing this: "Can you survive 3+ weeks of negative cash flow while wrenching your truck back to life?"

Your saga actually supports the theme represented in Old School's article; Not To Lease, better than any example I've read on this forum.

No idea where the motivation comes from, but I'll stick to company driving, continuing to make money while you work on your truck.

Good luck.

So even if you finance your truck independently (much cheaper than a company lease) and then lease out to one of the big companies (they can provide you with all the loads you can handle) you still can't make significantly more than a company driver?