Let me see if I can shed some light for some of you. First, Im pretty sure the lease trucks are governed at 65, used to be 68. It he was running faster he may have been an O/O leased ON to them, or he has stayed away from a terminal so as not to get it turned back! Yo can buy your securement from them, then it gets deducted from your settlements. I think it is a fair price. They say you are limited to a 40lb. dog but I just ran with a guy who had a 80lb. black lab with him. And no, he wasnt a L/O or O/O. Dont know if anyone would really say anything or not. We have quite a bit of freight going IN to CA, not nearly as much comes out. Freight is slowing for us too, this past month I was down to 8500 miles,previous months have been 10-11,000. And I know of a guy who had been running very close to 12000/month. If you decide to go with the lease here are some things I have been told by L/O's. You should expect to spend $1200 oer WEEK on all the acts., payments etc. You do need to be careful how you run. if you want to be home every month for more than a few days, you may have trouble. Not getting home, but with $$$. That payment is still due!LOL You will start out as a class 4 driver (unless you have expierience in OD stuff), and they will really push you to take the mileage program. Be careful here, if you read the info carefully you will see that the three longest routes wont pay enough to cover what ATS says to expect as a per mile cost. They really want you to take short runs and stay east of the Miss. Now I have talked to several L/O's who were doing just fine and were on their 2nd,3rd etc. lease. It CAN WORK. But I would strongly suggest that you have a good plan, and the needed support at home. I have not done the lease yet, I just personally dont like them holding all the cards. That is not to say I wont try it in the future. But if/when I do it will be just to get the completion bonus and then my own truck. Hope this helps some of your decision making!

Pathfinder, Thank's for your great advice. And to all who contributed to this thread.

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SKULL, THE INTERNET GOD!

You sound honest, realistic and grounded... not something I can easily say about some of the other drivers posting crappy sob-stories on here and elsewhere on this site and becoming aggressive when you challenge their thoughts on matters. I hope everything turns out well for you and yours this New Year. Good luck!

A lot of Drovers don't stop to think what a dif 10 or so little $200 runs per month can make. A couple of hours spent making 200 and only burning 20 in fuel is 1800 bucks profit on 10 locals. Almost three times my monthly truck payment. Do not get between me and a short local run. You might get run over. Hehehehehe.

Dave

ats wants me to go to min for oreination next week, not sure about the lease program. is it a good deal, company?? I currently work for swift, time for a change.. enough said. any advice?

I think any lease is better than working for Swift. Haha.

understood, said it many times and will say it again.. SWIFT SUCKS..thanks,im going with ats............

I would not do a lease from anyone. Save up a downstroke, enough cash for some breakdowns, and all equipment needed in cash ( chains, straps, tarps, headache rack). This way you don't start out in debt for equipment and paying too much for truck. Used truck prices are way down right now. Just my predjudice against having too much debt. Lots of guys make it just fine in their lease deal. Just be ready to work. If offered a local between line hauls you gotta take it. Lets say, you turn down 10 of these "shorties" in a month. These loads take a half day to do. You don't go far, so not much fuel burned. Two hundred bucks clear after fuel, thats 2000 dollars more on that month. Or, you sit on the yard and wonder why you are broke at the end of the month,,,DUH. I start orientation 16 Feb at ATS. Good company from all I can find out. One of the biggest specialized/heavy haulers in the country. Good luck, God Speed.

Dave

lead foot if u get a chance let me know what kind of trucks they have there when u actually get up there. i know what they have on there web site but i just wanted to know what will be left over for me to choose from when i get up there.

I start orientation 2/16, but am taking my own ride. When do you start? I'll post my observations.

Dave