Info on Celedon Lease Program?

I calculated it out in a spreadsheet along with various weekly mileages, fuel usage, and other costs.

It was NO where close to being profitable. Looks nice in the flyer, not once you do the math.

 

Must have been using a laptop! Those dang touch pads get ya every time!

 

Theykeep your escrow if you turn the truck back in.

 

They make it sound interesting by saying they only take a percentage from the miles you are paid for. They don't have a set payment amount. On the surface it sounds good if you don't get to turn a bunch of miles.
Before I left the company, I was at the Indy terminal and inquired about the lease deal. They told me they were backordered on new Prostars and if I wanted a new rig I would have to wait. They did have some used International Eagles they absorbed from one of their recent buyouts. They were rough trucks though. The lease for those were shorter and less expensive, obviously, but I looked at a few of them and I wouldn't trust them on a 200 mile run.
On top of all that, it seemed everytime I was at the terminal there was at least 1 lease driver cleaning out his truck and getting out of the program. As was stated above, if you choose not to stick with it, you lose any money paid into the escrow account. Personally I don't see how they can make the "community maintenance fund" work with such a high turnover of lease drivers, but what do I know? I can say there was not one single lease driver I ever spoke with that was happy with the situation they were in. The new lease trucks are black Prostars unless it's a used truck absorbed from another company. Ask the drivers behind the wheels of these rigs their honest input and see what they have to say.
Again, you have to ask yourself a question. If owning and operating these trucks is so profitable, then why is every company out there trying to get their drivers to lease their trucks? If you want your own rig I highly suggest saving your money for a decent down payment, work your tail off for a couple years, find a decent, dependable truck, buy it, and then get ready to work your tail off even harder to make enough money for the payments, maintenance, and all the other expenses associated with these trucks.
Again, just my opinion.

 

Celadon's lease is not perfect but if you learn the mileage of your truck and then just buy enough fuel as cheap as you can for each trip and just a hair extra for the clean idle and you can come out with around $800 to $1200 a week. Also you have to watch your loads and turn down the short 200 and 300 mile loads or nicely ask the dm to back it up with another better load. Leasing is a business decision and as long as you strictly run Celadon's lease as a business then you can make it out the back end ok. Just don't jump in thinking your gonna get rich quick and you silk do ok and have a truck of your own in about four years.

 

Cheap fuel is great for my fuel mileage and injectors!

 

$8-1200/wk?

I make that and more as a company driver out of Little Rock. Heck, I just completed a 3900+ mile week. My previous record was 3666. But then again, I have a DM who knows how to run trucks efficiently and productively (no matter how much "The Borg" in Indy keeps interfering with her dispatching). I have averaged over 3000 miles every week with her. At .35/mi, I do pretty well. Still leaving, Indy's constant tampering with her loads is starting to get under my skin.

I wouldn't lease from Celadork were I you. Probably the worst lease program in the biz. Many many other better ones to choose from if you want to lease, or just go to Iron Mountain and pick out a TRUE lease to put on wherever you want.