Questions on Landstar

you're in a decent spot for freight. You might want to consider getting some time in on flatbed or reefer before you make the switch to O/O. It's a lot easier to try a few things on someone elses dime than it is after you own the truck. unless you're 100% sure that van is the way to go for you. Do your homework, study up on truck insurance, IFTA, IRP, UCR, authority vs. leasing, etc... Know your options and save as much money as you can.

 

1 dollar freight throughout most of the country. 4 dollar fuel. 5000 dollar breakdowns. and the gooberment telling you when you can work. then there's cali pusing everyone out of there state.

refuse to beleive all you want. but reality is no joke.

 

theres still money to be made, I talked to a couple landstar drivers before since I was curious for the future, they pay decent money but you have more risk involved with your truck such as cost.
I was told landstar pays a decent amount for hazmat too, a certain amount per load. one driver told me he averaged around $2 a mile but some people saw more depending what your hauling.

 

It should work for you there.

 

Most of the Dry Van NC freight goes North, kinda of hard to get back south... South Carolina had great rates going all over also..

 

LandStar is the last place you should go as a beginners step. This is a company that you work for when you want to be as close to being totally independent as you can get without getting your own authority. You only have 2 years experience as a driver, and you have a lot to learn about the business side of trucking. At LandStar, you are in total control of all aspects of your business. You are the one who finds and books your loads. If you don't set your loads up, or if you didn't plan your load properly, you will lose money. You need to know how much you need for fuel, tolls, lumpers if you want to haul lumper loads, as well as the normal expenses, such as maintenance, truck payments, taxes, tires, inspections, etc. It sounds easy, but there are a lot of areas where you can make a mistake here. There are so many things that can go wrong that you cannot even imagine right now, and you will be alone to handle them, for the most part.
While I would almost never suggest doing a lease purchase from a carrier, in this case it may be a good idea. Just make sure you go with a carrier that has a "walk away" lease. It would be a good idea to get your O/O experience at someone elses expense. There really is a lot to learn. As was previously stated, you should get some flat bed experience, so you have the choice of going that route with LandStar. The flatbed/heavy haul sector of LandStar pays pretty good, but you have to have experience with that type of hauling to get in.
Why don't you try a flatbed company that has lease purchase trucks, such as Boyd Brothers. I don't know much about them, just that they do have lease purchase.
Sorry to be a "kill joy", but I have to let you know the truth. Have a good day.

 

I was nervous about going to Landstar at first. (Just the unknown) But after getting over here it's night and day compared to who I was leased to. If you have any idea how to run a truck you can make it at Landstar. They will help you out with whatever, all you have to do is ask.

I spent the first two weeks running off of the loadboard, and then landed a dedicated run. IMO you just need to market yourself and they (agents) will call you.