wanting to become an IC with Schneider

An older rig and CA definitely won't mix, in fact at the end of this year a complete ban will be in effect in CA for pre-2007 engines (most pre-2008 trucks) unless they are retrofitted with CA-approved DPF systems, very expensive and even more troublesome.

And the early DPF engines are nightmares. That only leaves very new trucks as a viable option for CA.

And if you do buy a new rig so you can run in CA, you might have to keep buying new ones to keep up. Those that bought a brand new truck 5-6 years ago now have to buy a new one again to run in CA.

Personally, I consider CA to now be off limits as an O/O. Enslaving myself indefinitely to a huge truck payment every week just isn't my cup of tea. It would severely harsh my mellow.

 

I talked to a new either O/O or someone on the choice program he had just bought a new freightliner through SNI for 143,000. I believe thats extremely over priced for a freightliner especially one bought through SNI considering they buy freightliners a few thousand of them at a time. One good side of it he told me about was that he could pick his own loads and never took a load over 15k so that he could save money on fuel. I would have to do more research on this topic to see if would be a good idea to sign on with them but by first look it seems to be a good idea for a new O/O to get into the business because SNI has lots of freight to go around the only down side is that they own over 13,000 trucks not counting the O/O guys so when things do slow down you might be cut off quickly.

 

Of course that's true. The reason SNI has O/O's is so that if/when freight dries up they won't have to tell anyone to go, we'll go on our own, and they owe us nothing. The good news/bad news is that if freight dries up for SNI, it's probably dried up everywhere.

As far as the new Freightliners, the O/O's I've talked to said that they do like them, they do get good mileage, and they do wish they weren't tied to such a big truck payment for 5 years.

And I'm not sure why they would never take a load over 15K, I take the weight into account of course, but if the difference in pay is greater than the difference in fuel cost, you'd come out ahead with the better paying heavier load. It seems silly to have all those loads to choose from and rule out most of them for no good reason.

 

For 200,000 you can go to Dallas Peterbilt, get 2 379s with 550s, all the bells, 18 over and hire a team, pay them off in 4 years, sell them for 40K apiece and buy 4 trucks. My bro worked for Schneider for 1 year and says, "Stay the hell away from their "Lease Option", most guys don't make money.

 

Those guys would do far better getting a truck elsewhere. I got a 2013 FL Columbia glider. I spec'd it out right down to the brand of wheel seals in the hubs. I know it is a Columbia, but the way I did this would rival just about any other truck out there. Custom Signature interior with premium noise abatement package and arctic insulation package, more cabinets than my kitchen at home and a built in fridge, more gauges than the space shuttle, 500 hp 12.7 Series 60 pre-egr, 18 speed, full lockers in rear axles, Alcoa durabrites all the way around, painted set back fuel tanks, factory installed Webasto bunk heater, ported/polished/coated exhaust manifold, BW non waste gate turbo with a blanket, and Walker Megaflows on the stacks up the back. All for $112K driven off the lot. It gets 7 mpg in winter and high 7's / low 8's in summer months, and, if needed, is light enough so that I could put 48K of freight in the box if I needed to and still not be over 80K gross (not that I would want to, just that I can if I needed to). Will suck the doors off of anything Schneider is selling, unless their stuff will hit triple digit speed and still not be over 1600 on the tach.

As a side note though, I have been taking a look recently at the Schneider percentage deal they have. Haven't found enough yet to cause me to make a move, but am still looking into it as an option for the future. Doesn't seem to bad overall, and for some folks, might just be the cat's meow depending on where they live and how they like to run. If they really manage their load selection well, they could do pretty decent. I would not fault anyone for taking a look at the Schneider percentage deal, but to get a truck from Schneider, there are so many better options available.

 

You should run like hell from Schneider. I was leased to them back in the late 90's and made real good money--all drop and hook and ran my tail off. Last year I heard about their Choice Program, pick your own freight, run like you want ect. So, with my truck being paid for and debt free I was going to run a week and go home for a week, been out here since 88 and figured I paid my dues. I guess eversince old Don Schneider got retired and that crook Chris Lofgren took over they have how to rip o/o's off down to a science. I was with then two months, and my biggest check was 600.00. I was always in the negative. But how can this be? I had my own plates and insurance and my truck was paid for. Well, it turns out what they do is, they do not attatch the fuel to the loads, something I was lied to about and did not get the real story until I figured it out on my own by reading my settlement statement. So, I started buying my own fuel on my credit card and paying it at the end of the month.
I started in January 2012 and had to run every single week until I quit in March. Negative settlements! When you call, you sit on hold for hours, never can get a straight answer as to why for anything, and those people are very rude. Some of the few things they don't tell you until you get to orientation is that you can't take the trailer home, which was not a problem for me because my stay at Schneider I never could go home because I kept having negative settlements, also I only live 50 miles from a terminal so dropping a trailer before I went home would not have been a problem, but for those drivers that don't they charge 50.00 a day if you take the railer to the house, otherwise figure on deadheading to a terminal or a customer. The other thing; if you book a couple of loads for the week and you break down or something happens you may be running late and can't make the schedualed pick up or delivery, they will take you off the loads and charge you 500.00 for each one.
I will relate an experince that was the straw that broke the camels back that forced me to quit and go talk to a lawyer about all the money Schneider owed me. I picked up a load out of Corsicana, TX from home depot going to San Antonio. The schedualed delivery time was 1800 the next evening. I picked up at 0100 and headed to San Antonio. When I got there I parked in the lot across from the customer and took my 10 hour break, I took my time getting there so as I was instructed that I could not deliver until the appointment time of 1800. I get there at 0745. So by the time my break is up it will be delivery time. Now I am parked with the back of the trailer pointed right at the customers dock across the lot. I get a phone call and a flurry of qualcom messages at around 0900. I was asked on the phone "Were the hell are you?" I tell them across the street from the reciever, and this woman went totally ballistic. She tells me that I was not supposed to check in early, how they are going to lose a customer, blah, blah, blah. Once she finally shut up for a minute, I tell her not to get all exicited until I had a chance to explain that I was not on the customers property and had not checked in. She then goes on to say that I didn't have the hours to deliver the load. I asked her what she was talking about, and she says that "your 10 hour break ends at 1745 and you can't move that truck". I tell her, that I am only 200 feet from the dock and the appointment is at 1800 so what's the problem? She says, "well you have to show a 30 minute pretrip and you will be late by 15 minutes". I asked her if she were serious and that I usually only showed a 15 minute pretrip, she goes on to yell at me saying that she is taking me off the load and sending someone to pick up the trailer and I would be charged 500.00 plus another 1500.00 for the other three loads I had booked after the one I was on. I told her no she wasn't and that I would be legal at 1745 and the load would be delivered on time. She told me I was not to move my truck and "don't force our hand in this". I tell her it's my #### truck and that I would be legal to move and do whatever at 1800. She goes onto say, "I am sending a driver for that load". I tell her I want to speak to her supervisor and she hangs up on me. I call back and finally after being on hold for 45 minutes get the terminal manager. After explaining the situation, he turns out to be just a big of idiot as the woman I spoke with earlier. He tells me they are still sending another truck and that it's in route and I would be charged 2000.00; 500.00 for the load that I was now on and at the customer and the other three I had already booked for that week and not picked up yet. I told him I would not get off the load as I was already at the customer 200 feet from the dock, and my 10 hr break would be up at 1745, 15 minutes before my appointment time. Well, he insists that I have show a 30 minute pretrip and I cant move my truck. Well, he hangs up on me. I sleep until 1730 intending to wake up and do my "pretrip" and check in at 1800 with the customer. I get a knock on my door and see that there are two sheriff's deputies standing by my door. They tell me they got a call from Schneider saying I stole the trailer and if I did not unhook and pull out from under it I would be arrested for theft. So I had the choice of going to jail or giving them the load. No sooner had I unhooked and pulled forward so the driver they sent to back the load into the dock my phone rings. It's the terminal manager chewing me out for moving my truck when I was told not to. I ask him, "how do you expect me to move out the way for your other driver to get under the load?" This guy was an idiot, he tells me "you don't have to move it to unhook" I could not believe what I was hearing. He goes on about how if something happened when I backed up and didn't do a 30 minute pretrip. Blah, Blah. Well, they end up charging me over two grand including trying to charge me for the other driver's fuel. I told them to shove it and went home. I am currently in litagation with a lawyer over the money Schnieder rightfully owes me, over 17 grand that is minus fuel for a month and a half of running.
My advice is to run as fast as you can from this crazy comapny and don't look back. They are thieves and liars.

 

This sounds very fishy to me, but it's your account.

KIK: NIGHT_RYDA
Twitter: BossOutlaw88

 

I'm on Schneidrer cnoice program, and i never experienced anything like it. I bring home anywhere from $1300 to $2000 a week, after fuel and insurance. And my truck is paid for.

 

Where is Paul Harvey with "the rest of the story"?

 

I hate to tell you this Paul is gone to the great pumpkin in the sky.