good company to be a L/O?

I run as a L/O at Schneider just like Freightwipper and what he says is true. There is NO WAY I would move my truck for such low rates! My average cpm is $1.59 on all miles, loaded and deadhead put together. Last week I ran 3265 miles. You do the math. I pick my loads off the load board. Drive where I want, when I want. Period. If I'm responsible for the truck, there is no way I would have some company dispatcher controlling my business. If I want to see what loads are paying anywhere in the country, I just look. No secrets. If I want to give up some money to run south when the snow flies up north, that's my choice. I can see ALL the loads available in the area I'm delivering in, not just what some office jockey is offering me. I have done L/O with companies that had dispatchers for O/O and now at Schneider where I plan and dispatch myself. I would NEVER go back to having a dispatcher! I brought my own truck to Schneider, but they will work to put you in a truck for zero down for a year lease if you don't have any cash. They will also put money in your maintenance account as a sign on bonus. It's not a walk away lease, but if you can't make this program work for yourself, you have no business trying to own your own truck and run your own business. My truck, my business, my responsibility, my choice!

 

What he said ^^^^^^ No big secret, you control what you do and don't do. Don't leave it to a desk jockey that works for $9.50 an hour and has never seen the inside of a truck to limit your pay.

 

850-950/week truck payment and (correct me if I'm wrong) 1.03/mile rate + 0.07/mile FSC = running for $1.10 a mile? Holy crap...

 

could be worse, TransAm pays .84 plus FSC to pull a reefer lol

 

That's another thing WHY Schneider is better in some ways than Landstar or well most places because of soooo much DROP and HOOK open window appointments.
I have a friend who was my trainer at Shaffer who's now at Landstar and we compared notes. Rates are somewhat comparable but most all his loads are set appointment live load/unloads.
You can plan easier and haul butt with open windows D/Hs, plus you've got terminals and drop yards everywhere which has value.. a value that goes not noticed a lot.

Sunday night I parked 3 miles from my consignee in Chicago.. how? At Schneider's terminal near downtown.
If it weren't for that I'd be battling terrible traffic monday morning.

You can run as hard as you want to here.

I've been trying different things... right now I'm trying the "being lazy and do short high paying loads in the midwest" and seeing how that turns out.
From Monday to noon tomorrow.. 3.5 days I'll be at 826 all miles but my Revenue will be $2033.81 or $2.46 all miles. I went out of route over 50 miles from to avoid Chicago rush hour when Schneider decided to send me for a random drug test which didn't help..
But even if I say this was a full week and double it that's $4067.62 on 1652 miles.. fuel would be around $600 and my fixed costs are $1100 which would leave me around $2300-$2400 for the week when only averaging what.. 240 miles a day lol.
If I can chill and still make $2000 dang why not? You can only do that on %
No way I'd ever do anything but %
All those $1 + fuel O/O , L/O jobs suck

 

I don't want to run anywhere near Chicago. Thank you, I'll stay on I-5 out west. Less money, maybe but less stress....

 

it's not bad as long as it's not rush hour, I just plan around it.

The load I got from that area was about 108 miles and paid $510 to the truck.
Chicago area has soo much freight it's crazy.