Freedom Starts With My Own Truck!!!

I don't plan on buying this truck.. that's not my goal of coming here nor is making boat loads of money.. my goal is to be happy and that's why I came here.

As far as the numbers go I researched this for months before coming.. seen the load board.. other drivers pay etc etc. There's ton of freight and if you want you can run non-stop with all these open window drop and hook loads.
When you research and SEE everything before hand it's not as risky as you think... especially being you are in control and point/click for your loads.
Leasing at Transam for .84cpm and relying on a dispatcher is risky lol here not so much.
I had one day where I drove less than 100 miles and had $660 of revenue.
My next load leaves Rochester, Ny going to Memphis for $1.61 a mile and weighs 5000 pounds.
This really isn't that difficult or risky as long as you have common sense.

 

The argument can be made that he is the 'owner' of his own company that, in turn, is leasing the truck from SNI to accomplish his company's objectives, hence he is an 'owner-operator'. Besides splitting hairs here, though, in reality regardless of how one acquires the truck (lease vs purchase), at the end of the day he is operating the business more or less the same-i.e.: making load decisions, attending to maintenance, staying on top of regulatory, etc.

 

Thank you for answering my questions. It really wasn't a comparison of company deal. Just one thinking one has freedom when u are putting yourself in more debt. But as said if you believe the risk is worth the reward. More power to you, and may u be blessed in your decision making.

 

I don't think it was a "vibe-killing" comment... he does have a point.

You've definitely got enthusiasm which is great. But you do need to consider the implications of signing the lease contract... a few things to keep in mind:

While you are leasing the truck from SFI, you cannot take the truck to another carrier without approval. In order to get approval they generally want to see proof of you having been a successful O/O or L/O. So if you decide in the first month that you don't like running for SNI... tough luck.

SFI's lease is NOT a walk-away lease - should you decide to terminate the lease early, they may come after you for the remainder that you owe. Not saying they absolutely will or absolutely won't... I've heard of both having happened.

You aren't free to modify the truck - since you have the option to turn the truck back in to SFI at the end of the lease, of course SFI wants to make sure they don't receive a chopped-up ratted-out piece of crap truck. In general if it requires cutting, drilling, etc., you need to get approval, and if it leaves a hole when removed, it will probably need to stay with the truck if you turn it back in.

The truck isn't yours if the title isn't in your name. If you do something that SNI views as a reason to terminate your lease (say, dropping a trailer), they can scoop that truck up along with everything you've already paid into it, and kick you to the curb.

With that being said I leased a truck from SFI for a year and was overall happy with it. At the end of the lease term however I bought my own truck for many of the reasons I listed above. You can absolutely be successful as a L/O at SNI, but part of doing so is having a good understanding of EXACTLY what you are getting into!

 

The most successful people in the world tried and failed before they found success. It's the ones who never take the risk that never fail.

I took the risk with a clear plan in place so if I failed I'd already know what's next. Without risk there is no reward.

 

Every business plan should include an exit strategy.

 

like drive off a mountain