Get paid .92cpm or a percentage?

The last one you posted.....

You care to explain that one alittle better to me? Either I'm misunderstanding it or your off you rocker! Cause if I understand it correctly, you saying that working for cheap rates is a good thing?

 

Yep...ol' Redd didn't have any problem parking next to my wagon and being seen in public with me.

Although I can somewhat understand the trepidation. Aw, heck, I just printed out two months worth of statements. I guess I'll white-out any sensitive information and scan 'em so's y'all can make up your own minds.

Regarding repairs: I would rather get a new truck and have problems fixed under warranty, get to know that truck and its quirks than buy somebody else's undisclosed problems on a 500K mile truck that I will have to almost immediately dump $20K into in order to make it both roadworthy and profitable. Been there, done that.

 

No sir, not a good thing. It is one of my theories though. I believe it's an "Us against Them" attitude as far as the last bullet point posted concerning traditional O/O's disdain for L/O's.

I agree $0.90 is pretty cheap. It's what the market will bear right now. It's also, to put it metaphorically, just keeping one's nose above water. The company serves the slop and the good little workers eat it. I'm reading anecdotal evidence that rate is the same as it was 20 years ago and half what it was 35 years ago.

 

I did circle around the parking lot a few times though. Had to make sure the coast was clear.

 

OK and don't call me sir, thats my dad and he will tell you thats his dad, who is dead...

Anyway, L/P drivers don't seem to understand that they are worse off than company drivers. They lose out on benefits provided by the company once they sign that lease. Then they have the extra expenses of truck maintenance, tires, brakes and anything else that isn't covered under a warranty.

As for .92cpm, I was making .95 back in the mid 90's and thought it was cheap back then, and fuel was only $1.something or less.

 

Actual rate this week is $1.20. That includes the fuel surcharge. Still, admittedly, not stellar, but not the 95cpm including FSC....which I have had the misfortune of hauling fright for. Bradenton, FL. Tropicana paid 92cpm including fuel and lumper the last time I hauled for them. Most expensive OJ on the shelf, but at the bottom of the barrel today.

 

I dont know that its so much all that, as much as some know there is a better option. I look at someone who thinks making 92 cpm is ok I would not get out of bed for twice that! If you want to go the o/o route and not be a co. driver I think thats great more power to you. I think there should be more out there. But there is a much better way than 92 cpm. Drive like your an o/o while a co driver and set all you can away for a good down payment. IMO thats a much better route than the fleace where your still a co driver with a truck payment. If you want to be an o/o buy your OWN truck and your OWN plate and your OWN ins and then sign on to a good company. Please do not take this as insulting if your in the 90 cpm crowd if your doing that and happy its a great big country there is room for all of us. There is a better way though.

 

How did Kevin Rutherford's website get into this conversation?

 

And you "Lease-purchase is the shizznit, y0!!" crowd seem to be just as closed minded as dyed in the wool naysayers.

Maybe there are people you describe amongst L/P naysayers, but has it ever occured to you that decent human beings hate to see others fail?

I don't deny some go a little bit over zealous against L/P (and in the process, dilluting their message), but have you thought maybe they are trying to keep others from stepping into something with very high odds of faiure?

There are cases where people successfully completed L/P deal. Good for them, and since DickJones have already gotten a truck from Swift, I sincrerely hope he'll pull it off. That said, you can't deny there are many more cases of failure. You can't argue with statistics.

I personally think many failures are due to financial mis-management by the L/Os (What kind of people did zero-down subprime loans invite into housing market? What kind of people flock at rent-to-own appliance stores? Not saying every L/Os are financially reckless, but L/P deal tends to attract those types) But that's a discussion for another time.

I think, with some luck, even the sleeziest L/P can be completed if you have very little overhead and work your arse off. My beef with L/P is you build no equity at all until you complete the lease, and you are stuck with the carrier you are leasing the truck from. What would happen if the carrier folds a month away from you completing the lease?(can you say Arrow?) Your name would be nowhere to be seen on the title.

If that's OK with you, by all mean have at it. I won't try to talk anyone out of L/P deal. I do present arguments and possible "what if's", but the information is yours to process and the decision is yours to make.

I decided L/P wasn't for me, so I did it the old fashioned way.

I understand you were using that as an example, but nobody in right mind would do that, even if it's possible.

I don't think too many guys have a problem being seen with a fine-looking lady (so I hear) in public, unless you are wearing Swift shirt.

I'm patiently waiting for his GF to take a pic of smiling Redd sitting behind the wheel of her Swift Prostar.

 

Actually, $0.90 is less than the market will bear. I have a friend who is an owner operator (not lease operator) with a major carrier and he is averaging over $1.70 for all miles. His company doesn't do lease purchase and he runs percentage. His truck and trailer payments are less than you are paying for just your truck.

I have NEVER leased a truck from a carrier. I have looked at many of them. I just never saw how I could come out on any of them. I have OWNED several trucks. I have never had a monthly payment as high as your payment will run. One thing you should be aware of are the extra charges the company will be taking out of your settlements over and above the weekly payment. Most will take out a mandatory maintenance fee that will be put in escrow. Those that I have seen range from $0.05-.15/mile. You will also likely have a mandatory bond that will be taken out of your settlements. Those seem to range from $500-2,000. I have seen a few that are higher. This will be over in a few months. Another cost are your base plates and permits. Some carriers furnish the base plates, others front the money and then charge the cost back to the lease operator after adding their fee. According to most of these programs that I have checked you will likely pay at least $800/week for that truck. You can buy a nice truck for a monthly payment for $800/month or less.

I met a lease operator with CRST Malone a few months ago. He told me that he may clear $300/week after he pays his truck lease, trailer rental and all of his expenses. I expect that he is more typical of most lease operators.

I don't understand why someone would want to pay over $100,000 for a lease truck when you can purchase a good used truck for less than $20,000 and actually OWN it. All you need to do is save your money for a decent down payment. If you have good credit you may get in for as little as 10% down. Some may require up to 30%. You will make more with a $20,000 truck than you will with a $100,000 truck. It makes more sense to buy the cheaper truck, pay it off and then trade up. I met an owner operator once who regularly traded every 2 years and he didn't buy new trucks. I have heard all the arguments about why drivers need that $100,000 truck rather than one that they can afford. Once you get into a truck you will find out how expensive it is to run a truck. Whether your truck is new or used they all require maintenance. I would be interested in hearing back from you in a year or two and see how the fleece went. My guess is that you will have lost your shirt by then and be in worse shape financially than before you got the truck. I would think that if these were such a great deal for the drivers that we would have them coming on this or other forums and telling us how well they are doing. The odd thing is that you NEVER hear anything from them. I think that they are too embarrassed about failing.