Swift and Experienced Drivers

Actually/technically the lease will be "new" to Scotty on a formerly leased vehicle.

Swift does not....rather IEL does not have "take over the lease"! IEL/Swift will be making a larger profit with this configuration than if they allowed a driver to "take over" an already working lease. And their reasoning is...if you "take over" a lease, you will be responsible for any payments the truck is behind in the previous lease.

It's all smoke and mirrors...just a way to increase the profit!

But he is right...get the things...big and little...taken care of in the first 28 days! And that means calendar days, not week days!

 

Construction and flooring went to hell in a bucket. Average installer has an 8th grade education. They don't know how to run a business. Therefore they work cheap, they aren't very professional either.

I got a job as a field superintendent for a contractor that handle flooring installs for 10 different Lowe's. Worked there until the economy got worse. They laid me off. I went to Lowe's as a flooring specialist. Make decent money+had rotating days to do side work.

I have had 2 hard whacks to the spine in my life. Compression fracture of T7 and T8. Blew out L5S1 and had surgery on that. My back doesn't need me lugging heavy rolls of carpet up and down stairs. Most of the stuff I do is big bucks. It's heavier than the cheap stuff.

My best account closed up. High end furniture store. I used to do $2200-$3200 a week out of there. I was the only installer.

Lots of work came from people buying direct from Dalton. They quit buying.

Then there is the fun of getting decent help.

No benefits.

I still do a repair job or stair runner when I am home. Stair runners pay $325 bucks minimum.

I've done work for some of the Titans, and some country stars. Ray Stevens, Brad Paisley are a couple.

 

goes back to a post Injun made about representing the company, acting professional and therefore being treated totally different than a driver who looks like a bum, bad attitude and smells.

your exact same quote could be read in with 'driver' in place of 'installer'. Swift likes the cheap help. low pay (for some) means they dont have to act as professional. and some of those drivers ARE cheap help because they dont have anything higher than an 8th grade education. and it shows when they prove they dont know how to read a map. Kinda important in this line of work.....

 

Injun I drove from "80-87. Mostly local. I did do line haul doing jet fuel and avgas. I ran hours that would curl your hair.

I put the who's carpet I did just for historical foot marks. Highlights if you will.

I quit doing my business full time in '07.

Here is a recent quote from my mentor. "Swift wants to be 50% L/O? It will never happen. Not unless they make it more profitable for them. The only way to make it is you don't have a home, you live in your truck. And don't have any other bills."

And saying that Dick the mentor is successful is bull cookies. He is mentoring, and doesn't have a home.

You have a home? Mortgage? Rent? If that is your life and makes you happy? Go for it.

Just talking to another L/O 2 days ago complaining how he was left without a pre plan for 3 days over New Years. They all went home for the holiday and left him nothing to haul.

Geeez! I got a message on presidents day that whoever was in the office was going to lunch. And I quote "nobody, and I mean nobody will be here!" What a way to run a railroad.

You make a lot of ASSumptions there Injun.

You really lost control and composure on that last reply. Totally out of character for you.

I was looking forward to meeting you someday. Now I couldn't care less.

Scotty appears to not have enough experience in trucking to get into the lease. Glad you can encourage him to go ahead.

I'll just sit back shut my mouth and eat my popcorn.

Keep denying the facts

 

I think Injun's post was right on the money. And your 'highlights' is nothing but chest-pounding or trying to impress someone with your resume.

THAT BEING SAID, if a lease/op dont have a house payment, it could be because that driver owns his/her house already? So what? Jealous?

So what, a driver use to rent an apartment, gave it up to run OTR and lives in their truck. Whos business is it but ANYBODY but the driver? You mind that they're saving $1000+ a mo on a house payment/insurance/utilities? If a lease/op is making it work, REGARDLESS of their circumstances, SO WHAT? Why do you care so much? If all you do is bash Lease/ops, and have never done it, you dont have the authority to donate your 2 cents....and i'll never subscribe to your opinion on Lease/ops since you've never been one.

If you've jumped into OTR truck driving company or lease, and you didnt do your homework to know that $800/wk is break even for your expenses for the homefront, and you're making $900/wk and cryin' about not being able to live on $100/wk.....then my friend, you didnt do your homework. If you've been running for however many years (and running for 7 yrs back in the stone ages...MIGHT count, but modern day is completly different) and CAME BACK hopin' to pick up where you left off, and find out that you were left behind....maybe another line of work is in the cards for ya.

but i will agree that Scottie does not seem to have the experience to lease yet.

Let me ask Scottie this. Have you logged your fuel economy for every load you've hauled as a company driver for the last few months? kept track of how many ACTUAL miles and paid miles you got? Kept track of how much fuel you've "paid" for, for the company truck? Kept track of items that have put you in the shop as a company driver, and estimated those expenses as a Lease/Op? There is ALOT more to it, than running miles. Running smarter not harder. You could get a 2000 mi run. but you'll end up running closer to 2300 mi. Congrats, you've just worked 300 mi for free....or LOST about $400 in income. I pull loads where the miles are within 10% of paid and actual. 90% of the loads i pull arent heavier than 30k. and i NEVER will pull a 45k+ load in the mountains.

 

I had a license to drive big trucks when it was 20 extra questions and you were a truck driver. That was 1980.

Here is my list of commodities that I hauled.

Drywall, bagged goods, plastering supplies. Flatbed L9000 with an IMT boom.

Concrete mixer front and rear discharge. 6x6's.

Block with a Jiffy lift Eagle II boom.

Dump, sand and gravel.

Flat again transport of sod. '82

GMC Astro, line haul doing jet A and avgas pulling an 8000gal tank. Just dug out my old Port Everglades I.D. to flash in my interview for a fuel hauling job. Just so they know I'm not talking out my 4th point of contact.

Never hauled carpet in anything bigger than my van until I picked up in LA last year for Swift.

This is my first over the road job. Hopefully my last. Local is my goal. I like to garden, build engines, play with my GF's grand kids. Play with my GF. Play with my dogs.

I am going to apply for my TWIC card next time home. I should of got that before I came on the road.

 

more chest beating.

you were local before. and you say you want to get back to it. why did you leave local before?? sounds like it was a pretty cake job to me. Sounds like you're the start of the "me" generation, to me.

 

There is many former drivers out here kiddo. Most had to go to school to get hired. OTR is a temporary thing.

This was the only industry hiring back in '09. Still pretty much is the same thing now. So here I am.

I always enjoyed driving. I went to more money and less BS. Working in SWFL as a driver was low pay and treated like a dog. I picked a hammer up and made more money.

I love how you encourage the inexperienced to do what you are doing.

BTW Rug_Trucker has been my nic since 2000 when I first went on line. And it had nothing to do with big trucks. It was the for the R/T emblem I mounted in the grille of my Dodge Maxivan. People would ask about it and I told them it was a special edition of van. A rug truck!

Lighten up Francis.........