The Good, The Bad, The Honest Truth of a New Roehl Lease Operator

Actually, I was pretty lucky in all the trucks I had leased through ROEHL. I was able to get into trucks that still had warrenty, ran them out, swapped up and kept running. All except for the last one. Now that one was really starting to cost me in the first quarter of this year. ROEHL had no trucks for me to trade up into and I really wasn't interested in a new freightliner.
I had been looking at a new KW600 through Schneider, but was still increaseingly uncomfortable with being locked into a company based lease.
While on home time, I got a call from a friend who stated that I need to get to my local Volvo dealer and talk with them. Result? I walked out three hours later with a 2011 Volvo in my future.
Then it was a whirlwind of getting the old truck cleaned out, heading to ROET to turn it in, catching a plane back to Dallas, picking up the new truck, running it to ROET and getting it operational.
Bottom line, for just about $180.00 a week ,more than I was paying on my lease truck, I was in a truck that can and does out-pull anything that ROEHL has in it's fleet with a comfort level that I never thought I would experience. And it's got WARRANTY!!!!

It's heavy though and I have to watch my fuel level closely going into some shippers but I can easily scale 44.5 to 45 most times. Right now, I'm averaging 6.3 to 6.8 mpg and on a recent run back over Monarch in Colorado, I pulled the pass (6-7% grade, for 8 miles) from Gunnison in 7th(L) with a gross of 79,890 at a constant 35 mph with an RPM of 1550. In fact, there were times I could have shifted up but was just enjoying the ride..

Sorry.... A little bit of.. cough... owner pride... sorry........

Issues? Sure... The DEF is a pain and Cummins had some software issues that caused some Regen sensors to fail but those have been resolved and I only lost a day at the Volvo dealer in Atlanta getting the NOX Sensor replaced and the engine software upgraded. Other than that, this truck just want to run. It's geared for a power sweet spot between 68-81 mph but gets it's best fuel at 64-70 mph in 8(H) or 13.

Any load below 38,000 on the trailor and it's like pulling an empty. Over that, I load up the drives to as close to 34K as possible and it's a little slow out of the hole but it get's up to speed right sharply. In fact, I am almost forced to skip shift because of the "power-pop" in this monster engine....

 

Congrats but I can't finance a snickers bar right now, and I'm looking to lower my truck payment and get my dream truck a 379 pre egr. That's the only truck my family will run and I grew up in petes so that's where I'm comfortable.

 

Unka D congrats on the Volvo, they are nice trucks, my last truck had a cummins in it, and I liked it alot, put 450k on it and the only thing that I ever had to do was a water pump and one head gasket. The sad part was that is was in a frieghtshaker... The volvo is a completely different animal, they are comfortable to drive, and lots of room inside. Now that we are in the bottom of our current economic cycle this is the time to buy or lease, you should be able to pay off whatever you do, before things start to swing the other way again.

 

Actually, the current economic climate was the driving force in my making this particular decision. I have a great deal of faith in the economic strength of the American economy regardless of what the loons in Washington are doing. As the story goes.. "This too shall pass.."
It's a gamble, but sometimes you have that gut feeling when things are right and I have learned to trust that feeling over the years.....
Let the games begin!!!!! Wheeeeee!!!!!!!

 

Dang fellas the last 4 pages or so have me giddy. Lol good read this morning in the middle of my 10hr break. I had a Volvo for my evo3 back in the beginning. I loved the comfort driving. As for pulling I never had any issues that weren't because of roehl's turn down policy. Lol heck even tho it broke down on my first run I still would take it back.
pa you should buy a truck and get out there running with your boy. Team up pay it off put some jingle in his pockets and all.
Help me understand if you will how leasing here at Roehl is better other then the "walk away" option? I mean I see numbers that to me look like they aren't high by any means. I'm fairly bright, well maybe average. Lol but how does Roehl really match up as far as leasing goes? Long answers are what I enjoy. Lol

 

Well in my humble opinion it is all about risk management, if you lease a truck from roehl and the motor blows a month later, they will help you out. I in most cases that is the main reason ppl like leasing here, second is personal finance most people now a days can't just go finance a truck and do whatever they wish, or pay cash for one. In this case you can get into a decent truck with an okay company for $700-2000 down depending on the truck. The numbers, I don't care what anyone says trying to be humble we make almost double what a company driver does, or at least I do every body is different as every one else does not run their bidness like I do. Like I had a week with 2300 miles averaged 8 mpg that week and net I made 1200 and some change. That is with a $453 a week truck payment and a $200 promissory note. I know I left a lot of holes but I'm not long winded lol hope this clears up some of your questions. Also it gives you room to learn how to make your business more profitable and expand without much risk at all. It is great for some people but I'm looking to get a little bigger than roehl wants me to and that is the only reason i will leave. To dispatch myself, get paid a percentage, and get home more and have the truck I want.

 

Thanks that does help. Your last statement is what I would want eventually as well. This lease idea has come to me on several occasions and I just want to be informed on options.

 

LOL!!!! When I saw this thread, I knew there would probably be some good stuff in it but drivers being drivers, the stories would fly.. But, there comes a time to lay it out and let the chips fall where they may... Back on thread Rebel....

1. Anyone considering any sort of an equipment lease program with a carrier, is by definition, totally insane. Having said that up front, there is also a perceived amount of freedom and self determination when you take that step.

2. Depending on your personal financial picture, lease can be a good thing when used as a tool to improve your individual tax structure and your goals. Before entering into a lease, research, research and research EVERYTHING you can about the company and equipment. Talk to your accountant, lawyer, priest, and most importantly, your spouse (if you have one).

3. Remember, first and foremost, it's your business. Treat it as such. You may get some great settlement checks but that doesn't mean it's spendable without consequences. Always, always plan for the short weeks. I consistently budget for no more than 2200 miles a week and anything extra gets put back for a buffer against weeks when I run less.

4. The old addage of "You have to spend money to make money." is true. As much as possible, never skimp on repairs. If you don't fix a minor problem now, you will surely pay much more for what turns into a major problem. Also, learn as much as you can about your equipment, even doing minor repairs yourself.

5. Take every load you can that is going to increase your bottom line. Negotiate whith your company and work as much as you can to maximize your time and equipment capabilities. Track what is profitable for you and what is not. Even though a particular load isn't profitable, it could be a setup for a "barn-burner" that will put lots of bucks in the bank.

6. Even though you are the one making the payments and maintaining the equipment, you are still held as a "company asset" but you are the one with the liability. Be very sure that you follow the company guidelines as much as possible because they still control "your" truck and everything you want to do to or with it.

7. As a lease operator, you won't make alot of money. In fact, many times, it will seem that your should have stayed as a company driver for all the money you aren't making. The huge difference is psychological. You are actually stepping out of the restrictions that bind company drivers and are free to succeed or fail on your own decisions.

8. Knowledge is power. Never, ever, let the powers that be know just how much you know about your business and how it relates to their operation. READ your contract until you are absolutley certain what is owed you and what you will owe when you terminate your lease.

9. Again, this is your business. You make the decisions as far as it affects your equipments' operation. Fuel economy is going to be your biggest variable. Just because you can run at 70+ MPH doesn't mean you should. Time managemnet is going to be even more crucial as you have to maximize every available hour, both driving and sitting to stay ahead.

Lots has been said in this forum about how FM's and planners affect you. These people have a direct effect on your bottom line. Maintaining a good relatiionship with them can make or break you. I have never had an adversarial relationship with any of my FM's. Now I haven't really gotten along with some, but we still moved freight and moved it well.

Fortunately, I have been able to build up a reputation for getting the job done and most FM's I deal with, always hear a "Thank you" or "Please thank the planner for me" when things fall into place. I have made it a practice to contact my FM at least once a day to let them know how the load is going. Sometimes I'll call up to share a particularly nice day and try to lighten their load, maybe tell a joke or prove, once again, that I am still not PC.. It's not "kissing-up" as some would say, it's involving one of my most important assets in what is going on. It also serves the function of setting myself up in the FM's mind of being someone who isn't calling in to complain all the time...
If I have an issue with equipment, I go directly to maintenenace, then back-brief my FM with the problem, proposed solution and what is going to happen. That way, the issue is being worked where it needs to be without delaying a resolution by wasting time briefing someone who can't do anything anyway...

One final bit of advice to those considerinig the lease/operator route. Treat your company truck as if it's yours. Practice the very best money saving steps that you can. Get a solid grip on what repairs normally run. Learn to control your variable expenses. Play "what-if" with the figures and run them through the best and worse scenarios.

Okay.. time to get off the soap box...
NEXT!!!!!!!

 

Those pre EGR trucks are out there... So of them are getting pretty long in the tooth by now, but with alittle TLC and lots of cash, they can be made to be reliable and productive again. It is pretty easy to still get alot of parts from Peterbuilt, if you are willing to pay, and then there is always the aftermarket. I think it would be great to do a class 8 truck, I have done cars and pickup trucks before. A full restore of a big truck would be alot of fun.