I am Going To Lease A Truck. Tell me Who To Go With.

0 experience in last 5 years means you cannot get a job even if you have a truck. Go to CDL school and start over.

 

Why do you say that?

Mikeeee

 

You will probably find that the mega carriers (I am a l/o with Swift) will treat you as a new driver because the lack of recent driving experience. Expect to be a company driver for the first six months before they will allow you to lease, and then only if you have a near perfect driving and delivery record.

Leasing a new truck from the carrier you drive for is the least likely to succeed option. The weekly payments are high, as are the chances of being sidelined due to truck problem. I don't see many drivers making it all the way thru their lease. The ones who do make it are either single with no family responsibilities or married team operators.

Leasing a used truck (3 - 4 year old) works better as the payments are less and in general the truck is reliable. This is a safe route to take.

Leasing a used truck near the end of it's life, 700k or more miles on it, is a more risky route to take. The reward, if things go well, is more profit. However the chances a engine rebuild in the near future are also high. If you have a tolerance to risk, this is the best route to take.

It is better to finance the truck from outside the carrier you are leased to. That way if things go sour you still have the truck. Also some carriers (like Swift) poorly equip their trucks for driving and driver comfort. While those companies may be good to lease to, their equipment is not worth leasing.

good luck!

 

There are quite a few people who "never leased and never will" that know all about the leasing programs.. Now, how do you know if you have no experience with a lease? Have you read a lease? more than one? Have you evaluated EVERY lease in the US to determine that "by nature" they are ripoffs????

Frenzy, you brave guy. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Lets look at this guys options...
Buy a truck....... 9%-19% interest for any truck he buys, IF someone will finance him...... talk about an expense.
Lease a truck.... find a place, get a 600,000 mile truck that 5 other people have smoked in and missed the pee bottle more than hitting it for a meager $500-$700 per week while scraping for freight or waiting for your dispatcher to get you something, while eating PB&J and showering once a week.
Get your own authority??? Lets just burn $8000 for a piece of paper. Autthority cost ALOT. Headaches that a staff of 10 would spend hours keeping up with. REGULATION NATION is NOT CHEAP.
Contract onto a carrier and be held captive by their freight network? It's a gamble, but there are carriers out there that you can survive with.

Bottom line, it's a crazy, confusing, and CHALLENGING world, this trucking industry. I found my way. Brand new Cascadia (2012) total cost $117000. $1 baloon payment at the end. 8MPG Average. Leased to big carrier as an O/O. 3 1/2 year lease, can be payed off early without penalty. Just put my company name on the door over Christmas. Thinking about dropping the company group insurance and looking for my own. The drawback I have is that I am just one truck in the pool of trucks competing for freight from our networks, but that is not hurting me much.

To each their own, and there is my $0.02

 

With zero experience in the past 5 years, you are going to have to go through training from front to back. There are plenty of CDL mills, but most will not touch a CDL holder in your position. You are looking at spending $4000 of that money to go to a CDL school to get the training.

Now I get to be the cheerleader... (minus the skirt)

At Prime, you can get your training from front to back, for free... well for a one year commitment to drive their freight. Check it out:

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...27-new-prime-inc-what-expect-springfield.html

Whatever your decisions, make sure that you do your due dilligence and make sure that whatever your choice, you can sleep at night regardless how it comes out.

 

What is your weekly payment on that Cascadia?

20 years experience and dead set on leasing? It just sounds fishy.

 

Come on, math? Break out the calculator.... 3.5 years... $117,000

Yes, it did. I would rather share than ignore. Not all leases are taboo and bad.

 

"Hello. I am going to lease a truck. I am new to this forum but I have tried to be as active as I can. I have over 20 years behind the wheel, $15,000 in the bank and 0 years experience driving in the last five years. I have held a Class A since 1982. I am looking for long haul loads. I look forward to 8 weeks out and 4 days back. This post is not a joke, nor am I looking for nay-Sayers. My driving record is impeccable as well as my background. Monday I will apply for my passport, Tuesday I will take my Hazmat Test, Wednesday I will apply for my TWIC Card.

I am looking for solid, sound advice. I find it hard to believe that no professional driver can make a living, leasing a truck in 2013. Help me out and one day, I may just do the same for you."


Ok we won't be nay sayers! Go for it Billy Big Rig! You must know something nobody else in the industry knows because any other half way experienced driver would know that leasing is not even an option! We need people like you though because these mega-carriers hope and pray there are more just like you that are willing to pay for their trucks while they make money!



Oh yeah and my recommendations of great companies to lease from would have to be England, Werner, Swift, John Christner, Prime the list is long but these are my absolute favorites! Its a no brainer! You can get one of these brand new trucks for no money down! You also don't have to have any money in the bank either! They also pay way more than company drivers. Instead of $.34 a mile they pay you all the way up to $.85 a mile! Now that's big money!

Please, for the love of God, keep us posted on your big success out there!

 

If you're sincere I apologize. As far as I know the driver or leasee pays all repairs and maintenance in all lease agreements. You're paying for the upkeep on a truck you don't even own. If the leaseor paid them it might not be so bad. That being said the deal Silenteagle is in does not sound all that bad since he owns the truck at the end of the term. Let's just hope he has no major repair costs along the way and is able to complete the 42 months. So I learned something new from this thread too that not all leases are like CR England's. Personally if I was in your shoes with $15k I'd just buy my own truck but that's just me. Best of luck to you and keep us updated on which route you take.