Best lease truck company? 1000 take home

Exactly what limitations is the fmcsa putting on owner operators? Are you referring to the elog mandate and the upcoming speed limiter mandate?

 

What is the speed limiter update? You can do 80 in three states.

 

65 mph is what they are talking. I expect to see it through the system and in regulations in 2 years. Do i like it? Of course not. But just like the elog mandate, it won't effect how much money i make. Just add a bit of aggravation to the day. Specifically the ability to put some distance between me and the #######es that insist on blocking traffic for 5 miles cause they want to drive .005 mph faster than i am cruising at.

 

Trans Am advertises the best lease in the industry.
The Government wouldn't let them lie.

 

That's one of the best short sum ups of LP deals I've heard in a while.

 

And unfortunately - that's (hopefully) all it teaches people. And I've no idea why one would stay 2-3 years to find out.

 

You make a good point. If you lease a truck from the company that dispatches you, at most you might get to choose from three different load offers. If you are really lucky you might be on a percentage pay instead of a fixed rate per mile. It narrows your vision of what is possible for generating revenue. It's why folks leased on a fixed rate on forced dispatch are stuck, financially and mentally.

I'm a "company driver" with ACME Truck Line, but ACME doesn't have company drivers, they approve drivers for O/O's or fleet operators to hire. The oil field is slow, and sometimes I get long loads and need to find backhauls to maximize revenue to the truck because I'm paid on a percentage of truck revenue, not by the mile.

I've developed good relationships with a couple of brokers and work with them when I need a load. On Monday this week I committed to a high paying load picking up in North Dakota to bring back to OKC, but it can't pick up until Monday next week. So this week I didn't take a single load dispatched from ACME, instead I got busy searching load boards for the best paying loads to maximize revenue this week AND be in position to pick up that sweet load in ND Monday. I started in OKC and took a load to Casper, WY; then a couple loads fell through before I found a load from Casper to Lamar, CO then deadhead to Kansas to grab a load to Bismarck, ND that delivers Monday. Those three loads represent the low end of what I could have made sitting in OKC and waiting for oil field loads, but it puts me in position to get a 34 in Bismarck and get a two day run that makes over $4K to the truck.

This was a fun week, putting together loads to make it to that big paying load with a minimum of deadhead miles. There was no waiting for a dispatch. I booked my Bismarck load while waiting to get loaded in Casper. This week makes me think that it might be better to skip the leasing on to any company and get my own authority when I buy my truck.

 

Bad thing about leasing is trusting the dispatchers aren't playing favorites.
I do percentage lease. For few weeks my loads were only averaging about $1.25 a mile. So I went home for 4 days and came back out on the road this Tuesday. I told dispatch I was going to terminate my lease and be a company driver. They suddenly found good paying loads. 4 loads this week have been $1.85 to $2.30 a mile.
I now know these dispatchers are picking who to give the high dollar loads.
I have been told by couple lease guys that the good paying loads are given to company trucks and lease guys get cheap loads.

 

Why would you lease to a outfit that has company drivers? You should know that's a huge red flag.

 

Yeah, don't mix and match. Especially if times are slow they will give loads to company drivers to maximize their profit. Lease on with an O/O outfit only.