Taking the plunge. My journey as an O/O.

Wait a second. Are you saying you can't look up the cost of fuel before purchasing? Screw that.

 

Amen.......Farmerbob, there's a lot of really good advice here and you'd be a fool not to at least consider some of it. Does it seem even a little odd that NO ONE thinks this is a good plan???
I'll not restate what has already been spelled out to you in detail, however, I will reiterate that $1.32 on all miles is a really bad joke......in a reefer, no less.
Stubbornness can be an admirable quality in some situations........this is not one of them. Best wishes anyway.

 

That appears to be an issue.

The fuel discount network I use sends out a daily sheet every morning (via email) that list the best discounted in network price per gallon in each state for the day.

Landstar has a telephone number you can call in on for their SavingsPlus program, it appears that NASTC updates their cost plus rates on a daily basis via the web?

I certainly also want to know what I'm paying BEFORE I fuel. Imprudent not to know beforehand.

 

Ya with my carrier, who uses efs, i can go onto the website and search out fuel cost at any moment. Search by state or by interstate route. So if I'm loading in Florida going to Michigan i can just dl the I75 list and see what my fuel cost is along every fuel stop that accepts efs. It lists four columns. Posted price, my price, before fuel tax price, and the discount. Because the carrier doesn't charge back for ifta i just scroll down the my cost column and buy at the cheapest location(unless it's one of those tiny pilots experience has taught me will cost more time than the cost difference).

 

I'm also part of EFS (XPO Logistics fuel program). I've only been part of their network for a couple of mos or so now.

They have a LOT of features available on their website, very useful tools for a fleet of any size. I like how the discount off the cash price reflects immediately on the website account. Not an end of the month type of deal, etc.

The ability to create reports, save or print fuel receipts is a very nice feature that I utilize.

 

You can set it up so efs will auto email you reports. I have it so the prior month is in my inbox on the first.

 

You're not going to learn much about being an owner operator leasing to a mega at a set rate per mile. For the most part, you'll be a company driver without any of the benefits like health/dental/401k.

You don't get to learn which lanes pay better. You don't get to learn why you should charge more for certain loads. You don't get to learn about how IFTA works, and how to make fueling work for you. You will still get to deal with company drivers sharing the same loads, trailers, and creating headaches for you.

As much as you'd like to think that you've built a relationship with a carrier and you've got friends there, they operate a business. They are going to operate in the cheapest way they can. If that means a company guy gets a load because it costs them less to run it, that's what they'll do. If you get a load, it's because you're likely being outsourced, not because they need your truck. Leasing makes sense for someone who wants to own a truck, but doesn't have good credit and money to put down. Even then, with a good record, they can make the same or more as a company driver and also get benefits.

When I bought my truck, I thought it would be easier working with the brokerage of the company I drove for. It was not the case. Nothing but beer and paper towels in poor lanes, never any high paying loads. To top it off, they required me to carry twice as much insurance as I really needed, and were picky about who the insurance company was, which cost me money. They also didn't pay empty miles, and I could only use the trailer for their loads, and I needed their tracking system. Even with a paid off truck, I learned that I was never going to get anywhere with them at the rates they were paying. When I brought it up, there was no offer to work with us or anything. Just "Ok, mail us the tracking system after you take it off your truck".

You really should step outside your comfort zone. It is holding you back. A big part of me didn't want to deal with negotiating loads with brokers, but after I did it a few times, it became pretty straight forward. I found out what to ask, how to use load board tools, and how to value my time when quoting. I'm making twice as much working the load boards and with brokers who I've built a good relationship with. Think about it- there's no way those mega companies would be in business operating for the rates they offer. Even with fuel discounts and self insuring, they would not be able to pay for office staff at their terminals and show profits to their shareholders or owners. You could be learning more about being an owner operator while getting paid for it working with another company or for yourself.