Finally got my own truck

The reality is this, many of the guys that lease on to another companies authority, with that companies DOT # on the side of the truck will not (presently) be able to afford the insurance on the truck, trailer & cargo.

Especially when they run 130k miles a year and have to provide mileage verification for the previous year to underwriting.

It's VERY expensive right now. So, they often are stuck leasing themselves onto a mega company in order to have the cheaper insurance offered through the mega.

 

Speaking of misusing words...

No such thing as a contract employee, an employee is paid on a W2, not a 1099.

The contract you signed as an independent contractor is also known as a lease agreement. That is where the term lease operator comes from.

 

Hey uhh, look at the thousands of trucks with decals that say “leased to” so and so. Leased to Landstar, leased to Mercer. Etc

Your truck is leased to Crete. You are not on a lease purchase. You secured financing through an outside vendor. You are a contractor, who’s truck is leased directly to Crete.

Maybe you do need to be independent because you seem to take a huge loss of pride every time someone mentions you and the word leasing/leased lol... being leased to a company is not such a bad thing. It’s the lease purchase programs that everybody tries to be helpful and say don’t do it. Thousands of people are leased to Landstar and other companies.

Their truck is leased to that carrier. That’s how theyre able to get cargo and liability insurance, tags and etc. Because once your leased you become an extension of that company. If this was not the case, you would have been working on securing your own insurance.

 

I have a buddy who is leased on to another companies authority. He pays right at a grand a month for insurance through that company. He pays another grand a month for the trailer "rental".

He flipped his truck and their trailer on it's side a cpl years ago. He paid out $7500 in deductible and is lucky that they even kept him on. I know for a fact, he wouldn't be able to afford underwriting if he obtained his own authority.

Which is why for him, running for $1.65 a mile average after the company he's leased on to gets their 10%, is why he stays there.

 

I did not sign any such document.

 

The reason why I object using the term 'lease' in describing myself or my arrangement with Crete is because there is no lease involved.

I bought the truck. When I finish payments, or if I pay it off early, the truck will be mine, free and clear.

Leasing practically anything that you plan on using for an extended period of time is almost universally stupid, unless you know for a fact that you will be abusing the hell out of it.

Perhaps a 1 year lease on a brand new truck with the option to buy after you determine that it isn't a horrible money pit straight from the factory.

Other than as a short term protection, against possibly buying a lemon, with an ironclad option to buy if I want, there is absolutely no way that I can imagine myself ever participating in any sort of lease agreement for a 80k GVW highway truck.

 

You own the truck. You then in turn lease "your" truck to carrier. Makes you a lease operater. Stop worrying about titles much. Lol.

 

Ten 4! This term, in this context, has nothing to do with how you purchased your truck, wether it’s yours on the last payment etc

In this context you are leased to a company. Basically you are leasing their authority, dot number, mc number and etc for a fee. Just check out the many owner operators in the truck stops whose decals say leased to xyz company.

You can be leased to a company with out leasing a truck FROM the company. THAT is called a lease purchase/ lease operator. If you are not leased to Crete, then you are either an employee, an outside carrier hauling their brokerage freight, or you simply have no relation to them. If you haul their trailer, and they dispatch you, and they cut your settlements, give you a cab card, proof of insurance, and stick their dot numbers on the side of your truck,,, then the term in trucking is called leased! Not to be confused with lease purchase!

I just don’t want you looking all silly at the Truckstop with your chest poked out saying “I’m not leased to Crete, I got my own truck”... folks are gonna be looking at you like you ain’t got a clue or it’s a joke because you have Crete’s DOT NUMBERS on your truck! Yes you are an owner operator, who is leased to Crete! If someone tries to make you out as a lease purchase guy, you simply explain if you choose that you brought YOUR truck onto Crete and are not leasing it FROM Crete.

 

If he didn’t sign a “lease” agreement then he wouldn’t be able to get a tag