Bringing a truck to Schneider

Discussion in 'Schneider' started by 48Packard, Jun 28, 2020.

  1. 48Packard

    48Packard Ol' Two-stop Shag!

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    Howdy again.

    Wrapping up my lease in late August. Turning 60 this year, I have no desire to go full independent. I’m looking at buying a truck and leasing on to SNI. Anyone done this? How big of a hassle is it? How long does the process take? Any other info is appreciated as always.

    I’d buy the one I’m in now, but last July 4th in Phoenix, a truck offloading a Greyhound bus rolled out of the Mack dealership driveway and did $36000 in damage to big green me, so thanks but no thanks.

    This will be, Lord willing, my last truck. Wife has moved up in her job, and we’ve got a little auxiliary income from some old family property, so money isn’t an issue. SNI works for me, which in the end is all one can ask for.

    Wishing you all health, prosperity, and sanity during these trying times....
     
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  3. drlmi

    drlmi Light Load Member

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    Hello,

    It isn't much really. The recruiter sets up a lot of your info over the phone. Schedual you for four days of orientation, usually in a week or two. Then they give you your first trailer and you are off. If you haven't bought the new truck yet make sure you call them and see about their requirements, there are a couple that can throw you. Like only a certain few brands and models of fifth wheels they accept, length and weight, 2010 and newer, and so on. They letter and permit your truck up for you while you are in orientation. Install a Qualcomm, or one of the "tablets" I keep hearing about. They even have base plates if you don't have your own, IFTA stickers, NY sticker, all that.

    I'll be honest, the rates, and the freight selection are a kind of bad, at least right now. Lets just say I know of loads that aren't even on the board for us, and when a decent one does pop up, you better have the fastest trigger finger on the internet to get it before the other drivers do. But it is probably still better than going wherever some dispatcher wants you to, so far anyway.
     
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  4. 48Packard

    48Packard Ol' Two-stop Shag!

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    I’m a current lease op, btw. I’ve been able to cobble together some decent weeks, but it’s been tricky recently for sure. I’m just thinking I want my last truck to have a few more creature comforts, hence the consideration of buying one elsewhere. Thanks for the input!
     
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  5. Opus

    Opus Road Train Member

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    I've been a contractor for Schneider for, I guess, around 7 years.
    The trucks they lease and decent and have some creature comforts. Freightliner anyway. They also have Volvos and KW's, but I think you have to come up with a down payment. $5k was the last I heard.
    Freight is, sketchy at the moment. It used to be that you could do $700 a day average without much problem. Now it's closer to $600.
    Last week was pretty good and I ended up with $4700 on 7 days.
    Fuel is cheap, but fuel surcharges are tanked as a result. As it turns out, I did $1,000 in fuel and permits last week, (permits, admin, and insurance run around $135 a week).
    So, I'll net $3700 for 7 pretty busy but not awful days.
    Now, you subtract the $1200 weekly payment, (I don't have that because I own my truck), and you're looking at a net of $2500.

    So, there ya go.
    I like Schneider, they've been a good fit for me mostly because I never hear from them unless there's a problem.
    Never, ever once had an issue with pay. Never.
    They totally stay out of your business.

    I'm 60 in August and I I fully plan on retiring here at 67.

    The only other thing I would add is that if you have good credit and a decent down payment and at least $10k in available revolving credit, I'd look into buying used. Right now it's a total buyer's market. And it would take that $1200 weekly payment to a $1200 monthly payment.
    Check with your bank and see if they would be interested.

    Good luck.
     
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  6. 48Packard

    48Packard Ol' Two-stop Shag!

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    I’m wrapping up my second lease with SNI. I’d have bought my current truck had it not been wrecked. I’m 60 in November, so I’m right there with you time-frame wise. I may end up buying used and adding some after-market creature comforts.
     
  7. Opus

    Opus Road Train Member

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    Well, like I said, its a buyer's market right now.
    Most of what you'll come across is used fleet trucks. That said, some fleets do a good job of spec'ing out their trucks. TMC comes to mind as does Prime.
    If you're in that market, know that about all you'll need for those trucks is a sliding 5th wheel. I didn't know that when I bought my truck, but I found a good used one in Atlanta for $350. It doesn't slide a bit, but its a sliding 5th wheel. They just said you had to have one. They didn't say it had to work. Lol
     
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  8. Box of Tj

    Box of Tj Light Load Member

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    Avoid any used truck nearing 500,000 miles unless you can confirm a repair history. The aftertreatment can really be a pain in the ###, and things can all go wrong one after the other. I'm having that problem now. Also, expect the techs to rebuild your 5th wheel when they do the DOT on your truck. When I went to orientation, every single driver that brought their own truck had to have the 5th wheel rebuilt. Just FYI. Other than that, it really wasn't that hard at all. Although, I'm planning to go the opposite route as you, get a lease thru SFI, but only because my truck is such a piece of garbage.
     
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  9. drvrtech77

    drvrtech77 Road Train Member

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    I have never seen nor heard of that mess with the 5th wheel..I find it hard to believe that every one was rebuilt
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2020
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  10. Box of Tj

    Box of Tj Light Load Member

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    A strange thing to find hard to beleive, these days. I'm just sharing my experiences.
     
  11. gentleroger

    gentleroger Road Train Member

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    When two guys show up with their own trucks, it's not hard to hit a 100% rebuild rate. It's like saying "Everyone had to get new steers" when both trucks showed up with 4/32 treads, or shoulder wear, or ...

    Then again there may be a difference between what you and I consider a "rebuild" and what Box of TJ considers a "rebuild". If you show up with 5 years of grease build up on the jaws, SNI may require a pressure/steam/whatever cleaning so they can actually inspect the mechanism/workings. Or the grease build up was so bad the mechanics assumed the 5th wheel was bad. I had a truck that there was so much crud built up on the locking mechanism/jaws that 1 in 4 hooks was bad. I was pouring diesel on the jaws every other day just to make sure I got a good hook. When it went in for a pm I told the shop to clean it out - they poured some diesel over it. I threw a hissy fit that was just this side of polite and respectful and they pressure washed the whole thing. Getting it adequately greased again was a PITA, but no more bad hooks.
     
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