Leasing a truck

I know how everyone says how bad it is to lease a truck from the company you need to get those miles from to make that truck payment. Swift has a new "deal" where they defer the down payment (one poster i saw said zero down) and defer the first 8 weeks, so basicly all you're paying for for the first 2 months is the insurance and fuel. Would be a good idea to bank some of that money for that downpayment and truck payment to get a little ahead for when/if you have a slow week.

question i have is they now have new 2010 International ProStar's. I've looked at these trucks in Memphis, and they were put into service a month ago, and still have plastic covers on the seat. The question is do those new trucks also come with the warranty from the factory??

 

actually, i'm doing pretty well in the miles department. And if i understand correctly, the pecking order for loads goes: Mentors with students, O/O teams, teams, O/O, Mentors without students, solo company drivers.

i currently average 2500-2800 mile a week. I just crossed a year driving for Swift, and like to think my record allows me to stand out. Not to mention if i keep the same DM (which i think i can choose to keep when/if i go lease a truck) i know he'll keep me rolling. Not to mention if i take him out to lunch, and off the record tell him if i get 2800+ miles a week, i'll send him $50 a week. =)

I've read all the threads about leasing a truck. I know the risks, but what it all boils down to is running the truck like a business. I know i'll make more than other O/Os because I don't see the need to idle the truck when its 55-60 degrees out. I'll make more than other O/Os cause i know how to shift and get the most MPG out of every gallon....not to mention just because i have a faster truck, ill still keep the hammer all the way to the floor. I will run 63-64mph.

Another thing i'll like, is now i can refuse loads going to or from rail yards. Everyone is operated differently, and if you dont know how to dance thru their hoops, they look at you like you're an idiot. I've only been to one rail yard where the gal behind the counter actually helped me out.

 

and again, i've read that over and over. I'm a proven driver, and get my #### done. i've been 100% on time for the past 5 months straight. my idle is under 5% for the year, my MPG is 7.4 for the year. As long as i'm not running the miles of the warranty (which i wouldnt do as a solo driver) why would they care? I'm paying the overhead on that truck, a liability they dont have to worry about. You may think big companies hold the driver over the barrel, but it just appears that way. We're holding each other over the same barrel. Because without a driver in that truck, they're back to paying the overhead for that truck to sit. And as long as they got a good driver who keeps the customers happy by being ontime, why should it matter?

I know, i know, there are drivers out there who dont want to take the risk. And having a new truck, i shouldnt have any issues with anything mechanical going out on the truck costing me thousands. I picked up a new company truck back in Feb. i've run almost 100,000 miles to date, and not one single issue with the truck.

Now i wish it would be that easy for me to walk into a KW dealership, drop $2,000 on their table as a downpayment (which they'd just laugh at) and point to a truck saying "i want that one". Not to mention i would do this all after i lined up a trucking company willing to lease on an outside truck. But see, thats where the catch 22 comes in. why would a company take on a O/O driver without a truck? "get with another company who will, and start as a company driver". Yeah....and then have to go thru 8 weeks training with a mentor again, and all that ####. Sorry, not going to happen.

I dont have the credit to go into a bank and get a truck. Look down on me all you want because of that, cause i really dont care.

and P.S. the moment i dont get the miles to make a better paycheck as a company driver, they get the truck back..period.

 

the new plan they have, 8 weeks deferred payments, out of that 8 weeks i would like to think i'd make (clear) $5-6000 in take home. out of that, $1,000 goes into an account for maintence right away, and another $1,000 goes into another account for truck payments when/if i have low miles for a week.

i'd have to have a couple really bad weeks for me to go into the red. I dont work for free either, but as a lease driver, i could atleast turn down all the junk loads they try to feed me, along with any loads going to railheads. (which i hate)