Fleet truck and power only

I think that you're going to find it's not as easy as you think.

Some guys have done it but I'm not really sure anyone has done that ongoing and everlasting into perpetuity.

As far as I know most of these places not all but many have it arranged that you have the trailer for a certain amount of time that you can go run your own load with it so they can get away with the small amount of money that they pay you to move it.

Not trying to dissuade you but the truth is not all loads that you pull are heavy loads.

And as far as driving goes you really only interact with one or two people when you pick up or deliver. You're going to deal with the same amount of people when you go to the trailer place to pick the trailer up and you're going to deal with the same amount of people when you drive to the trailer place to drop it. You going to have to go inside and have your paperwork signed and there probably will be a guard that you're going to have to interact with to let you in. You're not going to drive the trailer somewhere out into the desert and drop it and they will be another one there and you grab it and there's no human interaction.

Again not trying to dissuade you do what you think is best but having your own trailer gives you remarkable dexterity with what you can do and the income that you will produce will be so much more with less miles and less everything.

Don't forget there's only so many loads like you're talking about vs. Actual loads that need to be moved. You will go where they tell you to go when they tell you to go and most likely they will tell you what you will be paid.

And when you end up in the middle of nowhere and they tell you you need to deadhead 650 miles to pick up your next load and this is what we're paying you and you add it up and you see it's not very much money at all you have no other choices. Maybe you could find a power only load with one of the megas but they're going to pay you a minimum amount of money and most of them don't want you to just do one load. They want you to be out for like 10 days at a shot with them.

Again, not trying to dissuade you, just a few things to think about.

 

It's crap. The rates are a joke. If it was so profitable every carrier would be doing it. It would have spread like wildfire throughout the industry. It's a joke and only good for a one off to find out you're losing revenue messing with it.

 

I agree with you for the most part. Unlike dry van these days, it's not idiot proof.
Power only, using someone's empty trailer and hauling your own load with it, is a scam. They can claim you damaged their trailer, then the fun starts...

 

The rates tell me all I need to know.

 

Questions... do you pull dry van? What is your average loading and unloading times?

 

Flatbed. Less than 2 hours. Also, I don't give those 2 hours away for free. All 4 are rolled into the rate and anything over that is billed at 100/hr. If you're giving your time away for free you're running a charity...not a business.

 

You're not going to do that with power only. Lease on somewhere.

 

Get the Dat board for power only loads

 

Find a better company closer to you and keep saving for another ~ 2 years, keep an good memory of any contacts you make at places close to you, and set yourself up for the whole 9 yards, life is too short to live in a metal box, especially for #### companies like Amazon or uber

other option is do an actual lease with someone like Mercer or landstar, not as much money, but less expense, and a little more control of the truck