Should I lease after my 1 year is up?

No, don't do it. It's never to your advantage.

 

Most are skewed towards the company. If you want your own truck, BUY IT OUTRIGHT. Not lease from the company that holds all the cards over you.

 

How about lease to purchase kinda deals??

 

Buy you truck ,not from the same company what you like to working

 

You are "leaving money on the table"....mostly because you are a new driver.

IT DRIVES ME CRAZY when I see drivers who are brand new to the industry come in...and expect to be "Captain Mega-Buck$" practically overnite.

One of the main factors in driver compensation is EXPERIENCE.

Get more experience, load up on those CDL endorsements, keep a clean safety record, pull the right freight with the right carrier(s)....& the money will come.

Without signing up to be a "fleece-floperator"...

-- L

 

What do I think?

Me?

I think you need to stop for a moment and read what I have posted in the past about failures in this industry, we are seeing 90% PLUS failures within the first year, this isn't a made-up number but reality.

I think you need to stop and think if this was so easy, why are there drivers still being drivers?

You are in the best position you could be in for a while, at least FIVE years you should be saving every penny, learning how this industry actually works - not how to find work from a load board, that's not how it works.

Forget lease purchase unless you have done your homework, understand exactly how the company you are working for works, and how to 'kiss *****" of those who can break you.

This is the perception many get, even here the illusion of success with minimal skills is maintained.

 

You’re not listening here….
Pay closer attention to what Ridgeline is saying. Current markets will eat you alive.
You’d be a fool to take on a lease right now.
90% failure rate on new trucking ventures right now.
You have s 10% chance at success.
That probability craters fast when you factor in lack of experience and shallow pockets.
Fleece to own is structured to screw you and get you to run like hell to pay off their truck, leaving you broke and wondering what the heck happened to the last 5 years of your life because you have nothing to show for it.

 

I watched Lease to Purchase where they offered to 'sell' their drivers the tractors.

Because they knew the work and had the required equipment already installed; alot of them were successful BUT a portion of the fleet was perpetually being leased to someone new, over and over.

The guys who did pay 'em off ended up with an old and tired ride with a limited market to work for another similar [tank] carrier only IF they would take that 'old horse.

 

Leasing...really all depends on you, what company you go to in order to lease your truck, etc. If you are using a third party (like SFI, Lone Mountain, etc.) where you are 100% free to take the truck where you like, then you may be successful. It also depends on how well you are with money. You say you are making $1100 a week now as a company driver. That will likely be ( I say likely but could be more or less) your truck payment EVERY WEEK, possibly just for the truck payment itself. That means it may not include all your other fixed expenses such as insurance, registration, etc. Not to mention the money you will need to put back for maintenance also. SFI, if you lease a truck from them, the payment includes a maintenance fund that is mandatory and is considered part of your truck payment each week. Keep in mind that payment keeps coming, whether you are running or not. If it is broke down or not, etc.

If you lease a truck you have to keep on with the company you lease it from, then you are at a huge disadvantage. While there are some companies that claim to help with maintenance and all that, if they do, they're certainly not doing it just out of the kindness of their hearts. You will be paying something, finance charges or whatever, until the balance is paid off. And that will be on top of all your other expenses you already have for the truck.

My suggestion, would be if your credit isn't good enough, or you don't have the down payment or both, save up and fix your credit to be able to finance a truck outright. Your payments will, not maybe, but WILL be lower than any lease payment when you add all the payments for the month compared to the one monthly payment you pay for your truck you bought that is financed.

Even then, there are some weeks you may not make what you are currently still after all your expenses and taxes. If you buy a truck, or lease even, you don't want to be dealing with some company relying on load board freight to keep you moving. If you're going to get a truck, leased or otherwise, try to get the newest lowest mileage one you can afford to get. Expenses for repairs are high.