Who has there own authority

They can be hard to reach. Not a lot of people but by far one of the busiest groups doing this.

And the price the give you will cover what they do and fees.

 

Does Landstar just lease for dry vans?

 

Flatbed to very specialized OS/OW. Not sure about reefer.

 

That's what I thought. That was what I suggested he do. He contacted me by email and that was my reply he posted. Then it seemed like he was hammering me for making the suggestion.

Maybe it's just me, I'm having a hard time following since he keeps giving examples that don't seem to fit. It sounded like he was suggesting factoring Landstar loads. I'm so lost!

Maybe he will post questions instead of examples. Like: If I want to lease to a flatbed company where I can move into oversize, who would you suggest?

Then I would say: Landstar and Sammons would both offer that option and I believe they are both percentage leases. I have no personal experience with their leases but many lease operators seem to be happy there.

 

If you are going to lease to a company then you don't need your own authority. And what you are describing wanting to do I would say that leasing to a company that gives you a path to this is a better road. And I'm not a fan of leasing on to people.

Two reasons

First, each change you are looking to make comes at a cost. And not insignificant. I know flatbedders who have more into thier trailer and eqiupment than the tractor.

Second, you can figure a lot of what questions you need to ask if you have half a brain and pick the minds of other flatbedders. But once you start getting into some of the other stuff you are talking about you better know what you are doing before you go out and start. Doing it for a company puts the burden on them to make sure that it is planned right.

 

You may well ask questions but you add so much in the way of examples and such that it is impossible to understand your intent. There is a serious communication problem going on.

Then if you ask one question here and something entirely different somewhere else we don't know if you know the question yourself. If you are going in two different directions, imagine our confusion.

You may think you are being clear. I'd say about as clear as mud.

We have all gotten our authority by ourselves. That is why we suggest you do it that way too. when you don't want to do it that way, we think you need help so we suggest OOIDA. I have not heard of the companies you name.

For lease LANDSTAR! Read post 14 - Sammons and Landstar.

You can't gain anything by asking for advice and rejecting the answers because they weren't what you wanted to hear.

A trucker's forum is not the place to seek candy-coated advice.

 

I have my own authority. I used Rex Evilsizor. He also will do the BOC 3 for you. If you choose, he is also an insurace source but I did not use him for that. Very knowledgeable man who can answer also of questions you might have. Just google him, he has a website.

 

I did mine myself on line and saved a few hundred. I just paid the three hundred dollar fee and waited. I think it took me ten minutes or so to fill out. If you are a member of OOIDA they will do your BOC-3 for free. I talked to some companies that said they could do it for me from $650 on up to $950 and a transportation attorney said $3500.

 

I used OOIDA back in '03 for my contract carrier and did my brokerage myself. It's very easy. Apply for authority, buy insurance and have agent submit proof of insurance to Feds, and get authority. Authority is basically just proof your insured.

If you don't like paperwork, make sure you get signed up with a drug testing consortium (I used OOIDA), a log book auditor and a fuel tax company (I used Internet Truckstop's do it yourself program for years, and got hit with 8k in fines in an IRP/IFTA audit).
You'll need to do yearly returns for KS and AR for personal property tax if you're base-plated in those states. You'll also need to apply for an IFTA account, UCR, KYU account, NY HUT account and NM account if you run through there. OR can be done by simply buying a permit if you bring a load in every once in a while. I'm sure there are companies that will do all this for you for a fee, and that might be worth it to you. KYU, NY, NM and OR(if your not doing single trip permits)have quarterly reports due when you file your IFTA quarterly as well.

I've been with factoring companies and without them. Try to survive and build your bank without them and you'll be better off. Many companies offer quick pay like CHR, Landstar etc that are far cheaper than factoring, so if you do sign with a factoring company, make sure they let you pick and choose what bills to factor so you can determine the cheapest route to get your money. NEVER be afraid to file a claim on a broker bond if your check is past due.

Good luck. I deactivated my authority and leased to a quality carrier in '09 after disposing of my other trucks. If you don't have any prospects for contract freight and are simply counting on brokers, I don't think a single truck would be worth the hassle of authority. I've been there and done that, and am proud to be Landstar Ranger.