Solo or Lease on

What makes you think it would be better to lease on ??

 

I guess it depends on what the carrier is covering for you that if you were on your own, you would have to pay for. Balance that with how much the carrier compensation rate, FSC, and other incidentals. In some cases it isn't a bad move to lease on, in other cases, it is down right stupid. But you also have to figure in who your customers would be if you were on your own and what costs you would have to go along with whatever rate you could get from them.

True, the bottom line is money in your pocket, but there is a lot of things that go into figuring how much you get to keep in your pocket. It does work for many to be on their own. But there are a lot of folks that went on their own and crapped out. I have run into many people who decided to go with a carrier after being on their own and haven't regretted it. And, of course, I have run into those that are doing darn well on their own.

 

I would stay away from leasing,also get some experience before becoming a O/O.Most mega carriers who does lease programs are in it to make more money off the driver,so far I haven't heard anything good about leasing with a mega carrier.

 

Are you confusing leasing on with a carrier with doing a lease purchase with a carrier? I took the original post as leasing on with a carrier, not getting a truck thru them.

 

Yeah leasing a truck threw a carrier,sorry I must of read your OP wrong..

 

Leasing a truck from the carrier you're working for is very very very very very rarely a good idea. Most of the time it is a way for the carrier to get free or reduced cost labor, or even PAY to haul their freight.
If you own or have your truck financed via an independent source and sign on to haul for a carrier, this is called leasing TO a carrier and is a different scenario.
Get a year or two under your belt as a company driver so you can see how the business works before you get in over your head.
Disadvantages of a carrier lease purchase program.

1 The biggest one is they can fire you at anytime. Any money invested in the truck will be lost unless you have cash to pay it off on the spot.
2. They have an incentive for you not to succeed after you've paid quite a bit on the truck. They'll take it back and sell it to another driver for the same price you paid originally, do it to that driver in 10 months and make big money on that single truck.
3 If the carrier closes, your SOL. Just ask a former Arrow l/p operator.
4 The BFI carriers have started pushing this on newbies who have no idea what the costs of running a truck are, paying taxes and your own workers comp, buying a $500 tire, and paying road service $300 to come out and put it on. On top of that most newbies have no business management skills whatsoever. If you don't know what a P/L statement is, stick with being a company driver.
5 See 1&2