Landstar

Please refrain from being a complete ###### in this thread. You're entitled to your opinions, however you can be professional about them. If you don't like the freight, don't haul it...plain and simple. To sit here and call people like myself a crook is offensive. I work very hard to maintain a very good reputation amongst drivers, customers, and other agents alike.

 

Hi, We are working on Leasing on with Landstar, and wondering if someone could help answer a question about what PrePass options they offer through Landstar. We are getting some conflicting information.
Are we able to get PrePass for weigh stations and Tolls (for states that have Prepass/Ezpass toll)
Or are we only able to get a PrePass for Weigh Stations and have to get a toll PrePass on our own?
Thanks for any comments.

 

PrePass for scales only.

 

At least some other carriers will want you to give up your authority and lease on your trucks if you become an agent.

I don't like all the extra fees that Landstar charges. I have hauled a $1 million load for Landstar. It was much easier to pay $1.75/load than come up with the cost of of extra insurance for a single load. It could cost $2,000 or more for the added insurance. Landstar does make a lot of money from their fees. You either go along with it or not haul their loads. Some people do well leasing to Landstar, just as their are those who lose their shirts with them. Not everyone is a good manager. Not everyone should be in business. Landstar does have a unique business model that others have attempted to copy. I am not saying that Landstar is the best company for an owner operator, but it works for some people. I am not trying to sell anyone on Landstar. I think there are other companies where owner operators can do as well or better, depending on a number of factors. Other carriers also charge fees. Most who front the money for your base plates will charge a fee. Some charge for loading your fuel card or taking advances. I guess it comes down to whether you can make the money you need after the fees are deducted. You can still get your own authority and not lease to any carrier.

I don't think that everyone should get their authority. I also don't think that everyone is cut out to be an owner operator and lease to a carrier. But, we all have our dreams and aspirations. If you have a burning desire to do something then you should probably give it a try. You will never know whether you can be successful or not until you try.

If you want to become an agent for Landstar then you will need to meet their requirements. You could get your own brokerage authority and build your business to the point that Landstar would accept you. Or, you could just stay independent. There are other carriers that may be more flexible when it comes to recruiting agents or brokers.

 

If you add all the fees they charge you'd be surpised how much it adds up too. Then they send you a 1099 indicating the amount before fees.
Of all the bigger companies they charge more fees than any of them.
And most of the loads are dobule brokered they try and say they don't do it but they do. And try and get money for a TONU they piss and moan, I had to threaten to sue the last agent. Woman said she was doing me a "favor".
Then to top it off had a agent try an get me to haul a illegal load, when I wouldn't haul it he wanted me to haul a unsafe load. I've posted pictures of load with broken and missing packaging agent he wanted me to haul, so you be the judge. Theres very few I will haul for now at landstar. They're a good company to get brokered loads from when you first start out, that way you'll know how to avoid a good screwing. They can keep all their 75-85 cent a mile freight let the bco's work for free.

 

Truth may hurt if you consider yourself a crook thats good. I never said you was. You can look at the average load board and see anywhere from two to five landstar agents with same load with five different prices. If you look hard enough you will find who's load it really is and most times it isn't a landstar agent at all. The landstar agents will cut anywhere from 22-50% off the top, meaning the load is cut 40-70% of Real rate. You can blow smoke on the unknowing but I have seen it enough to know. One load in mind was one LS agent wanted to pay me 900, I got it from another broker for 1400. Then when it didn't ship broker paid me 400 for TONU. Try and get that from a LS agent? They cry about 100-150 and about half I have to threaten with legal action. You may be one of the decent ones, don't know? Overall I would rate landstar along the lines of TQL, UTI and allfr8.

 

I caught a Landstar agent brokering a ld that was not to be rebrokered.
Let me explain. Landstar hauls lds. for the company I'm with from time to time, and we haul theirs also.
Well one day I see this crane ld. on their board.. I know it's our account.
It also was on our broker board.
So I call our Rep. about it and he says no they call haul it for us, but not broker it out.
This was an agent out of the cities in Mn.
Soon after the ld. was off their board.
Another agent last summer had a ld. posted out of Il.
We called about it and kept getting the run around..
Come to find out another broker had it listed and they were trying to rebroker it.

We dropped looking into it. Was quoted like 17,000.00 for the ld.
This included the permits and escorts fees in it.
Way to cheap for where it was going.

 

Prepass is for scales, EZPass is for tolls. You can get a prepass thru Landstar but not an EZPass. You have to cover and pay all your tolls upfront on your own. Some companies have a combo pass that is 1 unit that takes care of both (Schneider, JB Hint, Werner) but that is not an option at Landstar.

 

It is your responsibility to make sure the load is packaged correctly and safely, not the brokers. You do not HAVE to haul any loads, you choose to haul them. When you arrived and saw what you have in your pictures, then all you had to do was tell the shipper to repackage it. It is their fault it was like that, not the brokers. I have a feeling you got there and saw this and threw a tizzy because you couldn't just load and go. It might have taken some time and effort (in flatbedding you should be used to this already) So don't go blaming the brokers, all they do is take the call from the customer, get the information from the customer, and then try to find a guy to cover it. They are not there looking over every load before you get there. You want to be an independant businessman then start acting like one and do your part of the job as well. Not every load can be chained, strapped and off you go, sometimes it takes sweat and effort to get it done right.

Now I'm not bashing you, I just feel you are blaming the wrong people on the load you explained and have poctured.

 

You are Wrong, first load they put on my truck was illegal cause it was OD
two pieces of plastic pipe they claimed was 48 inch, it was 48 inch alright ID
Od was 54 inches making it 108 inches total. They said permit it you can't permit a load thats divisible and is legal! They said we load this all the time and agent said he put it on trucks all the time.The packages of pipe was a load cause I wouldn't haul the other one. I asked shipper to repackage it, they said NO someone would be glad to get it. The landatar agent put those loads on someone else. I called MS DOT and DPS on this company and agent.
More than likely fell on deaf ears. So what is your idea of what a agents responsobility is?