Options (company-wise) for green o/o?

Hey all,
A little background first: I've been on the road for 7 years now, 1.5 years flatbed and 5.5 in various flavors of tanker (chemical, cryogenic, etc.)

Just recently got my own truck, looking for a little more freedom than as a company driver. However, I looked into leasing on to the company I've been running for for the last 3.5 years, only to find out that it's NOT a good deal for an O/O, both paywise and with the rules they want you to live under (I did NOT buy my own truck to have someone else tell me how I'm going to run it!!!).

So, here's what I'm looking for:
- I like to run 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off (no discussions of finances required here, it works for me and supports my lifestyle), would like to continue doing so. I would also be open to running a week on, week off.
- Unrestrictive. By this I mean, Qualcomm requirement or no (I much prefer paper books, but I can live with the rat box if necessary), speed requirement or no (I have no need or desire to run triple digit speeds, but I live out west, the speed limit is 75, I will not be forced to run 10 under), General BS, yes or no (one of the things I liked about the company I left is that as long as my loads got there on time, I got left alone by the office unless I needed something).
- I'd be willing to drag just about any flavor of trailer, exception being I WILL NOT deal with tarping anything on a flatbed, and I didn't like running oversize stuff.
- Perhaps it would be better to get my own authority?

Appreciate the .02 guys!

 

Hmm, seems about what I expected. The only two companies I've found so far that sounded like a halfway good deal are Landstar or Mercer. I like the sound of Mercer's "First in, first out" dispatch, any Mercer guys want to chime in on this? I think I see a way around my hatred of tarps (Snag up something with a Conestoga on it, problem solved....), perhaps they're worth looking into some more. I have read through the pros and cons posts of both Landstar and Mercer, and it sounds to me like the only guys who are really unsatisfied with either are the ones that DON'T like making their own decisions (but then, if you like having someone telling you where and when to go, on what load, and when to eat, sleep and use the restroom, you should probably be a Swift company guy.....)

- RickyBobby: I suppose, when I sit down and look at it, I'm looking for something as close as I can get to the heydey of trucking the older guys have told me about, with as much freedom as possible (getting the final say in where and when you go, not having some office imbecile who's never been in a truck breathing down your neck, etc.)

- Fortycal, thanks for the input.

- Gears: I have done only a little homework on getting my own authority, I kinda lose my backbone on it when I hear guys talking about snagging up loads, only to find another driver has already been booked on it, or about the guys that are really struggling in that arena. Granted, every one of us has different needs where making ends meet is concerned (and I certainly don't need to run nonstop and make 6 figures a year to make things work), but none of us likes this job well enough to do it pro bono!
As far as running P/O under one's own authority, I know that around the holidays UPS and FedEx starts screaming for help, does anyone know anything about running their own authority pulling wigglewagons on a fulltime basis?

Thanks for the help, guys!

 

Thanks for the input, guys! My brother just got a line on running Ammonium Nitrate out of Cheyenne, think we're going to look into that right now, However, I will keep Mercer and Landstar in mind, for down the road.