Crst malone

Malone seems to mostly operate in a box: I10 to I80, I95 to I35...

 

Not necessarily. I ran out of Sioux Falls, and spent most of my time out of that "box" you mentioned.

 

Witchinghour, are you still with them? From your estimation how much could a person gross per month there?

 

No, I'm not. I came off the road in August to go back to school, and I drove a truck for a fleet owner who leased his trucks on with them, so I'm not in a good position to figure what gross figures for an O/O would look like.

 

That is where the better rates are, but they do run California and some other areas outside where you mentioned. When I leased to them, I mostly ran the left coast. I had a run that started about 10 minutes from where I parked my truck and drove to Union City, CA. (San Francisco area). From there, I often had to deadhead to Fontana or the LA area to get a reload back to the east coast. I would usually find something back the Baltimore area and then find something back home.

 

CRST Malone has an agent in Sioux Falls that has some good paying freight most of the time. Unless things have changed in recent years, he mostly runs I-80. They also have another agent in Fontana that mostly puts together LTL's and he can usually put a decent load together if you decide to run out of that area. My recommendation is to stay within the area that was mentioned earlier. You will probably make more money and be closer to home.

 

I got a job recently where I'm home everyday driving in a mill but I'm considering going back on the road. BUT... I do not want to go back on the road as a company driver. Been there, done that, hated it. I've talked to a few Malone drivers and everyone I talked to was content with them. I get in here and in another thread all I read was gripe complain fuss. The last driver for Malone I talked to was very happy with them. He was trying to explain how the load board worked and it didn't sound too complicated too me. He told me the one thing you REALLY need with Malone is a laptop or a smart phone with internet access so you can access the load boards readily. After that his main point was, as should be blatantly obvious to anyone, that as long as you keep moving you will do great at Malone. That you have to learn the system and figure out which loads are worth messing with but keep moving and that will come to you. In the meantime you still make enough money to take care of everything and have plenty left to put back. When you do learn what's what you can make an exceptional living at Malone. And by that I don't, and he didn't, mean get rich quick. And I do have about 3 years flatbed experience and a coil card.

With all of that being said, I'm concerned with this...


1) I keep hearing (from the Malone drivers I've talked to on the road) that you can bring home after all is paid for... truck note, fuel, tax, tag, title, dock, fees (you know the story) you can, if you stay out and work instead of sitting around being lazy at the truck stops, expect to bring home anywhere from 1,000 to over 2,000 a week. Is this realistic?


2) Do you really NOT have a choice in which truck you get? They just give you one and that's that? No 5 or 10 or however many to look at and pick from?


3) Do you think the no money down and no credit check thing is as easy as they make it sound? And can I get in the truck with less than 1,000 dollars in my pocket and make it work without starving or having to hitchhike home?


Say what you will but I'm serious with these questions. I just got out of OTR a few months ago after discussing it with my wife and deciding that I was either going to get a job at home or get my own truck so I could actually make some money and have a lot more decision making power in the operation of my truck i.e. lanes, hometime, modifying truck, etc.

Now we're getting divorced and there is no reason for me to be concerned about hometime.


Any serious comments welcome.


Thanks and God bless )

 

I doubt that you will actually clear $2,000/week with any lease/purchase. I think that it may be difficult to clear $1,000/week. I have spoken to a number of those doing the lease purchase and most really are not netting that much. Some drivers only count fuel when they say "net." Back with I leased a truck to them (I owned my truck), the average owner operator ran about 2,500 miles per week. You can run more miles pulling a van than most who pull flats. It takes extra time to tarp and properly secure a load. I had cheap truck payments and owned my trailer. With CRST Malone you will not only have your lease payment on the truck but also need to pay rent on a trailer, since they don't furnish trailers. The last time I spoke with one of their owner operators they paid $185/week to rent a trailer. That was what I paid monthly to buy my own trailer.

You need to sit down with a recruiter and take an objective look at the numbers. They have a weekly truck rental of about $250/week, if I remember correctly. But, there are other expenses that you need to consider, such as mandatory maintenance, base plates and permits, etc., You will need to purchase tarps and securement equipment. That should run about $2,500. They used to finance that for owner operators with 10% down. They will take out base plate, escrow, securement equipment, etc., out of each weekly settlement. Once those costs have been paid, you will have more net income. I know one of their recruiters that works out of Dallas. I saw her at the truck show in Dallas last year. She told me that they were averaging $2/mile to the truck at that time. That is an average. In order to get the best rates, you will need to follow the freight.

I think that one reason some lease operators don't do better is due to their work ethic. They don't understand what it really takes to operate a successful business. For many, the first major breakdown puts them out of business. It is never a good idea to start out in this business without some money set aside. I have spoken with lease operators who have told me they were doing well. But, if any tell me that they are netting $2,000/week, I would not believe them. There is simply too much money to pay out. Net is not just lease payments, but fuel and everything you pay out. Just look at the basic numbers. If your lease payment is $250/wk and your trailer payment is $185/week, you are spending $435/week. That doesn't include any of the other costs, such as tarps and equipment, base plates, insurance, etc., Your biggest expense will usually be fuel. You will probably burn from 100-125 gallons per day. Running 5 days/week at $4/gallon that comes out to (100 gallons x 5 days x $4/gallon = $2,000/week for fuel). If you are running harder (125 gallons x 5 days x $4/gallon = $2,500/week. Looking at the lower end of the fuel costs and adding in the truck and trailer payments you will need to make a minimum of $2,450/week to break even. Don't forget the other weekly expenses and unexpected expenses, such as a blown tire. You should be able to get a national account discount, but you should expect to spend $400+ for a blown tire.

Get a list of actual deductions from your recruiter and add those to the fixed costs that I have mentioned. You may be able to get some fuel discounts with CRST Malone. I had my own fuel card when I was with them. You need to keep in mind that the average rate is just that, an average. It may take time for you to find those with the better loads. I have no doubt that they also have rates less than $1.50/mile if you are in a bad area and willing to haul them. All carriers have cheaper rates. There will be a learning curve with any carrier. It takes time to learn how their system works. Apparently, you can now go on line and find loads with them. That was not available when I was there.

I had a driver who came to work for me a number of years ago. He wanted to do a lease purchase with CRST Malone but changed his mind when he found that he could not select the truck he wanted. I don't know if that has changed since that time. It is my understanding that they assign you a truck and you go to Rockport, IN and pick it up. I believe that all their lease trucks are checked, but you will need to check it for yourself. I don't know anything about any warranty they may offer lease operators.

It is easy to get into any lease purchase with a carrier. I don't know that it is the best thing for a driver to do. If I were planning to do a lease with a carrier, I would put CRST Malone at the top of my list.

My problem with all lease purchases is most about all the hidden fees and high payments. Some may not really be hidden, but the lease operator chooses to ignore them. I have never had a monthly payment over $1,200. Starting out, I think that is too much.

I was able to save a decent amount of money when I leased to them. I had several thousand dollars in the bank, too. In fact, I believe that I had about $7,000 in my pocket when I first went with them. I think my truck payment was less than $700/month. I did rent one of their trailers for a couple of months until I could find a trailer to buy. Back then they charged $125/week for trailer rental, I believe. I could have paid cash for my trailer, but financed it with monthly payments of $185. So, my total monthly payments were less than $900. I made decent money and put money in my pocket.

It is important to keep expenses low. Every dollar saved is money in your pocket. Too many who look at these programs do so with stars in their eyes. They don't look at costs realistically. When I talk to those wanting to start ANY business I tell them to add all expenses and add 1/3 to their estimate. That usually comes closer to reality. There will be things that come up that will take money out of your profits. Cash flow is not profit. It isn't the amount of cash flow but what you can keep that is important. And don't forget the taxes. Self employment alone will run you about 15%.

You may need to pretty much live in the truck if you lease it. When you take time off those lease payments will continue. If you do decide to pursue the lease purchase, I would save as much as possible. Get your cash reserve up as quickly as you can. One question that I would want answered is how many actually complete their lease and get the title. I would also want to see if I could actually talk with a few who have completed their lease. I can't give you first hand experience, since I have never seen the profitability in a lease purchase. You could be one who can make it work. If you decide to move forward, I hope that you will keep us informed, regardless of how it turns out.

 

I appreciate you taking the time to give me so much help. I've been considering this for a while now and money in my pocket to start with seems to keep being the biggest issue. I'm not afraid to work and being in the truck for extended periods is not a problem. Just trying to be patient and crunch all the numbers and be realistic about my situation before I take that leap.

I've been told by more than a few drivers that if it was at all possible, to get my own truck through somebody like Freightliner with their Selectruck program so I can keep whoever I'm leased on with out of my business as far as what kind of bills I have. I can see where that could be taken advantage of very easily. But, I just never had the money to think of that. Now that I'm going to be single again maybe that will change.

Thanks again, I appreciate your time and experience.

 

You will pay about 20% over retail for a select truck. But, you will have some warranty. When you get into a truck with poor or no credit and no money you can expect to pay a premium to buy or lease a truck.

If going with CRST Malone is something you really want to do, you may consider checking with them to see if there are any owner operators or fleet owners who may need drivers. You can track revenue and expenses and have a much better idea if that is something you may want to do. Just take your time and think it through. You could get yourself a composition book or laptop and set up a spreadsheet to track revenue and expenses. After a few months you will have an idea of whether it is something that would be profitable for you.