driving a fed ex van as a contractor

In fact, in rural areas (like most of MT), FedEx Ground contractors use cargo vans, cube vans or capped pickups for their route. You will have to check with your local FedEx ground ops to find out what, if any openings they have there.
I used to be a FedEx Ground contractor (with a step van), so if you have any more questions, I will be happy to answer them the best I can (my info is about 4 years old).

 

I had a step van, the kind that you see the UPS drivers using (except it wasn't poop brown, duh!). They pay by the stop, piece count and by the core zone, and also give you a fuel surcharge. Stops is easy, more stops, more money. Pieces too, however a really bug stop (100+ packages) and the pay-per-piece goes down, the thinking being that the extremely high piece count offsets the lesser pay. Your core zone, is your pay per day, for the area you service. The amount you get paid depends on stop density and the distance from the terminal. For example, my zone started about 7 miles from the term, so I got $10/day for C.Z. Another contractor, who had to drive about 30 miles from the terminal, got a C.Z. of $70/day.
And fuel surcharge is easy, at the end of your shift you turn in a tally sheet, for total stops and pieces (both pickup and delvd) and in it you fill in your mileage, they add it up and pay you a surcharge based on how much you drove.

As for the last question, FedEx Ground is all contractor (or employees of contractors), so they have no problem with them. They will hire temps during the holiday season, because the volume is exploding; the temps drive rented vans (usu cube vans) and are usually paid pretty poorly. However it is a great way to learn a route and how the terminal people treat their workers.

 

As far as I know (and my info is old, like I mentioned) there aren't any terminal-to-terminal runs for anything other than trailers. For smaller area ops, they may have the FedEx Home Delivery share space in a Ground terminal (they are a div of ground).
As for custom critical, you can run for them with a van (cargo or sprinter), and it can pay well, but it's expediting, and that can be hit-and-miss. If you google Fedex, you will get to their website, where they can hook you up with more info on jobs available in your area. Good luck bud!

 

I am a fedex ground linehaul contractor and anything that runs hub to hub is hauled by us in the doubles and occasional 53' custom critical is a different division I believe and the smallest trucks I have seen on the road for them is a 20' straight truck with a big sleeper on it, I think they run over 125,000 new. I don't think you can buy a van and just contract run for home delivery you would need to be a contractor and buy a route or get in on a new one but if it was a good route I'm sure it would go to an exsisting contractor before someone new. the only way I know of to get on would be to go to work for a contractor or buy a route.

 

When I was there we didn't have to 'buy' or bid for routes; if a route was open, the terminal would hire you in as a temp, and have you start learning the route. And if the same route comes open (due to a contractor quitting or being terminated), then all an existing contractor would have to do is talk to the terminal management about changing routes (this would be done by seniority).

Oh yeah, and custom critical does run cargo vans (and sprinters), it's just they are limited to two or three skids max. So most contractors go bigger and get the straight trucks.

 

The only FedEx division that might be able to do that is Custom Critical. You'll have to give them a shout and see what they can do.