Dart Smart Lease

I am on my 3rd lease, (was with them 10 years ago) now I am back with Dart and doing well. They have their issues like any other trucking company, and like any other trucking company they can't get enough drivers, hence the extensive advertising. I am not getting rich but I am making a comfortable living. I have a bachelors in Finance so that helps, I am comfortable bringing home $1200-$1500 a week after all deductions, If you are looking for more then I suggest maybe Mercer or Landstar (bear in mind you will be accumulating additional operating expenses because you have to lease, plate and maintain a trailer..so that $1.60 a mile widdles down pretty quick) I am on a Dedicated Account so the consistent miles help my bottom line tremendously. I work the fuel discounts (sometimes up to .60 cents per gallon off pump price),and I also work the settlements to my advantage. I know my cost per mile to the penny. Here is a breakdown of what you will make hauling our cheap freight.

Linehaul 1.025 per mile
FSC .246
Total: 1.271
Truck Lease: .1996 per mile
Insurance/ Misc Deductions .0596 per mile
Maintainance .07 per mile
Self Employment Tax etc. .11 per mile
Fuel @ 2.35 avg. (truck gets 7.5 mpg or more consistently, and most of my loads ARE under 30000#, if they are over 42000# I get an extra .04 cpm) so fuel is .31 cpm
Total Cost per mile: .7492

Total Profit per mile: .5218 cpm based on 2500 mile week, my weekly average for the last two months has been 2785 miles.
so I pay Obamacare at 659.00 per month so divided over 4 weeks that's $164.75/week for decent insurance.

The conclusion to all this is, the smart lease can work, I will not get rich at Dart but I will make a descent living and am able to take several vacations a year and not worry like I did as a company driver, I clear .52 cpm and don't have to jump through company driver Chinese Math with complicated bonus structures, sliding scale etc etc. Do I have a shiny fancy truck? No I have a stripped down Freightliner Cascadia that is a money making machine because of the way it is spec'd. To me a truck is a tool to make money, not a symbol of my ego.I have the means to go out and buy any truck I want. The biggest thing to me is if I get sick of it I can walk away(which I have been driving 22 years so it could happen at any moment), or run depending on the case and not have to worry about Wells Fargo or Diamler Finance wanting their money.

SO Lease Purchase Bad? In Some cases especially if you are up against a set pay period with fixed weekly payments (our settlement system is different than others, PM for extensive details)
Do I Like Dart? Depends on the day
Would I recommend Dart to others? Only after I was sure they knew what the hell they were doing and had a small amount of business acumen, and a little bit of common sense.

So fire away!

 

This is true, I heard Northeast Short Haul sucks over here, glad I don't live up there, and further more don't go there

 

How is everyone doing at Dart? My husband is thinking about looking into their local dedicated lease purchase...

 

If you ride along with him it's great,if your at home he'll hate it..

 

He's already used to being out 5-7 weeks without seeing me or the kids. He hates it and would love to go back local, but the money just isn't there. This would get him home a bit more, but also a loss in pay. We're weighing our options right now and the Dart dedicated is just one of them.

 

Two posts above you, Tenn I See Trucker pretty much laid the numbers on the table...that was in June...it is only 2 months later...don't think much has changed in that time. Since he is the only GENUINE poster in this thread, you can take his word for things, or you don't have to.

All I really saw in this or any Lease/Purchase thread is this:

And all I have to say about it is this: Mmmmmmmmmm tacos!

 

Total Profit per mile: .52 and out of that what do you pay yourself as a wage , if your paying yourself the entire $0.52 / mile then there is no profit?

 

Quick question on the Dart...is there a buyout at the end for the truck? My husband is working and doesn't want to call the recruiter while working, so I'm asking questions here and making a list of things for him to ask the recruiter, as well. This is a big decision and not one I'm willing to just jump into without knowing all I can.

 

I would tell ur husband to call pgt.