without risk, there's no reward.

You're twisting my statement.

My post was in response to a simple driver A vs driver B comparison of earning. No mention or implication that driver A was saving for a truck. Additionally I never stated driver B was ahead by doing L/P.

One of the things that's so annoying about this discussion is one side always wants to assume the best case for the company driver saving and the worst case for the L/P. You never see any Pro-L/P statements automatically assuming the company driver trying to save is working at the bottom of the pay scale. A second annoyance is the intentional twisting of context. I'll do you a courtesy you don't do anyone else and without any twisting of the context you presented your question.

Since the OP of this thread has stated that he sold the L/P truck he paid off for $45K I'm going to use that as the dollar amount to save.

Going by my "5 year" reference that would be $45k/260 weeks = $173 a WEEK a company driver would have to save to match the L/P drivers paid off truck value.

Driver A has $45k in cash. Driver A buys a truck for say $15k. leaving him with $30K. He spends $300 for a mech to inspect it, another $300 for a dyno report, say a very conservative $2k in immediately required repairs. Driver A has $17,600 in a $15k company truck that's likely over 10 years old, has well over a million miles, has seen god only knows how many drivers, unknown lifetime maint, that he has no seat time in let alone having pulled a load across country. I refer you to DoubleYellow's thread and the problems he's had with a sweetheart of a used truck.

Driver B has a truck valued at $45k with between 700 and 800k miles. Driver B has just spent 5 years driving his truck, driver B knows exactly what problems he's had with his truck. IF the L/P driver was thinking things through he also has a fair amount of accumulated Maint funds. "buy, here, pay, here" can't match what driver B has on the best of days.

Driver B "could" sell his truck as the thread OP did and do exactly what the thread OP did and have $45k cash AND his accumulated maint account to buy an older used truck if he wanted to go that route.

Now since you always want to toss around that real high paying job that allows you to save an average of $173 a week over 5 years. My challenge to you is find 800 open company positions (the approx number of JCT L/P's) around the country that would allow that sort of savings plan. And because you always want to assume the "best" case for your argument I'm going to assume the worst. Driver A has 4 kids, a high maint spouse who doesn't work, a mortgage in Los Angeles area, and a car payment to take care of while he's saving that $173.

And I'd like you to find a $15k truck on the market today that you can guarantee, in writing, with money backing it up in case you're wrong, will be at least as good as the truck purchased by DoubleYellow. This last is so I can go buy it. Something with a RedTop Cummins and a 13 would be nice. Maybe a 9300 or very early 9900ix Cornbinder.

 

I understand what you are saying but you're working under the assumption that the L/P is actually going to make it the five years, which seems a pretty tall order considering how little some of these L/P programs pay to the truck. $ 1.00 per mile +FSC while having to maintain and repair your own truck is a joke. The fact that some guys actually make it just speaks of their resilience and determination of some people.

 

Im not assuming the l/p is going to make it any more than I assume a company driver will save $173 a week for 5 years exclusively for the purpose of buying a truck and related future expenses.

 

AMEN!!!!!

 

If you don't follow through with the savings plan you're going to be broke. If you can't follow thought with the L/P plan it's going to leave you bankrupt.

I think those are two very different stakes at risk here.