What happens to leasers when fuel prices go back up?

DON'T LEASE.

Believe me. I was one of those suckers about 4 years ago. That was probably the worst decision I ever made. I foolishly extended my home time out too long. That was the nail in my coffin. I struggled from there on out. I could never catch up and I made 0 dollars. In order to survive I had to take advances from the company. And of course that put me further in the hole. Not to mention I couldn't send any money home to my wife and kids. I was forced to tell my dad of my failure and I gave the truck back. I was a rookie of only 6 months. This happened over a 3 month period. And I regret my stupidity and will always be humbled from the experience. But I will never lease again. And I will never encourage a driver to do it. Truck payment along with insurance and other fees were pushing $800-900 per week. Make a mistake and you're done for.

After all that, I took a local job and I have been blessed since.

DON'T DO IT.

 

You can only take as much home time as you have cash to pay for.

 

Just do it. Because 4,742.172 people before you failed does not mean you will.

 

When will people learn per diem ,at a company, is not money theu give you but a tax loophole. Take per diem at the end of year on you taxes.

 

I'm an OO, I set myself up as an LLC filing as an S Corp. I put myself on the payroll, you can rest assured, the LLC pays part of my wages as per diem. It's a huge tax benefit to me.

 

You can claim per diem at the end of year if its was not done by you company first.

 

^
Claim per diem at the end of the year. most companies will charge you a certain CPM to have them do it for you, each paycheck might be a little better, but at the end of the year you'll have a lot less money.

 

Seriously this is almost the exact same questions as my driver and I had at a truck stop this morning.

Look I will say the same thing as my driver said; get your cdl first, drive and learn the business on someone else's dime than formulate a plan.

 

Seriously if you haven't run a business successfully prior you will in all likelihood fail leasing. Not trying to be negative, but that's the nature of any business.

 

Before you lease, read Jim's blog on his 4yr lease with Hill Bros (otrJournal.com). Its 4 years of headaches for a measly 52cpm. At the end of your lease, there is a balloon payment. You will never own that truck.

You can do fine at 40cpm in a van by the river, eating ribeyes and lobster as a company driver, save a few bucks, learn to inspect an older truck and buy it cash or on a couple credit cards. There is a good heavy duty diesel mechanic course from Penn Foster that will teach you how to buy a decent used truck and properly maintain it.

If you just focus on fuel, each time your new ride spits a code, it means your wallet will come out of that Taj-Majal Freightshaker dealership 2,500 dollars lighter. New trucks are nothing but eggshells designed to fleece you at the dealership. Why do you think them majors push them leases so hard? You are not going to clear what they tell you. It's BS.

You want to succeed as a trucker, learn how to shop parts and source reliable, honest labor... preferably in rural areas, where them shops tend to be smaller and mechanics have a rep to uphold with them farmers. And when you buy, get a Cummins, and make sure you get a pre-DEF engine and stay the hell away from CA. Freight rates are dog$hit down there anyway.