John Christner Trucking walk-away lease?

Well, JCT is at $1/mi now, but when I was there at .90/mi +.02/mi safety bonus, I was bringing net pay (before taxes) of $1300-1600 weekly. This was in early 2014, so that was a decent payweek, definitely better than what I was getting as a company driver at the time. But I also did that at CSQT trans as a co driver last year. The only time I would drop below 1400 miles might be a short week due to a 4 day hometime. I ran three weeks, stayed home 3.5 to 4 days, then back out. I made good money at .90/mile but had zero intention of completing the lease and owning that or any other truck.

At $1/mile I guarantee you I would make even more than that. They pay for literally everything except for fuel, maintenance, truck wash (they pay for trailer cleanouts), and bobtail insurance, QC rental and a couple other small fees. If you are running 1400 miles at JCT, you aren't working and are probably on hometime.

But again.... I didn't want to own the truck (and told them so at the beginning). When I was done with them, I gave the keys back, went home, and got my $2200+ maintenance escrow refund in the mail.

Worked well for me but your mileage may vary.

 

I'm just curious... ya know, enquirer minds wanna know! LOL!

If JCT was so good, why aren't you still there? You could have traded in the truck you had for a new one, kept going as you were, and never own one. Just keep "renting"/leasing one and making that money.

I assume you found a better gig, or something, right?

Anyway... just wondering. Why? Well, I have a good friend doing exactly what I said earlier. He has resigned with a particular company now twice (each lease lasts 3 years), and he's now been with them 4 1/2 yrs. He loves still being Independent, and having the say of when and where (of course he's leased on with a GREAT company that still believes that Independent Lease Purchasers are the same as O/O's). He plans on staying there forever, unless a better gig comes around, which is unlikely. I can tell ya this too... his 2017 gross was a smidgen over $247,000.00 --- yes, WITH eLogs! Not bad, eh?

So...Jarhed, just thinking out loud here I suppose, but can't figure out why you left JCT if it were all that good???

Thanks for your time... God bless & keep the shiny side up!!

 

Very good question and I have no problem answering it.

I'm actually a project manager by trade, and that takes precedent over driving for any company. When I left, I had gotten a position at home as a project manager, and my youngest son was born 2 months after that. So, yeah... I belong at home. I told them I wasn't staying during orientation.Keep in mind, that wasn't the last trucking company I worked for either. I went to CSQT and most recently Napa Transportation.

Would I go back? Yeah, if I wanted to make more money than I did as a company driver and run all 48 states, I would. I spent 90% of my time at JCT west of the Mississippi, would have loved some more southeast runs. I would NOT go to JCT to buy a truck though. Arrow and Lone Mountain can set anyone up in a truck, even with poor credit. If I were to buy, thats the route I would go. I'd go back to JCT though, as long as they were ok with me NOT wanting to buy their truck (swap it out every other year or so...), and leave whenever the hell I wanted. They have the freight and miles, no issues there at all. And now at $1/mi I would make more money.

 

May I ask why not?

Please correct me if I'm wrong with any of this because all I seek is accurate info.

From what I understand is if you buy new from JCT you're getting a no money down loan @10% which to me looks like a pretty good deal for any first time equipment loan.

At the end of the note at least you know the history of the rig from day one and had the benefits of the warranty on the big stuff for much of that time.

Much of what I've read about Lone Mountain (and the like) is that at best you're rolling the dice on the truck and you'll have no idea on how the truck was treated/serviced for it's life.

You don't have to search hard to find LM and Arrow horror stories out there. I'ts pretty hard to find too much negative about JCT. Usually no news is good news (I hope).

The thing about the JCT deal that appeals to me the most is that variable payment. A couple of years ago I got sick and just like that I was out of commision and couldn't earn for 10-12 weeks.

If that ever happened again I could likely survive making that variable payment. If not then at least I'm able to walk away from it without any negative ramifications other than losing any equity in the truck. That's a lot easier of pill to swallow than a bank repo.

 

You can get new trucks at Lone Mountain if that is what you are looking for. The total cost new for a dealer and JCT is about the same based on several analysis I have seen here on TTR, but the difference is that I can take a Lone Mountain or Arrow truck wherever I want with lower payments. Still, I like JCT and it was a good fit for me.

 

Trying to think? Is that the outfitwo in Springfield Missouri? If so,heard GOOD STUFF ONLY.

 

While i cant argue with the points being made regarding the rate being low, I can fully atest to JCT being ran by stand up folks. Their lease is completely walk away. Their rate is fixed so the only way to increase your earning potential is to run more miles and that obviously has its limits. Increasing your profit on the other hand is completely in your hands. I was there and paid off 1 truck using it as a trade in. I left 3 years ago to increase my revenue, profit and control. I have nothing bad to say about them a people, or in keep their word.
That being said you will not pick your freight, they will plan you.
The pay is low with the caveat they do pay pretty much everything except fuel, maintenance,and truck payment.