Prime lease vs other companies?

The term BIG MONEY depends upon who you talk to. To some people $250.00 a week is big money. Also this driver could be making what you consider BIG MONEY gross per week. but what is the net.

It's not what you make, it's what you keep, after EVERYTHING is taken out, including accounting for home time, and breakdown time. The payments keep coming no matter what.

If you're netting $500.00 - $1000.00 per week before income taxes, that's not a lot for the time a L/O puts into the business, unless you enjoy living in your truck, eating peanut butter, and driving 55 MPH.

I know some do much better than this for various reasons, but most do not.

 

There are quite a few factors you have to look at with your trainers numbers.

You are co-driving as a team... you are being paid a training wage of .12/mile or $600.. whichever is greater... How well would your trainer being doing if he paid you a competitive wage?

From all accounts, Lease teams are making more money at Prime right now than solos.

What kind of truck is he in?... The Century is a cheaper lease... they are all going away over the next 2 years.... there are no new ones, and are being replaced with the Cascadia that has a higher payment.

Im sure you know his Revenue.... but after all costs, how much is he really pocketing... does he show you his statements? and if he does, do you know what you are reading... they are confusing as hell, unless you know how to read them....

I was confused the first time I read my Company Driver statement when it came to Charges and Re-imbursements. (Example: I am charged the amount to pay a lumper as an advancement, and then I am re-imbursed that amount as a lumper fee)...

Lease statements have excess milage charges, tire funds, fees etc...

Its your decision, I can only give you what I know and you can use that info to help you decide.

For me to give you a weekly paycheck average (after taxes and benifits) amount would be in-acurate given the variable of re-imbursements that fluctuate that amount week to week.

I have made $18589.00 before taxes (milage, fuel bonus, drop pay and Layover) in the last 25 weeks (back to Jan. 1)... breaking that down its about $743.00/week... thats about $38.6k for 52 weeks at that average...

The bright note is those averages have been going up weekly for the last 2 months.... breaking down just the last 7 weeks I have averaged $850/week before taxes.

 

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...003-an-depth-look-various-lease-programs.html

I started this thread to help fellow drivers on here make wise decisions regarding lease purchase programs aka fleece purchases.

KH

 

Heres a few things to think about. Your still a new driver. As a new driver when you get in your own truck you will have a learning curve. As a company driver Prime is taking the RISK..As a lease driver YOU are.

If I were in your shoes I would go company and settle in to being on your own for awhile. Allow the economy to get in better shape. Allow yourself to ENJOY the feeling you have when you are finally cut loose and on your own.

I have leased from Prime. Left due to medical reasons. As a lease driver I can tell you that the risk I was taking was NOT worth it for the money I was making. When I say risk I am talking about the possiblity of breakdowns, the possibility of an incident, the possibility of a trailer having a defect and you overlooked it on your inspection( should NOT happen but can), a cargo claim..One thing to go wrong and you could be looking at thousands of dollars!

As for the Prime lease itself I will ony say like every other company there are the good points and the bad points. However, having said that I will say the one point that really began to irritate me the most was having to pay for the reefer fuel. Many of the others do NOT require this and it is a HUGE expense.

I had a plan when I signed on. There was a reason for it and it was NOT to make more money then the company driver...I wanted to learn the business sign. I had taken the time to learn the industry as a driver as a company driver. I then leased and was learning the business side.

Good luck

 

You should go company until you get "your game." It's a fact that your driving technique alone can cause your fuel bill to swing as much as 33%. Once you have driving down, and the economy turns around - then think about leasing. In terms of revenue generated by a solo truck right now, you probably wouldn't be making money (big or small) under Prime's cost structure.

 

With decent credit and a down payment... you're right. It's a huge step from company driver to having what it takes to be an owner-operator. My plan is to do some short-term leasing first. Besides, it's easier to impress a bank if you have some experience and successful numbers to back the pie-in-the-sky business plan in order to get that loan!