Landstar flatbed or stay with fedex freight?

@Fupayme -

I read your PM, but I’ll answer here.

I will apologize that the referenced thread from Mr @Lepton1 , is over 100 pages long - but it covers 5 years of my life going from exactly what you’re doing now, to where you’re proposing to go.

Skip read through it, all my numbers are in there, what happened along the way, along with sage advice from older and more experienced hands.

I spent years researching. Asking. Listening. You have to take time to research and plan. And prepare.

Yes, I was frightfully bored at ODFL, after 7 years we were burned out. Yes the money was good - 180k+ teaming. Great benefits blah de blah.

Biggest thing - it’s a lot easier going in with low home and business debt. That way in years like this one, you can simply park up and wait.

Hope this helps.

 

Whatever you do don’t get a motor Fitzgerald built as they are well known to fail in the 200,000-300,000 mile range. I have a Clarke rebuilt motor in my glider. Yes I am making more than Ups, but more flexibility and less hours was why I left there. Cash is a great plan as I run my home life and my business debt free and it allows me to do what I want based not first on money. I still want to be compensated well for my time or I don’t do something. Being an owner operator is not for everyone, but if you have a good financial and business sense about you it can be great. Or it could also suck depending on what you do with your rig and your skills. I haul cars and probably won’t do anything else until I am done making money, which is another 5-6 years.

 

Everyone’s tax situation may be different. Due to many factors I will not discuss in detail I am still a Sole Proprietor and am happy with the $62,000 a year I put in to my Individual 401k. I also do an IRA and together this is ample for my retirement needs. Fortunately health care is not an issue as my wife has me in her plan. You are absolutely correct that my tax situation is great compared to being an employee. It really is specific to each individual’s situation whether a great paying company job or a well researched, well paid owner operator gig is better because what works for me may not work for everyone else.

 

I'd go flatbed. Most of our Landstar flatbedders make $125K year. And that's working 5 months a year.

 

You just don’t want any competition in vans! Is that all no tarp freight where the shipper secures the load while the driver takes a nap? That’s what I plan to do when I retire, but 5 months is way too long to work.

 

Landstar

 

This particular 2 week period I was out 1 night. Some weeks I am home every night and other weeks I stay out 1 or 2 nights. 3 or 4 times a year I run the road and leave on Monday and get home Thursday or Friday. The money is in short haul. I work my body more than I do my equipment, but that is where the higher revenue per mile is in my line of work.

 

They fail to recognize the difference in a rookie lease op pulling a trailer for a Werner or Western Express for $1.00 plus FSC and someone well seasoned one the other end of the spectrum who does some form of specialized trucking.

 

Someday I'm gonna be a real O/O.