HELP! Need Info on BEST Lease on O/O Co.'s and Landstar advice

This is true for an o/o but people need to be more focused on becoming independent contractors. There is a big difference in the two. Independents like myself get plenty of home time every week and also the weekends. People need to stop leasing on and do their own thing. These companies are raping you. I am 34 years old now I am fleet owner and I am here to tell you in good advice not to be an a/hole go independent theses companies cant do anything for you that you cannot do for yourself.

 

Why resurrect a dead thread? I can name many things a company like Landstar can do that a small fleet cant, especially if that fleet relies on broker boards and not direct billed customers.
Fuel discounts: 25-30 or more cents per gallon
Direct freight: no middleman
Support: this can be invaluable during a crisis

I've done it both ways, with three trucks and an owner operator leased to me, and leased to Landstar. I'll take LS any day. It's already been said over and over, but if you take the brokers cut out of load off the board, plus quick pay, you either equal or sometimes do worse than a lease operator hauling it direct.

 

We are currently at Landstar and have been home for 2 weeks now. They do not concern themselves in YOUR business. Home time is what you feel comfortable taking. You just wont get paid!

They are very picky about everything. So they must have found something within your husband's record. Medical or driving history. Mercer has a similar system.

 

Agreed

Do not kid yourself. You are getting loads from a broker. All of the LS agents are brokers first. Many have second, non-LS affiliated 3PL companies that has the contract for that freight.

If you can get a reputable agent that is not interested in playing games with the system then you can do well. But that is becoming harder and harder.

Just use my LS Saving Plus card and get the same rates as you on fuel and all the other discounts. I will say that about them. Most other companies that provide fuel cards for contract carriers will not pass the complete discount along.

Well, only in the sense that the broker is contracted with the same company as the driver. But depending on your situation, 25-35% CUT. And people b itch when they think a broker takes more than 10%.

I will say this, when I have had issues with agents or loads they have bent over backwards to make it right. I would suspect the same level of service with BCO's

I have not done it both ways but am a business man. And I study and evaluate the market on a daily basis.

Your points in what value LS provides are a bit off in my opinion.

You talk about "direct" freight but you are getting your freight from a broker that is taking a VERY large cut. When you where independent and you found out a broker was keeping more than 25% of the rate I bet you would be like most and pop your lid.

So my last LS load that I got $2600 on and if I take the quick pay then I'm at about $2560. $2183.10 was what the LS driver was paid all in.

But that is just addressing what you are considering as a positive. And I think these are negatives that you have to accept for the what else they provide.

Support - as you mentioned - is a huge one. Not only at the company level but also if you can find a good agent to align with. I have seen drivers do it with and without and agent. And most without a good agent on their side are having a tough time.

No compliance headaches - you just have to run legal and safe. Send in your papaerwork and the office deals with FMCSA.

Bad Debt - while not a big issue overall it is something that an Independent has to always think about and LS takes that worry away.

So, while LS is a good company to run for you are trading off income for some of the other benefits (unless you are an independent that is having issues running a business and then you may also want to think twice before looking at LS).

 

I tend to not deal with Internet Truckstop agents Bill. No direct freight? That brokered freight better pay $3 per mile. An agent is a salesperson, whether 1099 or salary, salespeople get loads for trucking companies. LS takes their cut, the salesperson get's their commission, and I get my contracted percentage. Most loads I haul aren't on LSBroker.com, hell, most loads I haul aren't on LSOnline.com either
The example you wrote about your experience sounds like the LS truck was pulling a company trailer, therefore losing 7-8% of revenue. I've never understood that myself.

In my years under my authority, a broker only taking 10% meant the load was very hard to cover ie 4pm when it posts for same day PU etc. In almost all regards when I was able to find out the real rate, it was 15-20%.

LS has a great quickpay for outside carriers, but the typical broker quick pay is far less attractive, as you well know. If you don't choose quickpay and instead factor like so many do, it's even less attractive. Your either giving up 5% off the top, or chasing money just as you would without factoring. Having freight bills out 45 days can be unnerving. I had a 2200 freightbill go bad in 2004 (Every Load Moves). I got a check this year from the bankruptcy court for $300. Lost $1200 in 2007, hope to see a $100 from it in a few years. I was very diligent in my granting of credit, where others may not be and lose even more. I about crapped my pants when Truckers Express went out owing carriers over one million dollars. Thankfully they'd paid a $4,000 freight bill weeks earlier.

Everyone's situation is different. The motivated and intelligent will succeed and those that aren't will flounder and fail. I spoke to a driver this weekend with a terrible CSA score, running for a 1.00 pm plus fuel hauling 100k in the PNW. He was complaining about living in the truck, and he looked like the typical posterboard scuzzy driver. Last week, I did $10k to the truck on 3500 miles with 20,000 lbs. This week I'll do $7,200 to the truck on 2800 miles at 15,000 lbs if I don't grab any partials. He couldn't grasp that. He also will never get hired here due to his CSA score.

 

Here I had this nice long response written when I noticed that this thread is over a yr old

I'm pretty sure they have since gone bankrupt by now if they needed 2 grand a week in order to survive, that's crazy.


I am with LS as well and I don't want to see just ANY ONE leasing on. I have a good thing going on and I don't want to have to have to deal with some yahoo that thinks freight that pays $1.75 a mile is good paying.

 

That is what irritates the fire out of me. Agents that think a buck fifty is a good rat to haul their 42000 pounds 2800 miles and be there in 3 days. I spoke to an agent, one that was paying good, but he was miffed when he heard my answer. He asked what it would take for us to haul something @ 42900 lbs from Dallas to Miami. When I told him that I would not even consider that load you could just hear him scratching his head!

 

Did you bother asking if he was "sniffing glue" that morning or whether or not he ate lead paint chips as a child? LOL

 

Nope! I just tell them no thank you and end the conversation. I learned a long time ago you never upset those who could potentially influence your pay. One might need this twit.