How Do We Work Together?

Check the OOIDA website. It's a business website for 0/0's and small fleet owners.

 

I prefer to find a company that lets me have my own baseplate, IFTA, fuel card and trailer. I became an O/O because I do not care to have someone having the ability to tell me, "you're fired".

Heard that enough since 2009. Never again.

 

yup, never have to hear "you're fired" again, we just have to hear, "you owe me money" all the time now !! lol.

 

Typically, the owner operator is responsible for any and all costs associated with running his truck. That includes taxes, base plates and permits, maintenance, insurance (on the truck), occupational accident or workers comp insurance, fuel, oil changes, repairs, etc., Some carriers will pay for the bas plates and then deduct the cost, plus a handling fee, from the owner operators weekly settlements.

 

I was leased to a big fleet that paid by the mile plus a fuel surcharge . They didn't pay percentage. They paid liability insurance , plate , they owned the trailers ( no charge for trailer ), they supplied a fuel card, I hauled the freight they dispatched , they also paid empty ( no load on truck ) miles. Different companies do things their own way.
Reasons to quit: lack of communication, failure to get driver home for time off, lack of choice in choosing what loads and areas you want to run, rude treatment from dispatch. Many things can add up to cause a driver to become dissatisfied. It's not all about money. If companies would treat a driver with a little consideration and respect, that could go a long way to encouraging loyalty. Many companies treat a driver like a necessary evil .

 

Pay and miles are the two complaints that I hear most. All too often the owner operator fails to treat this as a business. Many find it difficult to make the transition from being a company driver to an owner operator and businessman. While many may want to blame the carrier for their failure, it is usually the owner who is to blame. I have always believed in following the freight and best rates. Some only want to run in specific lanes are areas. That can create problems with carriers who are trying to generate revenue for their owner operators.

Not all carriers have dispatchers for owner operators. More and more carriers are moving toward being agent based and eliminating the dispatchers. This works much better when the owner operator is being paid percentage. You will find more dispatchers with carriers paying mileage than on percentage.

I have known of owner operators who will change carriers for as little as a penny a mile increase. Some carriers do a poor job in communicating with their drivers and owner operators. Not all owner operators are good communicators. I have heard of a few carriers who have had a problem getting the owner operators pay correct. That can be one factor in encouraging an owner operator to leave a carrier.

 

I have been leased to the same carrier for @9yrs now, and most of the guys here have been here over 10.
Quick rundown of terms of what I get paid to the truck:
No trailer rental fee
67% of linehaul and OD.
100% of tarp, relocation, fuel surcharge.
They pay cargo liability, I pay for baseplate, licensing of the truck in all states etc, Qualcomm rental, all my equipment, bobtail and PD insurance, and anything else to do with the truck basically. They file my fuel taxes for free, as they have to, then I pay any differences.
Reason why folks stick around here would be the atmosphere I guess. Smaller company, great people, we make good money, and they treat you right.
Not saying that everyone is happy here, there will always be folks who wont be happy anywhere, but most are.

Martin