How to Find Smaller Trucking Companies For Owner Operators?

You will be fine...That is not a bad record at all..And you are not missing much here at L/S.

 

No need for that sarcastic comment...That is not that bad of a record...He will do just fine with that record..

 

Ok whatever you say, so according to you GETTING FIRED from a CARRIER is a GOOD THING , but as a CARRIER not someone working for 1 I sort of know whats looked at when a prospective O/O applies to me..

 

As an approved carrier, Landstar can issue you their Savings Plus card from Comdata. You are supposed to be able to get the same fuel discounts as the BCO's. The drawback is that only Landstar can load the card and the only way that they load the card if if you haul their loads. Once the load has been delivered and billed, they will put the settlement on the Savings Plus card once it is set up. There are other brokers who offer similar programs through Comdata and other fuel card issuers. Once you get your authority active you can do business with anyone you choose.

 

Flatbed, you may be right but I was under the impression that most drivers have at least as many CSA points as I have and maybe a ticket or two over, say, 3 years or so. I'm not saying there aren't drivers with 0 CSA points & 0 tickets or accidents, just that my record may not be that bad after all. What do you think... is my thinking messed up?! FYI, I have no accidents in my history, and the "incidents" I referred to were nothing major, just Landstar policy within a certain time frame. They even told me they would hire me back after 1 year.

 

My first choice is to get my own authority. In fact I called OOIDA (I'm a member) Friday and got some info on it. I'm just still a little gun shy since I would be a rookie at it, even though I think my experience at Landstar dealing with their load boards and brokers should give me a leg up in making the transition. My tractor is paid for and I have excellent credit so getting a trailer/loan shouldn't be an issue. I was even told by one of the Landstar brokers I've been running for that he would be happy to still use me as an independent. Part of whats holding me back is reading posts about how you need tens of thousands of dollars in the bank before you even think about getting your own authority. I'm pretty good with financial things and my intuition tells me that since I have no debt other than a mortgage I should be ok. I am just now in the process of trying to crunch some numbers and get an idea of what I think I would need money wise. I have looked at some posts here on getting your own authority and so I have a general idea. You mention factoring as an option and using brokers with quick pay. Maybe between those two things and having a Landstar agent that I know I could at least do some runs for, maybe this could work. Any other advice?

 

Getting released from LS is far from the end of the world. Any carrier that knows what is going on in the industry is not going to automatically disregard an O/O off because of this.

I know some that wear it as a badge of honor.

 

Your biggest challenge is going to be location. Rates in your market are rough. Do you have a CARB compliant tractor? If you have that you are in a much better position.

And don't hang your hat on LS freight with new authority. Changes may make it harder to get loads for a year or so.

 

OOIDA is a good resource, but I would not buy their insurance to get your authority. Not every broker will accept their liability and cargo insurance, including Landstar. If you are confident in your equipment and have credit available, you could get by without a large savings. It is not advisable, but is possible. Most of the major brokers have some sort of quick pay where you can be paid within a couple of days from the time they receive your signed bills and invoice. Most factors will pay within the same time frame. Where some get into trouble is if they lose an engine or have some other type of major breakdown and don't have the resources to get their truck repaired. Whether you lease to a carrier or go it alone, you can have a major repair. If you have been with a carrier for a while, they may be willing to assist with repairs, but you can't count on it. When you run your own authority, you are on your own.

Finding good paying loads is a primary challenge when most get their authority. If you have been leased to Landstar, there isn't much difference when you get your authority other than having access to more people or brokers. You are not just limited by Landstar freight. You can haul for Mercer, Bennett, JB Hunt or any of the other big carriers who have their own brokerage. You can also haul for big brokers such as CH Robinson, etc., You stated that you have already spoken with some Landstar agents who can load you with your own authority. That is certainly a plus. You will need to lay out money for insurance, base plates and authority. Depending on where you live, your base plates should run between $1,500-2,200. My insurance agent will allow me to pay monthly for my insurance without a big down payment. Most will require about 20% down to write your insurance. If your premium is $6,000, then you may need to come up with $1,200. My guess is that you will probably pay a higher premium than $6,000, but you should check around for rates. You will be amazed at the differences in premium. The short of it is that you will need at least $4-5,000 to get started, not including money to run on until you start getting paid. It would be better if you have more than your expected expenses, because most of us underestimate the costs and over project on revenue. You need to be realistic in your projections. It is better to under estimate on revenue than to over estimate. Remember that we are heading into the slower time of year for trucking. If you plan on pulling a van, there should be plenty of Christmas freight between now and the middle of December.

You are a step ahead of most starting out, since you don't have a lot of debt and also have good credit. As long as you do your job and stay on top of your paperwork, there is no reason you should not do well. If you don't want to buy a trailer, you may be able to rent one until you see how things go. But, your payments would likely be lower if you buy rather than rent.

 

You are in the same boat i am accept i have some ''cash'' backing me up and L/S has not canned me yet.Allthough I am working hard at this one....You have a PAID FOR TRUCK.You will be fine..With my own AUTH and a paid for truck,all i need to do is run 1 load a week and this will cover all my expences...You are way ahead..Maybe L/S did you a favoer.This may be a blessing..

Listen to G/MAN he is a wealth of knowledge.You can do this.In fact you allready have been doing it leased to L/S..The only difference i see with L/S is they pay upfront the ''cash'' to get you going and then ''deduct'' it weekly and monthly..In the end you are paying for everything anyways accept the AUTH and INS..

This week i made my first phone calls to ''2'' companies asking if they were interested in me hauling freight for them.They told me no problems.One guy even asked me where i was going to be and saved my number..I even called L/S BROKER DEPT and they too said No Problem.I also called CH Robinson and they said no problem getting loaded..I feel with some leg work and a hard work ethic,the work will be there for you and I and others deciding to go on there own...

Keep asking questions.''The only stupid question,is the ONE NOT ASKED''......God know's i been asking alot of questions..