Kevin Rutherford

I've gotten alot out of kr over the years and do I think what he says is gospal certainly not but he's probably the most educated voice there is when it comes to commen sence in regards to operating a truck efficiently and who else brings as much input from all sources to the table as he does ?
Take what you can use and leave the rest .

 

I'm an owner operator leased to a carrier. I have 2 trailer types and also do power only thru brokers. I own one trailer outright and borrow the other from the carrier for a few points less take on those loads.

My carrier has zero input or control over anything I haul unless they offer a direct load at which point I either accept or decline. I do abide if they have someone on a "do not haul" list which would be for shyster-brokers - non payment, etc. I sign the rate cons if no-one in the office can deal with it quickly or after normal business hours. I can also set up and haul for any broker out here. I can solicit, negotiate, and get us in with direct customers.

You guys with your own authority are not the only "owner operators" out here so get over yourself. I own my equipment and I operate it. A little history lesson for you "owner operator" is a term that came about during regulation when just about 99% of your owner operators were *surprise* leased to carriers because authority was impossible to get.

 

The way I see it is;

If you own your equipment you are then a OWNER & OPERATOR. Hence the title owner operator.

Only difference is one owner may be what I call an "independent" and the other chooses to work with an established carrier by contract.

A lease operator to me, is someone who is leasing their equipment.

If you got the title to your trucks and trailers, your an OWNER. And if operate them too, then you would be....... ? You guessed it, an owner operator

 

For the most part, I agree, but one needs to look beyond rigid definitions and look at the totality of the situation. I was most definitely an O/O (by function--we were a carrier), but I didn't own any equipment--my trucks were rented (not even leased) and we provided contract power to pull trailers owned by others (sometimes direct, but most often third-party).

 

The discussion became entretaining. The real, pure 100% owner operator, from my unbiased observations, is someone who meets the following conditions:
1. 100% of freight he takes from direct customers.
2. The truck, needs to be 100% owned and trailer (s) too.
3. Paper logs is a must, nobody tells the real owner op what he can or what cannot do or how to drive his trucks
4. The only acceptable trucks are Petes and KWs, Macks, never ever Volvos and and the like substandard foreign looking elements
5. Wears long Z Z Top beard and smokes Malboro Reds.
I still need to work on 4.

 

Gotta have a chain drive wallet, a patch work leather vest, and either a cat hat or a cowboy hat.

 

Prefer a leash for your lighter too!

 

What if your beard looks Frank Beard's beard? Does that count?

 

And those guys alone are the only ones smart enough to not fall for Kevin Rutherford's scams, the rest of us low life lease op peasant's are his target audience because we're too stupid to know better.

 

And IMO about 85% of the owner ops with their own authority would be better off leased onto a carrier that knows what they are doing and how to find good paying, direct freight. How many people come on here saying they just got their authority, and now what? How do I find freight. Or, they are running 100% off the load board or using brokers and thinking they are ahead by not having to give up a % to a carrier. Then you see a lot of them willing to give up 10% of that cheap ### freight they are hauling just to get
( dispatch service) someone else to hawk the load board for them. Hell, I only give up 15% to be leased on and probably only haul 20% brokerd freight.
Seems many of them have their own authority because the can't meet the insurance requirements to be leased on to a GOOD company.
If your in the 15 or so % that are doing well with your own authority "good on you" and this post doesn't apply to you but the ones who don't know what they are doing do affect us all by hauling that cheap crap just to try and make ends meet.
KR try's to make them think that they can take a couple of seminars and order his course, then if he can run and live cheap enough then he will make it.