Landstar

If you do not have anything other than negative feedback to add to an otherwise awesome and very informative thread then maybe you should just stay lost.

 

Nope not a pro but have enough common sense not to jump out there with a $2400 truck note on a truck that people are having re gen and DPF filter problems that results in DAYS of down time and expensive repairs. Don't belive me, ride by any W.W. Williams, Freightliner, or any authorized Detroit shop and see what year model trucks are sitting there, H*** stop in and ask the tech's what they think of those trucks but hey what do I know, your the one who has trucked for 17years and by the way: you can DRINK THE LANDSTAR KOOL-AID if you want to, what they won't tell you is when you deliver that $1.70 good paying load the next morning there will be 5 other LS trucks sitting there with you and all of you will have your cell phone to your ear, laptop on the steering wheel trying to get 1 of 3 loads that pays $1.30 GROSS with a 150 mile deadhead not factored in

 

Well now, that was actually some usefull info... Thanx. And ya, since 1993. Have you leased to LS? Oh, and sorry, my mistake I could have sworn you're info said youve been truckin for 5 years, but I guess its 35? Oh,and By the way, I am not a KOOL-AID Drinker. Never cared for it much.

 

No, heres the story: me and my brother bought trucks at the same time from the same company, only difference was he got a 387 pete at $1400 a month and I got a columbia at $800 a month well he leased on to LS like an idiot in 2009 and lasted almost 6 months (van) before going broke because of CHEAP freight, double brokered loads from CH Robinson, deductions out the wazoo from LS, and his stupidity for not realizing after 2 months the money wasnt there:

I'm not gonna totally bash LS as SOME agents have good paying freight...but it never hit's the board as most agents have their own trucks or they have certain guys they have worked with for awhile...hence why I said a $2400month truck note would be an uphill battle for someone starting brand new with them.

It did say 5 years...I change it all the time, truth is Ive driven for 8 but sometimes I change it to wanna be and last week it was truckers wife (because sometimes I feel as if im the b**ch out here lol)

 

Thanks LOSTTRUCKER. All my trucking has been the 4 western states and as a company driver. After 1.5m miles driving for somone else I am ready to take the leap.
I Know $2400/m is a steep payment but I cant see getting into somthing with a ton of miles that will need an inframe done when I am only a year into my loan. I appreciate the info on the detroit problem. I have not signed any papers yet. I wanted to get qualified first with LS and then go from there. Would you suggest Mercer? All I Know is I am not going to leese on with some company at .90/m + FSC or a "Fuel Protection Program". I have thought about JCT and there Lease but I dont think they will consider my 4 western states as OTR. Thanks Again For youre' input.

 

We pulled our 2 trucks out of landstar last month.

And we were getting some decent rates, but not what they should have been.

We went back to running produce, and will do alot better, I hope.

Good Luck !!

 

rumor has it the agent I drove for, for the better part of eight years, pulled all his trucks also he had been there well over 20 years..

 

I faxed my app in over 10 working days ago.
made several phone calls. no answer.
finally found a supervisor in the mail system.
left a message. got a call back a day later.
she was very nice and said to call her if no one follows up. The apps are processed according to were you live and what your trying to pull.
i still have not heard back from the girl who was doing my papers. they said it takes for ever to get all the stuff faxed and returned. ill keep posting what happens.
btw good thread.

 

If you want to stay in those 4 western states you need to find out who has good freight in those areas. $2,400 is a very hight truck payment. I am glad that I am not the one who has to make it. Landstar at one time preferred to see their BCO's with payments no more than $1,200. If you have bills at home it can be difficult to make those big payments, regardless of who you sign on with. It will take about 6 months to learn how to successfully run the Landstar system. Mercer is a good company, but I had a friend who left there in 2009 due to no freight. Everyone was having difficulty finding freight, especially in the first quarter. You could hardly buy a load the first quarter of 2009. Mercer doesn't have a strong presence on the left coast. If you want to run those western states you would probably be better off with Landstar. I don't remember the type of freight you haul, but I believe Perkins has freight coming out of the western U.S.

 

Thanks G/MAN. No I plan on running wherever the freight takes me, preferably back to the mid-west, Florida,Texas and so on. Try to stay off the East Coast!
As far as my truck payment goes, It would actually be about $2000/month on a $79,000, 4year loan at 10% after putting $10,000 down. I could actually put $15,000 down, but I wanted to keep $5k aside for safe keeping and base plates. My credit is excellent so I may be able to get a better rate as well. I just figure I need to get somthing with 300K or less to make it all work. What are you're thoughts on this?