Landstar

Currently my wife is leased on with Landstar. She bought a used truck, from a company I wont disclose, and then leased with them. Landstar is a "non-forced dispatched" company. That means you book your own trips either at the loadboard, or through the agents directly. The directions are scarce, but you can get a good GPS for 400 bucks.

As a counter point to Hungry Hippo, you have no one to blame for the freight you choose but yourself!
As for miles, she just booked 2 weeks worth of work netting 3300 miles for each week at an average of 1.78 to the truck.

There is a "learning curve" as there is with any company but there is a lot of help within.

 

This to me, sounds like a very accurate accescment of the company....

It almost mirrors what a friend of mine told me when he worked there...it mirrors what he said almost to a T...

He also said some of the agents?...were shimming more than their fare share of the cut of the load right off the top...

And or saving the good loads for their 'favorite' drivers....

So I think what you said is correct...you have to kinda 'sell your soul' for a while to get in with the good agents...

I guess...

 

I work for a owner now...and although I like them...and they go out of their way to make me feel comfortable...well...it's still trucking...in that...your still being dispatched by someone who is in no way considerate of your own bodies sleep and rest cycle or your personal obligations....

I've just about had enough of being told what to do and where to go by third parties...

The owner I work for agreed that down the road, if I find a better company for him to lease his truck onto...that he would do it...

I was considering Landstar...or a similuarly ran outfit...where the drivers choose their own runs...

Even if I have to buy a cheap used trailer to do it...
I think that's the only way the spark could ever come back for me towards trucking, is if I felt I was in control, choosing where I go, how much I make...it would bring the challenge and fun back to it...

This being told where to go stuff, by third parties just seems so old now...so 1980's...

I mean even if you own your truck, and lease on somewhere, you still have someone telling you where to go and asigning you loads like your in kindergarden or something...
Or like when your mother prepared your lunch as a kid, and you had no idea what was inside the bag or lunch pale until you got to school...

Truckers shouldn't be treated that way...or at least should have the option of choosing where they go...

 

In response to your gps direction comment...

I just use my laptop and google map...I actually prefer google map...why?

Cause I can see where I'm going...a map of sorts...

To me, with gps, your driving 'blind'...in other words you don't know what's around the corner until you make that turn...like blind faith...

I prefer google map...cause it will show me my location...and then I can choose what streets to take from there...and I can zoom in as close or back as I want...

I'm just saying, if you already have a lap top, google map is a good cheap alternative to gps...

 

google maps only works as good as your internet connection. and most times, it's pretty slow. IF, you got service to begin with. some of the places i go to have no service. so, google maps would be pretty useless. slow at best.

a good trucker gps is $250. the $400 unit i started off with wasn't worth being used as a paperweight. let alone a gps.

i go blind with my gps all the time. only had one problem to which i had to use my carrier gps to get me there. you defenitly need a backup. you can't just rely on one unit. but it works, and i have yet to worry about what's around the corner. unless i have to use my carrier gps. cuz it's not designed for trucks.

 

In trucking you have to go where there is freight. I always follow the rate. I would prefer to run a different area than where I usually run, but the rates and availability of freight keeps me running in a different direction.

Some drivers are self starters and others need and want to be told what to do. Few want to accept responsibility for finding their own loads. I usually give drivers a choice of runs, but that isn't always possible. Most seem to be more interested in running, regardless of the rate. In the end it is my money on the line.

When an owner leases on to an agent based carrier such as Landstar, you make the decisions as to where you run and at what rate. If you can't get the rate you want then you can either sit or deadhead to a better area, just like running your own authority.

 

hi, I am a canadian Trucker,
I have a Volvo 880 and 2 reefers and 1 step reefer trailer.
I wanted to know if i should join Landstar or no. I need loads from On and Qc.
I m currently with Fedex and am getting around 2$ per mile but not alot of load oppertunities. I need around 2$ mile and a lot of loads.
IS LANDSTAR FOR ME!!!

 

I don't know how much reefer freight Landstar runs. You could check their public loadboard and see what they may have that would work for you. www.landstarbroker.com. You may also want to talk with their people at their home office in Jacksonville, Florida and ask if they could give you some names of agents who might have freight in your area that would match what you need. I am sure they have agents in Canada. With Landstar you never know where agents have freight.

 

so how do you find out the payrate on that sight?

 

You will need to find a load that you are interested in and give the agent a call. All the contact information is on their loadboard. Rates for outside carriers and owner operators who are leased to Landstar (BCO's) have different rates. If you were leased to them you should be able to see the rate on their BCO board.