Leasing at Prime

Read through this...

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...me/182163-leasing-at-prime-7.html#post2731540 (link to post no. 62)

If you're paying your own IFTA tax, then the approach in there is fine. Buy as much fuel at the lowest, in-route, base price as you can, whenever and wherever you find it. You're playing the long game here, not trying to maximize the weekly settlement - it's not a paycheck! If you drive for a carrier that pays IFTA tax for you, then just the cheapest pump price will do.

I can't really answer that in any sort of rational way. Sales attempts to get as much as they can for all freight - then the percentage split is applied. It's a complex situation involving the supply and demand for trucks, the value of our on-time service, and just how cheap the shippers are.

That's a number I've always lowballed... I'd prefer that folks don't get over-inflated expectations of what kind of renumeration is involved.

It's higher... the average is still right in there - $1100+, but I'm taking more time off the last year or so. If I were more dedicated to keeping my nose to the grindstone, it'd be higher.

Net profit after taxes...

Yes, my health and dental insurance, and some accounting pre-processing fees are part of the fixed costs in my settlement. It's easier just to not bother with trying to subtract them out when I run my profit/loss numbers. That's also true for my "emergency fund" contribution - which will be used for my downpayment if I purchase my beast. I've been pulling all maintenance costs out of the cash flow in my settlements, so that is included in my costs used to calculate my cash flow as well. You could legitimately add another $211 to the $1100+ per week to be between $1300 and $1400. Again, I'd prefer to lowball these figures just to keep expectations under control.

The healthcare reform act simply requires that you have or obtain health insurance. I've always paid for some sort of health insurance for myself and my dependents since I separated from the military, so its never been a concern for me. In my opinion, anyone who declines to have health insurance is a fool... you can't predict when something is going to happen to you you, and this business puts you in one of the top ten most hazardous professions. The day you need health insurance - if you don't have it you are truely screwed.

I listened to the story of a guy who wasn't feeling well, and didn't have insurance last night. His girl friend convinced him to seek help - he was turned down for just an appointment by a number of HMOs, until Kaiser agreed to see him. Payment was on a cash basis through his credit card. So... a couple of visits later, they inform him he has testicular cancer, and there is a tumor that needs removal. So, we'll schedule you... whoops! You're not covered by Kaiser - sorry buddy. The kind of costs you're about to incurr can't be covered on a credit card. Which means he's in the emergency room - waiting until his balls fall off, because they can't treat you without insurance until its an emergency. And then they're just patching you up - there's no such thing as comprehensive care through the emergency room. And you still have that bill to pay... whatever is left after you declare bankruptcy, and liquidate your assets. Assuming you don't need an executor to do that through your will.

You need to have a good reason to get into leasing. If you're assuming that you'll make buku bucks doing this, you'll be disappointed. If maximizing your settlement is important to you, then you're looking at teaming and/or training to get there. I run solo, and I prefer to run that way.

Then you've already answered your own question. You don't want to do this. For me its the challenge of running a small business efficiently and profitably, and the ability to make my own decisions. Yup, it's not like I had my own authority, but then again there are binders on what you can do there as well. Who can say they are absolutely free to do exactly as they will? When we look at our lives, precious few of us really have that kind of "freedom." So, if you want the "freedom" of being an independent contractor, you'll get some "headaches," "uncertainty," and a whole bunch more work than the company guys do. But you know? It's absolutely worth it in my opinion. Your Mileage May Vary.

If you want maximum home time, you'll probably do better as a company driver. I get as much as I want... don't kid yourself! When I've had enough truckin' for awhile, I go home. It's that simple. I've been spending a week where I used to spend a couple of days. I probably get more hometime now than when I was doing the company thing. Consider this... I may have my fixed costs to pay for, and perhaps I do work it so that I have some income for the week that I do arrive at the home 20. But as a company driver, you're not being paid for those days the wheels aren't turning. What's the difference? Neither one of us will have as large a settlement check as we would if we ran the whole week.

 

In my opinion, Pittston has never recovered from the taint of how TRL managed their trucks. I'd want to be dispatched out of Springfield. So... do you have a relationship with any of the folks in Springfield?