Lone Mountain Truck....financing ????

I doubt it, but they very well may ACCEPT them.

 

I have to laugh at all of these "so called wanna be o/o"....

I bought an 08 Volvo 780 from LM (Tifton GA) a little over a year ago and have had no problems that were out of the ordinary. In fact, while I was there, another gentleman was purchasing a truck identical to mine. The trucks were Raven Transport trucks. As we were talking I could tell that this guy was unsure of what he was doing and was new to trucking all together. My first question to him was "Are you leasing your truck on to a company or do you have your own authority?" He said he was leasing on to the company that he was currently a company driver for. My second question to him was " Do you know what your cost per mile to operate the truck is or will be?" He looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language!!! I laughed a little to myself and walked away saying "Good Luck"
Now, the reason I went to Lone Mountain was because I could not get "traditional financing" elsewhere. I've been in the trucking industry for 22 years with 20 of that as an owner operator. I fell on some hard times about 4 years ago which caused my credit to drop below what traditional financing could offer me. Lone Mountain, in my opinion, offers great trucks for first time owner operators as well as seasoned vets. They buy trucks from large fleets and re-market them, just like most of all the used truck dealers across the nation do.
Just like other posters have posted here....If you go into this endeavor blind, inexperienced, no business and/or mechanical knowledge...you are setting yourself up for failure!!! If you think you can just buy a truck and expect to not have any maintenance plan and/or expect the truck to never breakdown....you're in for a big surprise!
The truck I purchased had the d13 485 hp Volvo engine in it....pre def but has the regen system on it. I took the truck to have the dyno done, took to local volvo dealer for DOT as well as have a mechanic to look over the truck before I bought it. Every thing checked out ok so I completed the sale. The truck had 480K on it when I purchased it. At 540k I put a new clutch, resurfaced the flywheel, new seal and had the DPF filter cleaned.....all of which is normal maintenance at that mileage. I have replaced a few air fittings over the past year as well as regular oil, filter and grease jobs. The most recent repairs were an exhaust manifold, egr valve, solenoid sensor, diff pressure sensor and a coolant reservoir all of which I did myself at 640k. ALL THINGS MECHANICAL WILL BREAK AND/OR WEAR OUT OVERTIME! These things should be expected and planned for! By planning I mean, have some sort of money set aside for repairs and not use credit cards or borrow money from your company to pay for the repairs. I personally set aside 10% from each load and put into a savings account which is dedicated for truck maintenance and repairs. Your situation may be more or less but 10% seems to work for me.
So, if you think being an owner operator is just buying a truck and driving it to the wheels fall off....good luck to you and I'm sorry you wasted your time and money...LOL! I see guys all of the time that cannot even afford a $400 tire to be put on their truck. In this day and age though, I won't complain or judge you. It's just a matter of time before your money runs out or your CSA/PSP score gets so bad that you won't be out here much longer anyway. Which.....leaves more work for me..
So, have a business plan and be a business man or woman, which ever the case may be. Do your homework, get that truck to the dyno and shop. Ask questions if you don't know, don't skimp on maintenance issues (you get what you pay for), keep track of your profit and loss for EVERY load (Trucking Pro works good for me), use an accounting program and an accountant if you cannot do taxes yourself and most importantly....KEEP ALL OF YOUR RECEIPTS AND KEEP METICULOUS RECORDS!!

Keep it between the ditches and the shiny side up!

 

How much does a good dyno cost, I just approved down there to.

 

when i got mine 2 years ago it was about 200 for dot and dyno

 

Ok and a fuel sample can be done at most places?

 

OK: Let's start here. I leased a former Tyson Foods tractor from Lone Mountain. The deal was OK from my position. It had 585,000 on it when I drove it away last January from Pacific Jct. I have driven since May of 76 and was a owner operator from 79 to 91 when cancer cost me everything. Just a bit of history to clarify any doubts as to my experience. I never wanted a company (EVER). I just wanted to drive my own tractor and be left alone. This particular tractor has the scent of LEMON all over it. Four trips to Lakeside International in my home town of Rockford Illinois. A learning experience to find out that I would rather have a 15 year old truck stop waitress work on it. 7-8 hundred a month four months in a row that they never fixed the first time. Then in July it was a EGR cooler a EGR vAlve, water pump, oil change, and air conditioner charge. $4950. Now after recovering from that in August it's back at a local Pete dealer to have the X/Y box replaced $1350 estimated cost along with a upgraded harness. I'm broke and I told Lone Mountain that this tractor is garbage and will never make it to the end of the lease. I can't make money fast enough to pay for the shop every month. I'm alot like normal people. A car loan a mortgage ,utilities and so on. Not huge credit card debt. Less than $3500 for all personal loans. So it's not that I am swimming in debt. Cresco Capital the finance company for Lone Mountain told me to send all the receipts and they would try to help out. I thank them for the offer. But, I also told them that there was no way in the world that this tractor will make it to the end of it's lease. It may have a bad injector sleeve or head gasket because it's going thru more coolant than it ever has. I slowed it down by committing a cardinal sin. I added stop leak. I run steady. I have not had more than a two hour MT to loaded experience since May. There's always a load waiting for me. Now it's your decision as to what to do and think. Lone Mountain and Cresco are fine in my book. Lakeside International Rockford Illinois does not warrant a thumbs up in my opinion. This International Prostar drives nice, pulls great but, is costing me everything. If I were asked if I would do it this way again. MAN!!!!! I don't know! Not a big corporate lease return tractor. Tyson from what I heard changes oil every 30,000 miles. I'm old school. That's not my maintenance regime. If that's how they treat their engines can you imagine how the rest of their maintenance goes? And do you want a tractor like this? Not a good idea. Good luck and Happy Trails.

 

What are you going to do with a fuel sample?

I see many guys getting oil samples done, but if the oil has been changed, then what's the point?

 

Obviously a ISX with a Ultrashift. All those problems are typical at that mileage This is why I read, read, read every thing as I consider a possible truck purchase this Spring.

 

I know that now, I didn't get one.

 

I personally would never put any money towards a truck with an ISX but that's just me. I cant stand how un reliable those motors seem to be according to most who own/drive one.