Looking for info on different carriers to lease onto.

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@Chinatown

 

Mercer was pretty good.I drove for them last year then retired,I'm 67.
They have good fuel discounts,cost plus 7%.Always paid quickly,usaully within hours of delivery after you send in the signed bol.Plenty of loads to choose from and take time off whenever you wanted.
I don't know what the rates are currently,I drove flatbed.

 

If you like doing tanker work -- you might check things out over at the KAG:

Independent Contractors - Kenan Advantage Group

Lots & lots of opportunities there....

-- L

 

I was a 48-state company driver for a mega-carrier until last week when I turned my truck in voluntarily, on relatively good terms with the company.
I asked several people in administrative roles if I could just buy my own truck and run under their authority.
They said “You can absolutely do that. You just need to change your residency to be a contractor.” They don’t do Lease-Purchase, so just have to go find the truck I want and finance it.
Right now I’m establishing residency to transfer my CDL to AZ from CA, and it is taking a bit more work than expected (couldn’t be done from the road - multiple trips to the DMV, etc).

Motivating factors:
- Couldn’t tolerate being in a nasty 4-year-old Freightliner (governed at 65) that smelled like a gym sock and was already beat to hell by innumerable other company drivers
- Couldn’t tolerate not being able to declare my own PTA and suffering under forced-dispatch that would run me down to the very last minute of my recaps on every trip (if I had 17 hours available in the next 3 days, they would send me on a trip that would take exactly 17 hours to complete, with no extra time to leave the facility after loading/unloading to find parking).
- The company ELD’s all had the ability to use Personal Conveyance removed, which meant I was forced to commit driving violations every time I finished a trip and needed to find a Safe Haven. No one in the Safety Department, or any other department, could provide any answer except “You are only allowed 3 violations in a two week period.” …which was unacceptable for me, as I would prefer to have 0 violations at all, and this could be done by using PC to find a place to rest, as the FMCSA intended. (Anyone hired at the company more than 4 years ago was grandfathered-in to PC, which I thought was #########)
- The paychecks were great and the company seemed to have no shortage of work, plenty of dedicated contracts, and plenty of long multi-state trips with a terminal (or 3) in nearly every state. I just hated being in a disgusting truck and being run down to the bone on the verge of a citation.

I opened an LLC, when I get my CDL changed I can get my EIN and 1099 myself.
I have no kids at age 39, no overhead expenses, sold my house in CA to do this… I’m a free agent, lone gunman, bachelor with nothing to lose and all the endorsements, TWIC, etc. I love driving all over the country, and love the freedom of adventure.
My parents’ neighbor even gave me the personal business card for the VP of Commercial Financing at a local Peterbilt dealership network. Thinking about a new 579 with a warranty.

Any advice?

 

With your experience, I'd spend as much time talking to current owner-operators as recruiters. Landstar seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it setup depending on how well you can find and manage your own freight.

Also, being in North Iowa, I'd look closely at who has strong freight lanes through the Midwest rather than just chasing the highest percentage on paper.

 

DSV if they're still around.
Used to be Sammons.
Based in Missoula.

 

TLDR

You're having a tough time hacking it in a 4 year old truck, your time management skills need work, and you think being and O/O will be easier.

I'd just buy that 579 now

 

INKWELLBLACK will find, being in OO has its rewards, but its also comes with its challenges, so can handle, many cant, Break downs, and yes even new trucks, There a guy in Florida, he has a YouTube channel, 30,000 on a brand new truck, and had to have the motor rebuilt, now as he has 3 trucks to his name, he could keep working, but a one truck operation, will need to either rent a truck, or just sit, either way, it will cost money, Not all warranty work will get you a loner truck

 

You’ll also need to pay your 2290, which is $550 a year, I don't know any company that pays that, you can run under a companies DOT and MC, but the 2290, will more than likely be your responsibility