Ok to many options,what to do?

Company man Iron Pony on here that leases from Prime and says he is doing well and doing it right, which i believe him, claims in his 3 years of leasing that he only made 15 to 20 percent more than a company driver and that is before the 5 cpm raises that the company drivers got in the last year .

So if you take lets say the low side of 15 percent more profit and deduct 7 1/2 percent that you as a self employed leaser will now have to pay for Social security taxes instead of your employer paying and you are down to 7 1/2 percent more than a company driver made.

As a past non trucking business owner I can tell you it is real easy to not gain or to lose that extra 71/2 percent gamble that you are going to take.

Also as a lease you will have no work mans Comp , you fall and hurt yourself you are out of luck, Company man gets paid recovery and doesn't have to make truck payments at the same time.

Another thing a lease misses is no matched 401k by your employer, just this alone can make up for that possible 71/2 percent you MIGHT gain working with a lease.

I am all about being self employed, I have a father and 6 siblings that all are self employed , none in trucking even me as yet , still on the fence., and i am all about being self employed but even a Sweet lease is a hard nut to crack to beat a decent paying company wage.

I believe the reason the trucking companys want you to lease more than anything is is they do not have to contribute 7 1/2 percent to SS and than they also don.t have to pay workmans Comp which is huge. These 2 expenses probably make up a total of 20 percent in saving for hiring a driver.

Here is what Iron Pony had to say.

i see everyone on here calls him a Prime Brown Noser but one thing it proves is he did it as right as you can leasing and managed his money correctly while working for a company that i think pays the lease guys and company drivers very fairly and he was honest enough to posy his findings and thoughts if he were to do it again.

Click to page 71 to see his latest posting that kind of wraps up his thoughts of the last 3 years.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/prime/182163-leasing-prime-71.html

 

I don't understand why drivers that are against leasing use this argument that you are just paying all the bills for the company or making more money for the company rather than themselves. The friends I have at Prime who are experienced no BS drivers (yes they do exist) make on average 10-20% more than a company driver, who cares what bills you are paying if at the end of the year you made $7-12K more? It is about the year end net pay, company, L/O or O/O.

The reason company driver make less per mile than a L/O or O/O is that the company has already paid the truck payment, the insurance, the taxes from the revenue you bring to the company with the loads you haul. You don't see it but it comes out of what you make for the company.

 

are "A" seats as nice as bostroms or Seats or are they the basic/plain/hideously uncomfortable seats that many carriers seem to buy in fleet quantities?

 

Wouldnt lease,especially from a Mega.Have to wonder,what % of drivers actually make it thru and end up with a clear truck title in their hand. A grand a week ,somebody you get along with in a box,and somebody to chat with may be best for the time being.JMO

 

Another Sheep to the Slaughter.

 

Excellent to have so many good options available to you.

If I had it to do over again. I would have acquired as many skill-sets as I could.

Tanker. Reefer. Flatbed. ETC.

Do it all on the Company's dimes.

Meanwhile, save your money. Pay cash for a Truck (if you decide you want to Own).

Do your favorite thing.

 

Quote:>>: tommymonza: Another Sheep to the Slaughter.

I'm a successful O/O and broker, by your own profile admission you're a . . . . .wannabe, get some real life experience in the industry, listen and learn instead of spouting cue card answers because everyone else does. Nice educated comment Tommy.

Do whatever you are comfortable with, if being a company driver making 40c per mile makes you happy, cool. There are other options that will net you a lot more than that and to make blanket comments like "Don't Lease!" is inaccurate. There are lots of companies that take advantage of a new driver and his ambition to own his truck but there are other companies that offer very good lease purchase plans. A brain is required and some business savvy to know what you need to do to be profitable and it is this lack of understanding that is the downfall of many drivers. You obviously hear from all the drivers that blindly signed a lease agreement without understanding it and failed, but the successful ones are going about their business of making money. If you have less than 2-3 years experience you shouldn't be thinking of L/O or O/O. If you have no prior experience in management or running a business then get online and educate yourself. Anyone can hold a steering wheel and back into a dock and fuel a truck, not everyone can take ownership and make a profit.

 

I am out here in my first month solo....if i could have stayed on as a team with my trainer i would have in a heartbeat....not for the money, but to be able and drive next to an experienced driver so when i have one of those rookie moments i have someone to learn from. But he is from alabama and i am from PA so we couldnt figure out acceptable hometime......

 

I believe from 100s of hours of research of most of the lease business plans out there that a majority of them fail rather than suceed.

Just my observation.

I am not a trucker yet but have lived vicariously through many people on here and 100s of hours following those that are successful and those that are not .

As someone that is 50 years of age and had been self employed in many businesses over the years, with some being successful and some not. Some being unsuccessful because of admittedly lack of trying but some after running them for a while realizing the ROI is not there and the liability is , so the decision was made to get out out them.

From what I have gathered from the leases I see being offered to many on here there is much to lose and very little to gain as opposed to being a company driver for a good paying outfit.

As has been pointed out here that a lessee may take home an extra 10 to 20 percent. keyword MAY..

But also I have pointed out the extra 7 1/2 percent self employment tax you have to contribute so on a good day you are only ahead another 2 1/2 to 12 1/2 percent.

To me being self employed all my years would never had been accomplished on simply taking home a possible extra 2 to 12 percent more than if i went to work for someone.

In any business there are good years and bad years and if you didn;t sock away extra and we are not talking the possible extra 12 percent from the year before there is no way you will make it through the bad year.

I may have been a little brash with my Sheep comment but that is the way I see it and if you feel differently you are welcome to your opinion also my friend.