Good afternoon. I've been driving for 6 months and have decided that being an O/O sounds better than being a 'company' driver. I've been checking out various lease purchase programs and for almost all of the programs you're still dispatched by the company. Are there any companies out there that when you join their programs let you 'Self Dispatch' other than Schneider National's 'Choice Plus' program Fred
while i have come to the same conclusion as you have about o/o, be warned that there are far more crooked lease purchase deals than there are good ones. there is more incentive to the trucking company to see you fail than to see you succeed, and many companies take advantage of this and SEE TO IT that you will fail. lone mountain i believe is a company that leases trucks but does not hire drivers. this is a better option , if you can get approved. of course, a credit union loan or paying for your truck in cash is the best option. be VERY wary about lease purchase... fact is more of them are scams than are legit. your due diligence should include talking to at least 10 drivers who are CURRENTLY doing a l/p with the company you are considering. dont listen to a recruiter, and dont listen to faceless strangers like me here on the internet. however well meaning (or not), you have no way of knowing what their experience REALLY includes.
A whole 6 months? Wow...Good Luck with that. If u dont think being a company driver already, u are definatly in for a treat as an o/o. Better have 25k stashed in ur bank acct for surprised maint just to start. So much for u to learn beforehand. U need to read others postings like urs before mistakes are made. Thats one of the reasons this industry has such a revolving door with drivers. Mistake after mistake. Our company has just lost another 5 o/o like u this past week. They too thought its only about just buying a truck and leasing somewhere. Like poker said, so much more to it. Be safe out there drivers.
I agree, these lease programs are offered to Capture the Drive. This is just my opinion, If you sign up for the Lease on the Tractor and your weekly or Monthly miles are not there, You are still responsible to make the payments on the Tractor. You may want to look into What happens if I want to leave the Company and go to work some where else. It may not be that easy for you to leave as you have baggage. If you drive for a company and they give you bad loads, you can leave and get another job in the industry or any where to make ends meet. I believe it is a way for companies to Attract drivers to give them a sense of Ownership. In actual fact they are tying you up. Not so easy to leave as they may have a Clause in the contract that the Truck stays on with them until the Lease is paid out. You then can not move the Tractor any where but are still liable to them to make the payments. If you walk from It I am sure they will put that against you Credit score or may even send a Collection agency after you once you start another job. Unless they can get some one else to take over that truck lease. My own opionion
crst malone is one of the few that has lease purchase and you can choose all your own loads they run much like landstar. however i do not suggest any lease purchase program. to my knowledge i don't think land star has lease purchase on trucks, i dont think mercer does eather but i could be wrong on that mercer does have a lease purchase on trailers and i think land star offers financing on trailers. crst malone has trailer rentals
It is clear that we live in a world that if enough people say it over and over that it then becomes fact regardless of the truth. There is nothing illegal about any of the lease deals that most driver sign. The are one sided for sure but that doesn't make it crooked. The concept that a company is looking for you to fail is so far out there it is just silly. Think about it. They want a truck back that they are making lease payments on so they can what? Lease it to someone else to do it again until the lease it up and they have to return it? Get a basic understanding of finances before just rattling off what others have repeated. And not saying that a lease is a good deal. The terms are draconian at best and you better want to team or run your but of to make it work.
I see from the responses that i have read no one has responded to your question. Either due to being so focus on being negative and wanting to discourage you from actually leasing your own truck or simply because they didn't comprehend what you were asking. So allow me, to answer your question as sufficiently as possible i will say yes, there are a number of companies that allow you the driver to self dispatch. Two of which that i am aware of are greatwide and Landstar. I can not say which is better, i guess that will depend solely on you circumstances. Good Luck.
