THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE - DFO gets a truck and hops on Schneider's IC Choice Program

Interesting

 

One thing I always find funny is those who say that "you'll only make $60,000 doing it that way" or "you won't make more than a company driver". While that is true, I'm willing to bet that there are a LOT of people out there who can live very well on 60k (I'm one of them).

Perspective is everything in this business. In my view, I'm making at least as much now as I was as a company driver WITHOUT dealing with dumb dispatchers, sitting for 30 hours at Tyson waiting to get loaded, trucks turned down so low that they crawl up small hills while EMPTY, having to beg for my hometime, and then getting those wonderful calls asking me to cut my hometime short because they need me. I don't have to deal with any of that here.

Obviously, if I won the lottery, I wouldn't turn it down. But money isn't EVERYTHING. As long as someone is happy with their life, paying their bills, etc, then no one really has the right to say that the way they do things is wrong. I'll take 60k a year and happy over 100k per year and miserable/stressed any day of the week.

Lease purchases are rip offs. That's a given fact. But, with my credit rating, I'd be getting just as ripped off through a dealer with 20% interest. The only difference is that I'd be paying for several years more, wouldn't be able to upgrade at the end, and would have a truck that will start breaking down not long after it's paid off.

Either way you look at it, with my personal situation, I'm gonna be paying WAY too much for my truck. BUT, I know this going into it. I know what I got into, I know how it works, and I'm fine with it. If I fail, fine, I'll move on and try something else. You can't win them all... but you won't win ANY of them if you don't try.

Now, for those reading this and considering a LP, please take heed of the following:

1. You will not get rich doing this, at least not anytime soon.

2. If you have a family to support with a lot of bills, don't even THINK about doing this until you have at least two months worth of money put back, and that it's enough to cover EVERYTHING YOU HAVE for two months minimum.

3. If you're someone who wants to be home more often or for longer periods, find a local job with a company. Hometime will KILL you in a lease purchase. The only way that being home more often will work in a LP is if you get loads going through your hometown, and you stop to have dinner or whatever, spend the night, and then roll out again the next morning.

4. For quite awhile, you're going to make roughly what a company driver does, with the exception of some awesome weeks here and there.

5. If you don't have the commitment to stay on top of the load board and keep yourself moving, OR the commitment to take every load you're given unless you'll lose money, you're doomed to fail.

6. If you don't have the commitment to save back for taxes from each check and not blow what LOOKS like extra money, you're doomed.

7. If you have the ability to get financing for a truck on your own, then do that. You'll be a lot better off financially starting out if you can. But if you can't, be ready for some hard times and great sacrifice to make a LP work. It can be done, but it's not easy. But then again, nothing worth anything is easy.

 

Will hopefully be in Carlisle in a couple hours...just look for the orange tractor with bungees holding the bumper on

 

Glad to see things are working out for you bro. I got on with a local company doing regional flatbed and home every weekend. Give me a buzz if you're ever in SE Georgia.

 

Ohhh so YOU'RE the jerk who keeps running off with all of the 10,000 lb loads.... STOP THAT! There's lots of 40,000 lb loads with DFO written allllllll over them...

 

any other identifying marks? just so we can TP the right truck!!!