The Good, The Bad, The Honest Truth of a New Roehl Lease Operator

No not at you two spacificly, just O/O's and L/O's in general.....




American Trucker

 

You know it's real easy for a company driver to throw stones at those who come up with a business plan that includes the cost of maintaining the equipment and building towards something better. However, just remember most company drivers are working for someone who started out with one truck and a dream.

The attitude I see reflected in many of AT's posts is why I'm still undecided whether to expand in the future or stay a one truck operation. I realize my company gets as much loyalty as the next paycheck, but do I want someone pushing my trucks as hard as they can and if it breaks, it breaks since it's not their truck or their problem?

 

Preacher, that is a tough decision... I know where I live you own one and drive it or you own 10 and run a business. I have seen many guys here local, that have been very successful with small fleets. I have also seen some guys fail spectacularly. I think one key is having frieght of your own for at least about 3/4 of your loads. The guys I see fail, are too relient on brokers, and therefore leave too much money on the table. I don't know anyone that has a small fleet that is leased to a larger company. I'm not sure how that would work out. The issue of drivers is also a huge factor. Finding someone that is reliable and you trust with your truck, would be hard too. Good luck whatever you do...

 

I met an o/o that has three trucks leased to Roehl. He drives one, his son-in-law two and someone they hired in truck three. The issues for a small fleet, up to about ten trucks have the same issues as a single truck operation. It's not just about how much you bring in, it's also how much you keep and that is where cost control is essential. I realize I have another two and a half to three years before this truck is paid for, but this is the point you start planning for the future.

I'm toying with the idea of salaried drivers. This takes care of the speed issue and complaints about down-time. The key is to hire drivers with integrity and pride in doing a good job. As far as maintenance, time is money. I can make far more letting a mechanic with skill, experience, tools and facilities work on my truck while I enjoy family time. What takes them an hour would take me two to three hours, that works out to at least $150.00 lost revenue. Also, if you are going to be completely legal you have to log all that time you spend on mechanical issues if you do the work yourself.

 

Nope not much prophet at that rate mate.

 

Not throwing stones, just saying you lease guys love to do 55mph all day to save fuel why not learn how to fix your own truck and save thousands a year.

Oh and ps no driver would log doing there own repairs

If I were not already a licensed mechanic I would most deffinatly go out and learn how to work on a truck BEFORE even thinking about buying one.

AND I may be a company driver but I work on my own truck/trailers, while your waiting in line at the ta for 6 hours for a "professional" to fix your truck im already 6 hours down the road with a fixed truck and saved my company all the labor cost.......






American Trucker

 

Let's stop bickering can we? AT go post on a company driver thread if we needed to know how to be an awesome company driver we will give ya a shout k?

 

929 you are right, this is basically a "conversation" between Roehl o/os. If someone is considering this route this is a good thread to join in the conversation. I know I have talked at least two drivers out of going owner/operator when they saw what it takes to be successful.

The maintenance issue is something that has to be taken into account before you ever think about starting your own trucking company. Do you do it yourself or do you outsource the work? For every o/o this will be different. Some love to tear into the mechanics and take satisfaction that their truck runs because of their work. There is a certain pride that comes from knowing that new clutch is your handiwork. Then there are those of us who understand that you don't always save money with a diy approach. In my case the shocks cost me $100 in labor and another $100 for the shocks. While the truck was in the shop I was spending time with my family.

A few months ago I watched a driver pull out his radiator and drain the oil out of it from a turbo that let loose. After pulling everything apart, cleaning it up, installing a new turbo and putting everything back together, the truck still had to be towed to a repair shop. The heads were also filled with oil and it was more than he could do in a parking lot. If he had just taken it to a shop as soon as he knew he had a problem, he might have saved himself a tow charge and a day of downtime. I'm just expressing the other side of the do it yourself philosophy. Anyone thinking about going down this road needs to consider how they want to handle maintenance.

 

Preacher I agree, turning wrenches is not for everyone. When I was still an O/O I ran within about a 700 mile radius of home, so I was home every weekend. Alot of weekends were spent in the garage making some kind of repair. Yes it saved me alot of money. Yes I knew when it was something over my head and it needed to go to the dealer. Yes I did miss out on time with my family because of it. That is all part of the reason that I don't own any trucks anymore. You are right it is something that each person has to work out on the frontend of their business plan. If you budget for someone else to do it, and can remain profitable, then great. It is just one more piece of the puzzle that alot of people do not consider when jumping into a lease or a first time buy.

 

I really hope drivers who are thinking of making this change are reading this thread. If I can ever figure out how to make the columns look right I'll post the summary of my numbers since the beginning of the year. That would give people a visual idea of what to expect. For me the frustration isn't the maintenance, it's the 8100 mile a month average.