Two types of owner-ops

I've done both, and can only give you my experience with it. Just for the record, people don't just lease on because they have a problem with insurance. What nonsense and rubbish. If you are good at negotiations, freight is fairly plentiful, and most importantly, you have some direct freight, running your own numbers might have an edge. But you can find a good company to lease on to, the end result could be the same. What I'm trying to say, if all you have is loadboard freight, you will start off behind the eight ball, and that's not a good way to start anything. I would bet that if you were to crunch the numbers on both scenarios, there wouldn't be a nickels difference between either one, ALL things being equal. Don't know why I'm underscoring everything.

 

I am leased to a carrier with my own truck and trailer. I run dedicated for another brokerage company.

The good: direct customers, consistent freight, consistent rates year around, better rates than spot market freight when spot market is low, weekly pay, fuel card with a pretty good discount off pump price.

The bad: reading on here about everyone else’s rates when the spot market is riding high.

 

There is Two types of Owner Ops..

1) Ones who Succeed..
2) Ones who Don't....

 

But at least you drive a clean truck when the spot market is low.

 

I think there are guys out there that are leased onto a carrier and if they can pick their own Freight and the carrier has a good customer base with good sales people I'm sure they can make out as well or better and again it depends on the individual situation.

I will tell you one thing though. I'm really happy with my own authority because I don't have anyone telling me this is where you're going and this is what it pays. And I don't have any dispatchers giving the good loads to their favorites or the company drivers.

 

You can make a much better living as a company driver with very little responsibility

 

Independent owner operator = a carrier
Owner operator leased to a carrier = you own the equipment and sign a contract with a carrier to haul for their customers
Lease operator = you rent the equipment from the carrier, eventually some day you may or may not own the equipment

 

Never did i say that....there is no responsibility as a company driver, other than to drive the truck down the road, which was my point....

How much money u make as a company driver is completely different as how u make it as an owner op...how much money u make in ur own rig is completely up to you and how experienced you are with business dealings...there could be 2 guys that run the same routes , same load from the same broker and make completely different amounts of money....