What are those three dealers that landstar reffers you to if you want to buy a truck?

I've never heard that one before. LCAPP will finance a trailer for you after you've been there a year, but as far as trucks go, it's a new one. You could try giving a recruiting a call and asking as it may be something I've just never heard of before.

 

More than likely it will be a program that is available through LCAPP. Check their website and there should be a telephone number for LCAPP. You could also call the main Landstar line in Jacksonville, FL and ask to speak to LCAPP. They have discounts through certain dealers on trailers and trucks, or did when I was there many years ago. I was able to get a deal on a trailer for about $800 less on my own.

There are dealers who can probably get you financed if you have decent credit. If Select Trucks is still around you can go to a Select Freightliner dealer. They used to have a program where you can get into a truck with $999.00 down, but you would usually pay about $20,000 more for the truck than it was worth. At one time it was fairly easy to get financing through one of their dealers.

It would be much better for you if you could get your own financing through your local bank or credit union. Not all banks lend money for class 8 equipment, but some do. I have had lenders finance purchases for me who don't make class 8 equipment loans. Having good credit and a few years experience can go a long way toward getting good financing. Most dealers have lending sources that may be able to help.

 

I would hate to see you risk everything to buy a truck. You really take a chance when you start in this business without a reserve fund. There is a local credit union in my hometown that I was told makes loans for class 8 trucks. You should find a good truck for less than $25,000. The last truck that I bought I paid about $20,000 and it had an $18,000 over haul. That was several years ago. If you can get your credit union to finance your purchase without putting up additional collateral, you might only need to put about 10% down. That would keep your reserve fund intact. The past couple of years I have seen some decent trucks for less than $15,000. Once you buy a truck you can always pay it off early. If you lease to Landstar they prefer you to not have a truck payment over $1,200/month. I would recommend a payment of much less. I would look for a payment of about $500-800/mo at the most. The lower, the better. You can always double up on your payments and pay it off early. The economy is still shaky and we don't know what will happen over the next year or so. I still expect another major downturn so I am not accumulating any additional debt. When you find a truck that you want and have cash in hand or your own financing you can usually get a better buy than if you have to rely on another source for your financing.

 

G/Man, So you wouldn't encourage someone to Buy a New Truck.I understand that Freight is Slow.What kind of revenue can a BCO make a week or month?If you Can answer that with a figure please add the fuel surcharge.I understand that is a Loaded Question but I sure would like to know before I do something that I might regreat.Thanks

 

I think that it would be foolish for anyone starting out in this business to go out and buy a new truck. If you want to pay $30-50,000 down or pay cash for a new truck you could get a lower payment, but if you start out with a $2,500+ monthly payment, then it will be difficult for you to make it. There are some who do make it with big payments, but most will fail. Having a big payment means that you will need to run hard all the time without taking time off. I have a friend who did have a $2,300 truck payment when I was leased to Landstar. He was getting good rates, but had to run hard all the time just to make his payment.

It has been many years since I was leased to Landstar. They have thousands of BCO's and no two are the same. Revenue will mostly rely on your own initiative and negotiating skills. The type of freight you haul and time of year will also have an impact. Someone in recruiting at Landstar will be in a better position to give you average revenue of their BCO's. I would expect $2,500-3,500 as an average, but that is only a guess. I have a friend with another carrier who averages well over $4,000/week and he takes a lot of time off during the year. There are owner operators at the same carrier who are starving. Your success at Landstar will be almost entirely up to you. In order to do well with Landstar you will need to stay in their primary freight lanes and develop relationships with agents who have better paying freight. Not everyone who leases to Landstar does well, just as with any other carrier. You should allow at least 5-6 months to get a feel of how they operate. Over the years I have met owner operators who have been very successful with Landstar and others who have lost their shirt. They don't hold your hand. For the most part, they consider you as being in business for yourself and look at BCO's more as business partners, other than with some of the compliance issues.

The fuel surcharge usually changes every week. The amount will be different from one carrier to another since each determines their own base rate for the fsc to kick in. Most carriers will adjust their fsc when the new figures come on on Monday. When I was with Landstar fuel was considerably less than today and we didn't have a fuel surcharge at that time. Like I said, it was a long time ago. If that is something you need to know then you should find some BCO's and ask them what they are doing on revenue and how much fsc they are getting. I would expect that someone in recruiting at Landstar would be willing to share those figures with you. I am sorry that I cannot give you current information.

 

It's impossible to tell you an average without telling us what kind of trailer you'll haul and your experience level. A flatbed guy coming in with three years of hauling 14' wide loads is going to come in fully rated where someone that hasn't might come in unable to haul oversize at all for the first 6 months.
If you are talking van rates, you have to stay in the lanes that pay, and that is usually less than 600 mile trips. if you want to be a coast to coast runner, and aren't team, you won't be too happy with the rates, IMO at 65% of gross.

I average over $2 p/m to the truck for all miles, and only 5% of my loads are oversize.

 

I have known owner operators who have been running for $1.20-1.40/mile to the truck at Landstar. Others have been getting $2.50+ when they are doing more specialized loads. You can't really make it if you consistently run for $1.20/mile. You would be much better off getting a company driving job and get all the benefits. I know BCO's who have been with Landstar who go wherever they want with little thought to the rate or what may be at the other end to get them back. They are upset because they aren't making any money and can't pay their bills. Others that I know stay in the better freight lanes and spend the time developing relationships with agents who have good rates with consistent freight. It comes back to the owner operator or BCO. If you really work the system you should be able to make money, but you absolutely MUST treat this as a business.

I have areas of the country where I would prefer to run, but don't. I follow the rates. I don't like snow or cold weather, but during winter months that is where you find the better rates. I got over the chrome and dazzle of this business many years ago. This is a business. Whether you run your own authority or lease to another carrier, such as Landstar, you need to look at it as a business. In winter many like to run where the temperature is warmer and stay out of all the snow and cold weather. They may stay a little warmer but will be running for lower rates than they can get in the colder climate and snow. The reverse can be true in hot months. I want my equipment to earn the most revenue that I can possibly get. Regardless of what is going on with the weather, if that is where rates are best then that is where you will find my equipment.