Why do the L/O thing?

Aah but thats the rub. Yes that is what you should do. Yet as a green trucker you are locked in to the companies demands till after you have experience. I only know that CR England did have a policy of "Fast track" where you took over some one elses contract and truck and hopefully got out of their "headaches" in a year.

Yet there are other companies (JCT) that treat their personel better. Yet unless you have enough exp, they wont deal with some one like me.

 

Unless my coffee hasn't kicked in yet, there's a difference between being a lease operator and having a lease purchase. The lease operator owns his truck and/or trailer, and is simply contracted... "leased"... to a carrier.

The lease purchase is when you are actually getting the truck from the carrier you work for. A lot of companies have gotten a horrible reputation for using this scenario as another source of revenue. Even if you complete the lease, you will have overpaid for the truck, usually by a ridiculous amount.

Like I said, I may be wrong on this... still on my first cup of the morning.

 

I guess an owner/operator is able to make a larger down payment. Few consider the tax differences between owning and leasing unless they have advanced CPA advice. When I bought a truck in 1973, the investment tax credit was a major incentive.

An owner/operator leased to a company would seem to be more independent. However, the small print in his lease gives the company the right to put another driver on the truck if the owner is unavailable.

Insurance is another consideration, but only bob-tail insurance. It should be available through the company whether owning or leasing. An owner/operator financing with a "bank" will have to meet their experience and insurance requirements.

 

My brother is an Owner/Operator and has been on lease to the same company for at least 10yrs. It has worked out very well for him.

 

More money. The reason people fail is because they don't have enough discipline. Oh...and experience. You need those two things to succeed.

 

One year as a driver......There are a lot more reasons why leases fail. Mostly because people don't have enough stick time to make it.

 

Stick time is experience, no?

 

The owner/operators I respected were those who owned the fresh produce they were hauling. They had to know the markets and seasonal changes as well as the operation of the rig.

The owner/operator who leases to a company has been denigrated in these forums. I was one myself and admit that it was easy to let the company secure the permits and pay the fuel taxes. One company reimbursed my base plate according to Michigan law. I paid the Federal Highway Use Tax. I still had pride of ownership and learned more about maintenance, tire and fuel mileage, etc. Buying a truck and leasing it to a company is basically buying a low wage job. The weekends spent washing and servicing the truck without pay are something most company drivers never do.

My employers had seven trailers for every tractor. Hauling auto parts to the assembly plants is not something a true independent can do.