Leasing Your Truck to a Company

[Brickman]

A question for all the mother truckers out here.

After spending almost 2 yrs completely independant and finding loads where we can and as best we can the price of fuel and amount of time it takes to find loads is forcing me into seriously considering leasing to a company. While I don't like the idea of not being my own boss I believe that I can get used to it, and the benefits will out weigh the downside.


Any of you guys have a recommendation as to a good company?? Or one(s) to stay away from.

I have a short list of possibles, Landstar, Fikes, Meadowlark, Mercer, and a small local company (Lock Trucking) that we know most of the people that work there. After reading their websites and talking to O/Os from all of them I think that Meadowlark and Fikes are low on the list of possibles, with Landstar, Mercer and the local guys on the top. Mercer and Lock probably share the number 2 spot.

Any comments pro and con are welcome. Thank you

 

[maniac]

I've got a friend with Landstar, he's been with them for aboput 3 years. He likes them alot, you work on your own, no dispatcher, he pulls a step.

Go to www.ooida.com they have a forum like this one and you can learn all about most of the companies.

Don't remember if you need to be a member to join the forums or not, but if your not a member it wouldn't hurt to join, they have a lot of programs and things owner operators could use.

I have been a member since about 1981 and have had my insurance with them the whole time, put in a couple of BIG claims and never had any problems.

 

[Brickman]

Would your home slice let me ask him some hard ??? that Landstar recruiting won't answer?

You can PM me his contact info or vice versa. I'm really interested in knowing real life figures. Not just a range of figures that vary from $56K a year gross to $249K a year gross.

 

[Brickman]

I talked to a neighbor today that has a buddy working at Mercer. Sez he is about to starve to death.


Dunno

 

[PackRat]

A buddy of mine pulls a drop, for Mercer. He pretty much pulls whenever, wherever he wants. He went through about 3 lousy coordinators, before he got a good one.

 

[mjstef]

You need to get wifey a license and get bonded. Then get with Landstar Ranger A&E for the big $$$ Remember the guy in out campground i told you about?? He NETTED around 150K a year after expenses hauling mostly military contracts!! You have to be a team to lease on the A&E division and many times you will have a military ******. Charlies wife was about 5'2" and she typically only drove on the open road. He did all the driving in town.......

 

[mjstef]

BTW A&E is Armaments & Explosives.............

 

[mjstef]

Landstar A&E................

 

[maniac]

Brickman, I sent you a PM

mj...good luck getting into A&E.....BIG waiting list

 

[Brickman]

I can be happy with plain jane flat bed.

I got the PM, return back at ya.

 

[Brickman]

Also with the high value/classified military stuff you have to have a back ground check that comes back as clean as a newborn's.


No DUI, no criminal record of any kind, no bankruptcy EVER, ect ect

 

[PackRat]

Also with the high value/classified military stuff you have to have a back ground check that comes back as clean as a newborn's.


No DUI, no criminal record of any kind, no bankruptcy EVER, ect ect

So what are you not saying? Were you a bad lil trucker?

 

[Brickman]

No Pack, just have the hated "B"

Lost every thing but the house. I'm still really bitter about losing my 2000 PSD!!! I had it exactly half paid for.

 

[mjstef]

Brickman, I sent you a PM

mj...good luck getting into A&E.....BIG waiting list

The guy a was speaking of sold his rig to a gentleman in our campground. Charlie got him right in. He was getting loads from Alabama to Washington for $2.50-$3.00 a mile!

 

[Brickman]

My hazmat FBI clearance came back in super record time. 8 days is un heard of.


And the Landstar approval is coming along nicely. Almost there.