Leasing A Truck From A Company

Going to lease a truck from Stevens because they push it so much. Almost feel trapped and confused as what to do. Just trying to get my 1yr under my belt and find something closer to home. Everything I find by looking on the internet is the same old stuff, talked to several and they all same the same some days are good and others days are bad.

Ummmm, you might want to wait on that leasing thing. All the experienced guys on here say:

DON'T DO IT!

At least that is what I have gathered. The reason they say not to is because you have so much to learn once you are actually released to drive solo. By leasing, you add an entire other element to the learning process. You will have all kinds of taxes and account books to worry about. Hope it works out for you. I would not do it just because the company is pushing it.

Going to lease a truck from Stevens because they push it so much.

Carmalita, please if you haven't signed that lease yet, DON'T!

The reason that you give for leasing the truck is the absolute craziest reason to get yourself into such a bind. I don't even know you, but I want to help you avoid a BIG mistake. The reason they push it so hard is because that lease takes all the financial responsibility off of them to keep that truck in a safe operating condition and puts that financial burden onto you, not to mention the astronomical cost of fuel (even if they tell you about all the great discounts you are going to get). I can't tell you how many drivers I have met whose last and final straw with the trucking industry was the lease they got pushed into. If I pushed you hard enough to start hauling illegal drugs for me on your truck would you finally succumb to the pressure just because I pushed you hard enough? I think not, because you would be able to reason out that even though you may make a lot of money you might also possibly get caught and go to prison, plus it would be against all your natural instincts. I'll bet you've already got a bad feeling about this leasing and you have repressed it because they have promised you the moon enough to make you go against your better judgement.

It's a bad deal Carmalita, I've yet to see a decent lease program out there where the driver is protected from the almost certain pitfalls of the industry. If you are just trying to get your first year under your belt like you said, then just stay a company driver and you will be way better off.

Oh no! I feel like I'm watching you dig yourself a grave.

Do not lease. They push it for a reason. The driver doesn't make any money. They cannot force you to lease they only wish they could. They want you to lease because it's less expenses for them - they don't have to worry about fuel and truck payment anymore. Seriously though, don't lease. I say this because my buddy leased a truck and a month later he was asking Facebook for money for food.

Lets look at this lease in its raw form.... You lease the truck....you make lease payments (that pays their truck payment) You pay for fuel ( to haul their freight (which you only get a % of the $$) You pay for maintenance ( on their truck, so they don't have to) You pay for tires, tolls, and all taxes ( hauling their freight,) But the really huge reason not to lease is.....THEY GIVE YOU THE LOADS...What if they decide that they don't want you to have that truck ?? They just slow you down, don't give you loads, you can't make the lease payments, you lose your truck. No one goes into a business and lets someone else control the bottom line on how much you can make. And by leasing a truck, you are doing that very thing.....I know there are some that did fine with it...but you don't see them with a string of trucks and a successful business. We were Owner Operators, and had it better than the lease drivers...and it wasn't that good......

Those things mentioned are not the major reason. They are minor in the long run as far as liability goes....

Let's say for some ungodly reason you have an accident and someone dies. Now the family sues and wins a judgement. They can not get the vehicles that are owned by someone else. That means the tractors are still available to run the roads.

In essence, if they are forced to shut their doors because of a lawsuit, they can open the next day under another name etc because their trucks are safe.

This is why there is a leasing division separate from the trucking division.

Company A legally owns the trucks. They lease the trucks to company B. Company B is the trucking service operator but they own no assets. Company B carries all the liability for any accidents. If one were to happen then the trucks are safe because they are owned by company A.

Do they make money off of the lease? Sure they do but the biggest thing is that they remove the liability and keep the rigs.

This is exactly why you should do the same thing. Two companies, one trucking and one asset.

What Daniel has taught me "NEVER LEASE"