New Guy With A Permit. Need Advice On Companies!

Agreed and don't let companies trick you into it.

Artic Fox wrote:

I’m a total newbie, so take what I say with a grain of salt. My advice would be, in addition to what type of freight you want to haul, be sure to consider things like hometime policies, lease options, duration of training, benefits, company culture, etc.

Lease options for a rookie? Not an option at all. Not a consideration. Off the list.

I don’t plan to lease, and so certainly wouldn’t recommend any new driver lease, but ultimately that’s just my opinion. It could probably get scratched off the list though, sorry!

Artic Fox wrote:

I’m a total newbie, so take what I say with a grain of salt. My advice would be, in addition to what type of freight you want to haul, be sure to consider things like hometime policies, lease options, duration of training, benefits, company culture, etc.

Lease options for a rookie? Not an option at all. Not a consideration. Off the list.

I just finished my first week of training at Millis and based on my limited experience would recommend them. Haven't really heard any drivers say bad about them, except taking a few luxuries off the 2021 trucks. I'll post back if I hear or experience any negatives, but so far so good.

No trickery. Respectfully decline by saying; “no thank you” and read everything you are signing...

Next.

A few years ago Prime used many tactics to try to push drivers into it including saying they had no trucks for company drivers but you could drive today as a leaser. Really scummy stuff in my book.

I always try to tell guys to watch out for those tactics just in case.

No trickery. Respectfully decline by saying; “no thank you” and read everything you are signing...

Next.

Good to know. I’m brand new with Prime. Nobody at Prime really tried to jam a lease down my throat, but they did kind of have an attitude that assumed you were going to end up leasing if that makes sense? Any pressure I felt actually came from my fellow students/lease drivers who kind of looked at me like I was a complete and total idiot when stating that I planned to be a company driver.

I could be wrong but my gut was telling me that the old adage “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is” was highly applicable to these lease programs. But to each their own I guess.

No trickery. Respectfully decline by saying; “no thank you” and read everything you are signing...

Next.

A few years ago Prime used many tactics to try to push drivers into it including saying they had no trucks for company drivers but you could drive today as a leaser. Really scummy stuff in my book.

I always try to tell guys to watch out for those tactics just in case.

No trickery. Respectfully decline by saying; “no thank you” and read everything you are signing...

Next.

I have zero interest in leasing a truck. I want to eliminate debt not add to it. If one day I decide I want my own truck then I'll put in the hard work and pay cash.

That’s my plan too! 👍

I have zero interest in leasing a truck. I want to eliminate debt not add to it. If one day I decide I want my own truck then I'll put in the hard work and pay cash.

Good to know. I’m brand new with Prime. Nobody at Prime really tried to jam a lease down my throat, but they did kind of have an attitude that assumed you were going to end up leasing if that makes sense? Any pressure I felt actually came from my fellow students/lease drivers who kind of looked at me like I was a complete and total idiot when stating that I planned to be a company driver.

I could be wrong but my gut was telling me that the old adage “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is” was highly applicable to these lease programs. But to each their own I guess.

I know exactly what you mean about leasers and students who plan to lease looking at you like you were a "complete and total idiot".

Just ignore them while knowing that the choice you made to go Company is the best choice for you. Some of those other drivers will be walking away from their leases in the not so distant future.

Walking away from their leases with enourmous debt. What a company can do, that you as an individual cannot, is divide the various forms of risk.

Lets say for example you lease a truck, and it experiences a serious mechanical failure. Not only could you be on the hook for the repairs, you also can't work to pay for them or need to rent another truck to work. Lets say someone steals your load or equipment, you become liable.

A company can spread the loss of one truck needing repairs, buy keeping a rotation of "down" trucks, and simply putting you into the working ones, and even if you did have to wait at least you don't have to pay for the repairs. Similarly, things like load or equipment thefts are spread across an entire fleet. If those sorts of things happen to you as an individual you can be put behind extremely large amounts of money that take years to recover. Think on the order of 30-50k$ major repairs. In other words, buying or leasing are both a roll of the dice where you're hoping nothing major happens until you can get ahead and that if something major does happen you can commit to the years of work it could take to pay for it.

Honestly the most reasonable bet is to find an employee owned company because you get the best of both worlds, but if you really want to be an owner then having a lead of savings and more knowledge about dealing with problems ahead of time will go a long way.