Drive For Owner/op Of Small Sub

Winding up Prime training, 30k miles in 6 weeks, by this weekend.

Decision time: company driver, walk away lease, drive for o/o small fleet under Prime authority.

Preference for me leaning to company. Drive for o/o few more CPM. Walk away lease, with more money comes higher financial risk.

Do company driver for Prime for one year, then consider those other options.

While I would hope LOs would be vetted better at Prime than other companies, leasing is still NOT the way to go and you could end up on the short end of the stick like I was with a leasor to the company I'm with now...being owed $1800.00+ in wages.

Laura

I DEFINITELY side with Ms. Laura here;

(Then again who on TT wouldn't ?!?!)

I didn't realize how FAR you've gotten in your training, tho....

CONGRATS !!!!!!

~ Anne ~

I'd go straight company. More CPM isn't necessarily more when you factor in health/dental, 401k match, bonuses and potential pay increases.

Also, I don't want the guy worried about P/L breathing down my neck worried about every little thing that happens out there.

Take a hard look at economic trends currently. They aren’t promising and the last thing you want is to be responsible for truck payments, fuel etc and there’s no money to be made. Big companies have investors and will survive economic struggles whereas you with one truck will not. Go company and take every penny they’re willing to throw at you.

Dragon drops some wisdom on the forum:

Take a hard look at economic trends currently. They aren’t promising and the last thing you want is to be responsible for truck payments, fuel etc and there’s no money to be made. Big companies have investors and will survive economic struggles whereas you with one truck will not. Go company and take every penny they’re willing to throw at you.

I totally agree. Lease op favors the company. Go company.

Go company for a year to learn the job. If at the end of that year, you think l/o is better financially, rethink at that time. But learn, including mistakes, on Prime's dime.

Go company for a year to learn the job. If at the end of that year, you think l/o is better financially, rethink at that time. But learn, including mistakes, on Prime's dime.

Is that so...a successful, top performing company driver will be making too much money by month twelve to consider leasing.

Please read this blog written by Old School:

Progression of a Trucking Career

I love leased trucks... as a 7+ year company driver; I’ve been assigned a few that were turned in because the driver leasing the truck defaulted.

The OP has been on TT for more than six months and wonders about leasing a truck? SMH....

100% go company, why add extra headaches? With leasing a truck you will have the learning curve of learning to drive a truck plus learning to run a trucking business.

As for driving for a owner operator , why add a middle man between you and Prime? Prime will pay him and hopefully at some point he will pay you. AC goes out and he has to fix it? It may very well be your paycheck that covers it. Plus the O/O probably isn't going to offer insurance, retirement or any of the other benefits that come with being backed by a large company. Plus Prime can afford some small incidents on their insurance while the O/O probably can not.

The OP has been on TT for more than six months and wonders about leasing a truck? SMH...

Probably heard the leasing pitch with all those big numbers being thrown about got dollar signs in his eyes and forgot what is covered here.