lease purchase operator

[choperbob]

well i finally did it. i signed on with john christner trucking. been running 6 weeks now. i love it.

[mike3fan]

GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.

post,expriences,numbers and related info,I think it would be benifical to others 8)

[nickbtubas]

i've been chatting with chopperbob. from what he has told me he is doing very well. would like to know what it is going to happened when the freight slows down at the end of the year

[brian]

his freight won`t slow down until 4 or 5 months vefore he`s scheduled to pay his lease off.

[choperbob]

yeah probably stay busy big part of the year. our freight is food and people are always gonna need to eat. this company has a pretty good rep about drivers finishing their lease. there is also a clause for early termination in the contract.

[nickbtubas]

hey choper, what kind of engine, hp do you have in your international??

[choperbob]

new cat

are they a good company? what kind of lease? time out?

[choperbob]

so far they seem fair. only way to make a decent take home check is to run my butt off. they got more miles than i can run even with a sharp pencil and big eraser. been running 3700-4400 a week. home time? i get home sometimes 3 times a week. i live on I-40 in new mexico. i pass home almost every trip. only been officially at home 1 time then was for 5 days. gets expensive tho. truck payment is due whether i drive or not. as lease purchase operator i can stay at home as long as i want. but payment is due every week. otherwise they seem like a decent co. to get a start with as o/o.

[DD60]

so far they seem fair. only way to make a decent take home check is to run my butt off. they got more miles than i can run even with a sharp pencil and big eraser. been running 3700-4400 a week. home time? i get home sometimes 3 times a week. i live on I-40 in new mexico. i pass home almost every trip. only been officially at home 1 time then was for 5 days. gets expensive tho. truck payment is due whether i drive or not. as lease purchase operator i can stay at home as long as i want. but payment is due every week. otherwise they seem like a decent co. to get a start with as o/o.

3700 to 4400 miles a week to make a decent paycheck? :shock: Something is wrong with this picture.

[solo379]

3700 to 4400 miles a week to make a decent paycheck? :shock: Something is wrong with this picture.

No, it's perfectly normal, for those kind of "deals"! :sad:

[choperbob]

guess i wasn't specific enuf about what i consider decent. these "deals" only gonna work if a driver is willing to work. i am busting my butt and enjoying every minute of life. not every lease/purchase plan is a rip off. also lots of drivers just do not want to do the extra work required. you got every right to say i'm getting a "deal" only if ya are walking in my shoes. going owner operator or lease operater or l/p operator is a lot more work than driving as a company driver. it comes down to , at least in my case, just how much work for how much money and what i want from a company. i am happy, but, it ain't for everyone. i am also not trying to sell anyone else on doing what i am doing. it just is working for me.

[marcel27208]

good job, do what is best for you, it works for some and not for others, i say good for you

[tootie04]

good job, do what is best for you, it works for some and not for others, i say good for you

This is very true!! BUT the true test comes this winter. That is when it was VERY hard on us at Arrow. When you are used to 3000+ miles a week and then are casterated to 2000 or so miles a week then it gets hard. At Arrow under the lease plan we were on we could go as low as 1700 miles and still get about 100.00 paycheck.

tootie (who wishes you good luck!! :wink: )

[mike3fan]

Hey Chopper,how does it work at JC? Do they pay you percentage or mileage? Weekly? do they take a certain amount out for maintaince?
or are you responsible for that. What kinda truck did you get? what do you figure is your operating cost per mile? hope it is going good.

[choperbob]

i drove for arrow 3 months and had lots of weeks with over 3000 miles, but also lots with much less. i also spent over 8 hours waiting to get loaded then had to tarp. i didn't get stacked with loads often either. tho i met some drivers who were quite happy there. me i get paid per mile plus detention pay, loaded and empty. paid weekly. i got a 2007 international eagle 9900ix. also have an apu with inverter. i need to run 1900 miles to break even. altho when i run 4000+ i sorta, kinda, well, do a little better than break even. 8) winter is gonna be a little slower, but since we haul food and everyone has gotta eat and we do have good accounts i figure i will still make enuf to pay my home expenses of $600/ month. i ain't gonna get rich. i do gotta bust my butt to make a good living, but i am doing what i want to do and am having the time of my life. maybe being just dumb enuf to go for the best lease/purchase company ain't a bad thing. if i was smarter i would of stayed a company driver and not follow a dream.

[marcel27208]

go for it!!!

[mike3fan]

i drove for arrow 3 months and had lots of weeks with over 3000 miles, but also lots with much less. i also spent over 8 hours waiting to get loaded then had to tarp. i didn't get stacked with loads often either. tho i met some drivers who were quite happy there. me i get paid per mile plus detention pay, loaded and empty. paid weekly. i got a 2007 international eagle 9900ix. also have an apu with inverter. i need to run 1900 miles to break even. altho when i run 4000+ i sorta, kinda, well, do a little better than break even. 8) winter is gonna be a little slower, but since we haul food and everyone has gotta eat and we do have good accounts i figure i will still make enuf to pay my home expenses of $600/ month. i ain't gonna get rich. i do gotta bust my butt to make a good living, but i am doing what i want to do and am having the time of my life. maybe being just dumb enuf to go for the best lease/purchase company ain't a bad thing. if i was smarter i would of stayed a company driver and not follow a dream.

I can understand your defensive posts,but you have to understand we have heard many horror stories from actual drivers of how they only get screwed on these L/P deals.We all want you to succeed,but we are skeptical.

If you post your experiences good and bad,maybe it will help others with the same intentions or atleast considering this route.


I think it would be great to hear from someone doing one of these L/P deals to give us hard numbers on how it is going,things like miles run including deadhead miles and pay,deductions and the like.

You could even shut most of us up and prove that with hard work and detrmination that it can be done.We haven't seen any examples of this program work too well for the guy running the truck,but I could be wrong.

[Raafi]

well i finally did it. i signed on with john christner trucking. been running 6 weeks now. i love it.

if you have been there only six weeks and you are loving it already, thats a good sign

its those first few weeks that are usually the killer as you get tested by your new dispatcher and work out the whole payment system

hope you the best

what does jct haul?

[choperbob]

i took 5 days off that fell between 2 paydays. i also didn't turn in 2 trips, the result was that first week i took home $00.00 after paying truck bills. second week paycheck was a minus $600.00 because i didn't turn trip papers. then i had to pay for road service on a brokeken brass fitting on air compressor $424.00. so my 3rd week after a break was only $900 after a 2500 mile week and 2 short trips. i learned i have to save trips before long breaks. now i am due for a P.M. oil and stuff, gonna cost about $300.00. but i have enuf still in my maint. account to cover it. getting a paycheck for $2000 + then taking 5+ days off was not the smartest thing, but it had to be done for family reasons. yeah it will be easy to screw up financially. i am gonna keep posting about how this "deal" is working for me. maintaince is gonna be my biggest thing to learn. so far my tools weigh as much as my gal. hauling fresh food weighs a bunch. last load i scaled at a cat scale at 80,402 with 1/2 fuel. with an apu i have a waiver to scale in 400lb over, but still...