Landstar vs Schneider Choice programs

[tken]

Approved at both, looking for input and experience from others. Currently running flat under my own authority. Any help appreciated. Thanks

[mike3fan]

I thought running flat with your own authority was the only way to make money in this business?

On topic I was leased to Landstar,I wouldn't go back but from what I have seen they are the better of the 2 choices.Get with one or two agents and haul for them exclusively or as much as possible.

[GMAN]

I don't know why you would want to go from running your own authority to leasing on to a carrier. I did OK with Landstar some years ago when I leased to them. The main difference between running your own authority and leasing to Landstar is that they do the paperwork for you. I did fairly well with them, but that was several years ago. I make more money running my own authority. I don't know anything about the Schneider program. If you want to continue pulling flats you will likely be better off with Landstar. Schneider is primarily a van carrier. If you run your own authority you can broker loads through either of them and probably make more money than if you leased to them.

[TK THE TRUCKER]

You might be able to get some help from TruckerChris. He recently went with Schneider. I don't know if he's doing the choose your own loads deal or not. http://www.truckerchris.blogspot.com/

[tken]

Thanks for the info, I am getting to old to keep tarping in the summer heat. Couple of times this year I came close to passing out, not worth it. Also, flatbedding by nature limits the number of paid miles you can get per week. My estimate is that I lose a full day each week to the live load and unload and tarping. Calculate the difference and the amout of money needed per load approaches $2.50 per mile at 2000 miles a week versus $1.60 at 2800 including the difference in fuel cost.

Want to lease on pulling boxes to help eliminate some of the work for my wife who is hurting right now.

My gut tells me that the Schneider plan is going to pay a little less but offer much more freight without the hassle of dealing with agents. The one constant complaint about landstar I hear are the agents that give all the "good" loads to their own trucks. That having been said, I talk to very few BCO's that are not making a decent living and getting the things they need and expect. I suspect that the "hassle factor" will be higher with Schneider given the size of its fleet alone. Not a big fan of hopping around so looking to make the best choice up front.

[Walking Eagle]

Tken, might PM Rev Vasco I think he pulls Landstar vans. I don't know what the Schnider deal is but with Landstar you just go online to their web site and pick the load you want where you want to go.
I heavy haul for one of their divisions and love it, plus they front all the $$s for "stuff"

[Rev.Vassago]

Tken, might PM Rev Vasco I think he pulls Landstar vans.]

Yeah, I'd talk to Rev Vasco, whoever that is. :wink:

[Kranky]

Tken, might PM Rev Vasco I think he pulls Landstar vans.]

Yeah, I'd talk to Rev Vasco, whoever that is. :wink:

Wasn't he a famous explorer back in the 1500s????

[Walking Eagle]

Ok so I am disalesexico, I'll have my doctor send a note, or a urine sample

[tken]

I'd like to PM the good Rev but I have not posted enough to get past his spam filter. Any help would sure be appreciated.

[Walking Eagle]

Forwarded PM request in case he is sleeping

[Rev.Vassago]

I'll come back to this thread some time tomorrow and try to be as helpful as possible. Promise.

[Walking Eagle]

Thanks Rev.Vassago, like to help a newbe that is for real and really trying

[GMAN]

Landstar does a lot of drop and hook. I am sure Schneider does as well. Schneider has their own website for driver and owner operators, I believe. I think it is called pumpkin something. You could get first hand information by talking with those currently leased to them. I would not take any of these companies word about anything. Rev and a few others are leased to Landstar and should be able to give you more current information on them. CAM was leased to them for a while. I haven't seem much of him lately. I think he left to pull tankers. There are some Landstar agents who will help you book loads on both ends.

[Rev.Vassago]

Okay, I'm still awake, so I'll see what I can do.

Landstar does a lot of drop and hook.

Not the Landstar that I pull for. There are a few agents who do quite a bit of drop and hook, but in the 6 months I've been here, I've dropped my trailer twice.

From what I've heard, the SNI load board is a lot nicer than the LS board, simply because it is uniform throughout. All the loads are listed the same - linehaul, FSC, and any accessory pay. The LS board is hit and miss - some post the FSC, some lump it in with the linehaul. The FSC is generally all over the place - some agents have FSC's that are way too low, and others have FSC that will pay for all your fuel and then some.

If you can get in good with a few agents at LS, and not rely solely on the load board, you can do well. Most of the guys who do well over here run certain routes, and stick to them. We do a lot of military, but more of that is on the flatbed, dropdeck and RGN side.

Getting freight off the load board can be extremely frustrating if you are in an area with a high volume of drivers. By the time you dial your phone on a load, it's gone. One of the nice things about the online system, however, is you can see how many LS trucks are in the area, and how many are headed to that area.

Landstar is extremely ANAL about safety and logs. Your logs MUST match up to your fuel receipts and timestamped BOL's perfectly. You can get your lease terminated if you aren't logging properly.

The trailers here are very good. Landstar takes care of their equipment, and expects the same from you.

Like all companies, there is good and bad, but once you learn the system, you can do very well here. Any other questions, feel free to ask.

[GMAN]

I didn't do much drop and hook with them, either. You are right about the agents, Rev. Who you haul for can make a lot of difference. If you plan on leasing on with Landstar you may want to buy your own trailer once you learn their system and see if you like working with them. You will make more money with your own trailer.

[tken]

Thanks again. I have a couple of friends that run for Landstar, they are happy and strongly encouraging me to take that direction. Most of the unknown is in the Schneider area. It may be my pre concieved notion that SNI is cheap that worries me. From what I have learned about the SNI system it is well laid out and very easy to use. SNI also pays for a few more things that Landstar and like Landstar offers discounts on parts and service. They are still paying HHG miles and those continue to drop as Rand tries to claim that roads are getting shorter. The second concern regarding SNI is the fact that they have almost 14,000 company trucks and when things pick back up they may decide that they can make more money by limiting the amount of frieght that appears on their load board for the IC choice program.

Now the up side to SNI, one location to choose loads, the ability to book 2,3 or 4 loads in advance, access to all of their OC's big company that should remain fairly stable (although everybody is subject to the current crunch) and the largest freight base in the nation. Both of the people I have actually spoken with are happy and are former BCO's that claim they would never go back. Both knock the company for slow maintenance and red tape but say it is worth the hassle. Both say that they are treated with respect and fairly.

I suspect that one could have fewer deadhead miles and more drop and hook at SNI and the cost for that opportunity is slightly lower rates. I guess it really boils down to just how much lower that income potential is.

Thanks again for all the input, keep any new thoughts coming.

[geomon]

Doncha just hate it when each company has just about the same number of pros/cons? So one day you argue yourself towards the one and the next day it's the other...sigh

It might boil down to just flipping a coin or picking the one with the better look (I don't like the SNI orange...I hate that stoopid star) :?

Good luck in your decision!!

[Rev.Vassago]

The fact that you are doing research before making a decision gives you a huge leg up.

[mudpuddle]

I spoke to a SNI recruiter about the choice program a couple of weeks ago. Seems Ok, but I don't have personal knowledge. I did have the recruiter take a screenshot of the available loads within 100 miles of my house. He e-mailed it to me within a couple of minutes so it couldn't have been fixed. The load board on that day had six pages of loads, The first two pages of freight were all over two dollars per mile (this was net not gross). The highest rate was over six dollars for a 99 mile load but it was mountains. Also keep in mind I live in Metro DC so freight tends to be a little higher than some other less hated parts of the country.