[skrissel]

Hey Ya'll,

I'm looking to see if anyone is leasing trucks from a leasing company. Any feedback, costs, maint, and info would be appreciated.

I'm looking to add a truck and considering this vs. buying a used truck. The newer engines are getting excellent fuel mileage which would help offset the additional expense of leasing.

Thanks!!

-scott

[merrick4]

I lease 7 Ryder trucks and have 7 I own. Wish they were all Ryder trucks. My stress level has gone WAY down, engine could fall out for all I care, and they take care of it. I pay $.065 per mile and then a fixed cost and even get insurance from them at a very reduced rate. Fixed cost is different for each one but say roughly it's $2500 a month wich includes insurance (not cargo) all maintenance and I do mean all, Tags, 2290's and I handle the IFTA as I can just click a button and do it myself. It also includes 0 down time because if they can't fix it quickly they have to give me a replacement. (That only happened once).

I also lease PLM trailers due to the financial crisis I was shut off, don't think those are such a bargin but don't worry about maintenance with them either. However I just bought 3 more new Wabash trailers with Carrier X2 2100A units. I don't think they make those anymore but for an extra $1300 I pay nothing for PM's or any deductibles for 10,000 hours.

[LoadBooking]

Merrick is paying fairly close to the same as my previous company was paying for rentals from Ryder, so if you would like a second opinion - his numbers are pretty accurate. We had 6 trucks and 2 trailers and the avg monthly bill was $20,000 approximately - again because it has fixed costs as well as variable (rate per mile). It was nice having them do PM's and most major maintenance, but sometimes the delays (3 or 4 days) was frustrating. I agree that it was nice having nice, newer trucks and if any major damage (such as engine/tranny) they would give temp replacement as well as make all repairs at their cost. I also know that if you want to haul any loads from Landstar Twelve Oaks Group - Rochester, NY, Landstar will not accept Ryder trucks any more because of the Ryder insurance. That is fairly new, I believe. I used to work for a company that was an approve Broker Carrier for Landstar, and now they are saying they can't accept them. That may not be an issue for you because you may already have shippers or brokers lined up, but it's always good to keep all options open for good paying loads - and I know that Landstar Twelve Oaks Group - Rochester, NY often has good paying freight.

On the other hand: my personal choice based on both leasing and owning, is that it tends to be more expensive leasing. If properly set up with a newer (3 yrs or less) truck having affordable payments, good maintenance reserve (at least $5K - $10K) in bank for repairs, you pick good paying loads that are profitable and run good miles, plus follow other financial advise of other owner ops on this forum -- you'd generally be farther ahead in the long run. There is another thread that tells you the important aspects of all financials when setting up your own biz, and it will always include having significant start up funds and good line of credit for unexpected costs.

Best of Luck. If you ever need help finding loads - send email to [email protected] or go to Home of 12 Oaks Transportation. Just remember - money pedal is on the right and keep your left door closed! Jodi

[BanditsCousin]

I rented from Penske a month ago for a week. The truck was less than desirable with cleanliness. Found empty 2 litre bottle, reciepts, etc. I had no problem turning it in with pig hair all over

However, when I first started trucking, I was a midwest driver doing hhg, and I rented from Ryder the first summer, then Penske the next. Both are similar, and both were low mile trucks. The advantages are said above. They even call you to remind you to bring it in for PM's I opted to saty under my carriers insurance, which wasn't a problem because we have a national account with them. Expect decent power and good mpg out of their frightliners, but usually top out at 71mph. You will have to fill out mileage reports per state/miles, or they WILL charge you fuel tax!

Moneywise, its not a bad way to go for th risk involved. The weekly rate is the way to go. My first summers I was paying in the $550-600 a week range, plus 8-10cpm. I'm ballparking, cuz that was a while ago. Running 1500-2000 miles a week, I was paying $700-750. May seem high compared to owning one outright, until you add up plates, maintenance, and possibility of a breakdown. Still cheaper to own outright, IMO, but you don't pay an extraordinary amount more. You can also pick which unit when they have a few on the lot. Sidenote, I did notice my last rental from Penske did have an auxillary cord (single prong) for the liftgate power line on the trailer. That was nice.

All in all, it may be best for some in certain situations. For me, it was ideal, as I needed mine for about 3 months in the summer between college semesters. I did think about buying a truck for what I spent (9K), but the risk of repairs wasn't worth it. For short term needs, its a great way to go. I don't know if I would do it for the longterm of 1-2 years or more. I know they do have lease rates that differ from rental rates, but I believe that could involve a more lengthy contract as opposed to the rental rates which go daily/weekly. If freight dries up, ya lose an account, or a driver quits, you can always return it. Be advised, I'm 99% certain you must return it to the original location it was picked up from.

Hope to help.

[BanditsCousin]

Rather than edit, I'll post more .....

Check out Ryder's webpage. You can check out rental rates per location, and you'll find out that the rates for cpm and weekly rental varies QUITE a bit per location, even if its the ones close to you within 50-100 miles, and a few different ones will pop up.

There is also Paclease, which is the same deal through Peterbilt/Kenworth. The rates are very comparable, but a tad more, but negligable.

As far as MPG, I think I averaged 6-7 in the summers with idling, which was a lot. A few weeks back when I had my Penske, I was doing just over 8mpg, with slight idle time. I'm spoiled by my TriPac

What you pay, and what your deposit will be, I don't know if you're under your own authority. I'm sure my rental rates are/were a lil lower due to the national account. You all already know who I'm with, so no need to say it, so that has a bearing in price. I know I don't require a deposit, but I think Gman said before some o/o's require somewhere like $10,000. I could be wrong on this.

I did notice a small "black box" on the last rental, and I could identify what it was for. Possibly a mileage and speed logger for Penske personal use? It was odd, and the size of a small book with a cable going to it.

And always return it full of fuel, or they charge you an insane amount per gallon! I never had a charge for the porter to clean it upon return though. They do a thourough inspection at origin and when you return it. I had to dump mine at the fuel island at at a 24 hr facility I rented at recently, so I'll post if they charged me to top off the tanks (I was near full) or a cleaning charge. I didn't have time to do an inspection due to a 3am arrival.

[GMAN]

I have an established corporation and it was not a problem to rent a truck once they checked my credit. It has been a couple of years since I rented a truck, but I believe that you either need to have an established corporation with good credit or a big cash deposit. In my case I didn't need to put up a deposit. I don't remember if they actually rent to individuals or not. I only rented a truck to complete a couple of loads for which I had committed after one of my trucks broke down. I think it would be too costly to rent one to operate your business on a regular basis. They do have longer term rentals when are less expensive, but it is still cheaper to buy a truck than rent one from either Penske or Ryder. You will pay about as much each week as you would doing a lease purchase from a carrier. For what you would pay over a few weeks or months, you could pay cash for a good used truck. It might be alright to rent one of those trucks for a week or so, but I would not want to pay that much money out each week on a truck that I would never own.

[skrissel]

Thanks for all the info everyone, I appreciate it.

I'm just in the information gathering stage here. Trying to run the #'s on all my options. I have talked to many drivers on the road running the new Cummins ISX or Detroit DD15. They are getting 7 to 8 MPG. Going from 6 to 7.5mpg on 130K miles a year will save $13k in fuel @$3/gal.

GMAN, good point about the corp. I incorporated in 2006 when I got my authority. I'm sure they want P&L's, personal financial info and most likely a personal guarantee on a long term lease.

Ya'll travel safe!

-scott

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by skrissel

Thanks for all the info everyone, I appreciate it.

I'm just in the information gathering stage here. Trying to run the #'s on all my options. I have talked to many drivers on the road running the new Cummins ISX or Detroit DD15. They are getting 7 to 8 MPG. Going from 6 to 7.5mpg on 130K miles a year will save $13k in fuel @$3/gal.

GMAN, good point about the corp. I incorporated in 2006 when I got my authority. I'm sure they want P&L's, personal financial info and most likely a personal guarantee on a long term lease.

Ya'll travel safe!

-scott

When I was looking around for another trailer I considered leasing from some of the trailer leasing companies. Some that I spoke with would only lease to corporations. Some outright refused to lease to owner operators. So unless you ran your authority you would not be able to lease a trailer from some of these companies. I am talking about companies such as Xtra lease. I don't recall if they only do business with corporations but most have fairly rigid credit requirements.


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[merrick4]

I think where you live plays a part too. Insurance in Florida is one of the highest in the nation. My agent said what I was paying, that he hadn't seen rates like that since the 80's. Further I'm not leasing new trucks I'm leasing used trucks so instead of paying cash I keep the money in my pocket for deals etc. I got a 2008 reefer for $24,000 recently with only 4,000 hours on it.

A friend of mine has 5 2009 Kenworths, (I don't know which ones) and I know his payment alone is equal to everything I pay for the lease. Unfortunately I had a truck involved in an accident yestesterday. Nobody was hurt but they took care of everything. I never even made one call.

Finally the insurance doesn't come from Ryder itself, it's through Old Republic and Aon. They just partnered up with them.