I would not worry about negotiating with carrier and agents right now. Starting out I would rely on my dispatcher while you learn their system. Some of them are pretty good at CRST Malone. If you live around Tennessee I could suggest a place that might rent you a trailer. It is difficult to rent a trailer starting out without a track record. Most want to see some financial history or a big deposit. You can rent a trailer from CRST Malone. If it were me I would probably just get a trailer from them. It will be much easier starting out. If you go to orientation in Birmingham, there are a couple of trailer dealers who might rent you a trailer if you want to go to an outside source. If your credit is good you may consider just buying one after a couple of months if that is what you want. The advantage you have buying your tarps, etc., from CRST Malone is that they will finance it for you. I know of one guy who bought all his equipment on ebay. He got a really good deal. It comes down to how much cash you have on hand. If you have good credit and cash then you can get a much better deal.

You are not required to have a maintenance account with CRST Malone, but it is available. Personally, I would keep my own maintenance account. You will be required to have an escrow account. Again, they will make weekly deductions until the escrow is fully funded. You are required to have bobtail insurance, but you don't have to get it through CRST Malone. It may be less expensive to do so. OOIDA has bobtail insurance for members. You will also be required to have either workers comp or an occupational accident policy. I would go with the occupational accident policy. It is less expensive. OOIDA has it for about $140/month. You are required to purchase your own base plates. They will get them for you through the state of Illinois. You can probably get them cheaper through your own state, but if they get them they will finance them for you and deduct a fixed amount each week. These are pretty common for all carriers.

G-man, I would like to take the time to thank you for responding to my posts.
Wouldn't be logical to assume after paying my expenses (both variable and fixed), would it be reasonable to assume; My net (take home) weekly pay would between 1500-1800?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.................................

Do you have a business plan ???

Do you know what your cost per mile is ???

Do you have cash reserves of at least 10k until invoices begin to be paid ???

You are welcome. If you finance your base plates, tarps, etc., through them you are going to see a lot of money going out of your check each week. It is reasonable to net the amount you mentioned, but I am not sure you will start out netting that much. Keep in mind that you will have a truck and trailer payment. Your truck payment isn't too much. Your trailer payment will run $165/week or less, depending on whether you rent one of their trailers or buy your own. I would rent until you see if you are going to like pulling a flat. I would think $1,200-1,500 would be more realistic starting out. In fact, the $1,500 may even be a little high to start. You are new to being an owner operator and this is a new company, although you worked for another part of their organization. The Malone division works a little differently than the other divisions. I don't know what kind of rates they have right now. Once you get your equipment and base plates paid off your income will jump quite a bit.

Gman,

I live in Texas. I will be getting my base plates through them (CRST Malone) and also I will be renting their trailer. You mentioned if i get my base plates through them, they will be registered through Illinois.
Sometimes in the future, once the base plates is paid off and if i decide to quit, do i have to get a new base plate from my own state? Do I have to renew it every year and still use the Illinois base plates?

Yes and yes. I think most states now require you to prove with telephone or electric bill that you actually live in the state.

I would probably ask these questions before I purchased a truck.. financing a truck can be difficult. if things dont work out, you may not get another chance to finance one in the future. though I think you can make it just fine. good luck.

Your base plates and permits will run somewhere between $2,200-2,500 per year if you get them through CRST Malone. They do add a fee to the price for financing them. Most other carriers, such as Landstar will do the same thing. If you leave you will need to turn in the base plate and cab card. They will prorate a refund based upon how long you have left before renewal. It will probably be a quarterly refund. In other words, if you decide to leave the first part of any quarter then you will lose the money for the entire quarter. If you get your base plate in your home state, you will need to renew it each year, just as you would if you kept the Illinois plate. Illinois has about the most expensive base plates in the country. My state had a price increase this year and I pay just over $1,600 per year for each truck. Texas should be about the same. If you lease to a carrier and want to get your own base plate, you will need a copy of the lease and will also need to fill out a form that must be turned in when you apply. You will probably need to go through this process each year as long as you are leased to them. If you want to run your own authority you may want to opt to get your base plate yourself. You CANNOT purchase base plates and get your cab card without having motor carrier authority. You must either have authority yourself or be leased to someone who does. When you get your authority or switch to another carrier you will need to change your registration for the cab card. It should only cost a couple of dollars.

The silence is deafening.......... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Another statistic..........

Hey everybody, it's my second week driving for Malone. Well here is the low down, CRST Malone is a great company, same can't be said for CRST Van division.
When i m with CRST malone, it's not about the mile, it's about the load. You have a very profitable loads and ones that's not worth hauling.
My first load was hauling steel from Georgia to Colorado (it paid very well) my second was Home depot (beware Home depot pays a flat rate). My first week i was able to net 1300+, second 1200+.
My expenses trailer, truck, permits, insurance..(everything) comes up to 700-800/week. Anything above that is profit
The only downside about Malone is; they don't pay for any permits/or insurance coverage.
I ll keep you guys posted.
if you guys have any advice let me know