Wow! That's all i could say....

Thats $3467 per month for the truck payment. I dont want to come off sounding like all the naysayers that come on these forums and tell people they will fail because I believe you when you say you spoke to people that have done well with this. But lets at least not make these leases sound like they are somehow a good thing. You need almost $3500 in revenue each month just for the truck payment. At $800/ week you need 571 miles @ $1.40/ mile every week to make that payment. Then you have to add in fuel and other variable costs of doing business, its safe to say margins will be thin. I use $1.40 because dry van freight just doesnt pay that great so Im hoping Schnieder has better paying freight than the national average.

Dry van spot freight was doing pretty well this summer in the low $2/ mile range but Im sure Schneider takes a portion of that rate before they quote it to their drivers so rates might be in the mid to high $1/ mile range ( just a guess). Trucking as an O/O is a game of averages since you will have good weeks and bad weeks, good months and bad months ect ect.. The funny thing about averages is that they fall fast but rise rather slowly. This is because if you lose 10% you need to make 11% back to break even. So while Im sure money can be made you have to be careful an be excellent at managing your business when your expenses are so high. Good luck with this program I hope it works out well but its easy to see why so many fail. Here is a chart of percentages so you can see when an average drops why its so hard to get back to even:

Percentage Loss Percent Rise To Breakeven
10% 11%
15% 18%
20% 25%
25% 33%
30% 43%
35% 54%
40% 67%
45% 82%
50% 100%

I just ran the numbers for a loan to purchase the same truck (same price of $147,000). With a 7.5% APR, no down payment, on a 48 month note, the payments are $3,554.30 per month.

that's not the issue.



The issue is as a business owner, you wish to keep your fixed monthly expenses as low as possible.Having a $3500 fixed lease payment is almost impossible to maintain for an extended period of time.Seasonal slow times you will be drowning in that payment trying to make it an d all the other bills you have.
Even my lease company I have has told me on new ventures, they don’t like to see a payment over $1500 per month.
Companies that are established, they don’t like to see much past $2250-2500, MAX monthly payment

Good Luck

Malaki, if you don't mind..How is this program works? I mean %... And stuff like that..

Most of this is copy/pasted from a PDF file they sent me. Hope it helps.

Edit: after talking to probably 15-20 different drivers on the percentage side, the average pay per mile, including FSC, is around $1.50-1.65. I haven't seen anyone say they've taken under $1.50, but sometimes they'll see loads that pay up to $2.20 or so. Those rates are the rates to the truck, not to Schneider.

You have a choice between percentage and mileage pay. Mileage pay is a set rate (I forget what it is) + FSC. Percentage is 65%, plus 100% collected FSC and 100% of any accessorial pay (unload, extra stop, etc).

Mileage paid O/O's are scheduled loads by a dispatcher. Percentage paid O/O's schedule their own loads via Schneider's load board.

• No trailer rental fees
• No Qualcomm fees (installation or monthly)
• Tolls - Schneider pays or reimburses tolls in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Illinois and Oklahoma. You will receive a transponder in orientation with an ezpass in it. Add’l $15.50/month to add prepass to transponder
• Fuel card - EFS card used to fuel trucks and can get up to $325 cash advance on card. Fuel
  purchased Monday by midnight will be taken out of the following Friday settlement (It doesn’t matter
  when load delivers). Discounts for fuel on cash price ($.05 savings from pump price) Ambest $.03,
  Petros, TAs, & Loves $.05, Pilot’s & Flying Js range is $.08 - $.24 off per gallon. 400 gallon per day
  fuel limit. Operating centers reflect the lowest fuel price in the state. Fuel cards can be used at
  hundreds of stops. Owner operators do not have to use fuel card, it’s their choice.
• No set required amount of time away from home (on the percentage side, anyway. I don't know about mileage side)
• Paid weekly (all loads done by Monday are paid the same Friday)
• Passenger Insurance - $2.65/wk
• HazMat loads pay an additional $25. Other O/O's say the mileage rate is about the same
• BT Insurance - $8.05/wk
• Escrow - Van Escrow-$50/wk for the 1st 20 weeks until reaches $1000; you will get this money back if you term your lease with Schneider as long as you return the Qualcomm and don’t have any outstanding balances with Schneider
• Base Plates/Permits – Schneider offers plates and permits at the discounted rate of $32 per week, less a $50/yr admin fee. Total is $1,650/yr. Schneider plates are apportioned out of the state of Indiana. If an owner-operator has their own base plates, they need a cab card/registration for all 48 states. Schneider will provide permits for $43/year.
• Occ Acc/Work Comp Insurance - $154/m through TrueNorth ($35.45/week). Owner-operators can get insurance on their own, but must have $1 million in coverage. For teams, each person needs coverage. Sign up is during insurance presentation during orientation.
• Fuel Tax (IFTA) - Schneider automatically figures amounts and provides monthly statements, not based on fleet average, it’s where driver fuels and roads they drive on. Deduction is once per month (4th full week of every month). Shop/Maintenance will put IFTA stickers on truck during orientation.
• Settlements - Direct-deposit into a checking account, EFS card or split pay into both. Settlements are paid every Friday for bills received in GRB by Monday at 5pm.
• Orientation Details - Orientation starts every Monday and goes for 4 days for percentage program and 3 days for mileage program. Schneider provides hotel (we ask you to share a room). Owneroperators will be paid $.50 per mile to bobtail to orientation. If bringing a person/pet-will need to confirm availability & pay for own room upon arrival.

• Mileage Only - All loads are pre-assigned to maximize utilization. If a pre-assigned load does not meet your requirements, a secondary load may be assigned. This program is not forced dispatch.
• Choice program – 65% of 100% of LOH rate, 100% of FSC pass thru, 100% of select accessorials (hand load, hand unload, stop offs, diversion/reconsignment, pallet jacking); we pay for lumpers, call lumper hotline; must have laptop with nationwide internet access, will need inverter installed or plug in to cigarette lighter for power. If they don’t deliver the load they are moving on, a $400 charge will be issued to recover costs incurred. They will receive a percent of payment for the miles they moved the load. A leader will have to contact dispatching and find a driver to move the load.

• Loading/Unloading - Must be able & willing to do so. 70% of freight is drop and hook. For mileage only you get $100 for full unload, $50 for partial. Schneider pays for lumpers to hand unload (use Tcheck).
• Truck requirements:
   Age limit of truck is 10 years or newer
   Needs to be equipped with an ECM (electronic control module to hook-up a qual-comm)
   Sliding 5th wheel is required, no wiggle room allowed
   Tractor weight fully fueled should be 20,500 lbs or less
   Wheel base 260 inches or less (exceptions can be made on a reviewed, individual basis)
   Tractor will be DOT inspected the first day of orientation. Make sure brakes are adjusted, no holes in the exhaust system, lights work, reflectors are in place, tires are legal, check for oil/fluid leaks, no cracks in windshield, no wiggle room in 5th wheel.
   Remove decals and lettering before the truck inspection. If our mechanics remove decals/lettering it will cost a minimum of $62. Mechanics charge by time and materials, so cost varies.

Dont seem like enough. anyway good luck and keep on updating

Well, you'll never know, unless you try... But it just doesn't seems right. I wish you the best luck, and count your money...!

Tomorrow morning I'll be heading to Green Bay, WI for orientation starting Monday. On Thursday, we're released from orientation and take possession of the trucks. After that, anytime I want to scream at my dispatcher, I'll be standing in front of a mirror.