Well, I'll know for sure if I'm doing it or not after I talk to one more department in the next couple of days, anyway.
I'm going to Schneider as a Lease-Operator. I'll be on their 'Pick Your Own Freight' dry-van board. I've been talking to a lot of the current lease-operators and they're all more than happy with everything about the division as well as how their lease is working out. Most likely, I'll be in a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia Evolution. The drivers that are in those same trucks, mainly staying in the southern half of the country are averaging 8mpg. They also offer Kenworth T680's & Peterbilt 579's. Soon (I'll find out how soon in the next day or two), they're going to have Volvo's, as well. I'm assuming those are the 780's. All of the trucks come with an engine-off anti-idle A/C system. You can also have a Tri-Pac installed at a discounted price.
One thing I like about their lease is how it's structured. When you get a new truck, you don't sign to keep the truck until the lease is finished. You initially sign a 1-year lease. At the end of that year, you have options available: Continue to keep/pay off the current truck, Get into another brand new truck with a 1 year lease, Transfer to a company driver position or Walk away from it all. As of right now, I have a large portion of the operating costs. I still have to get the truck lease amount, comprehensive truck insurance and maintenance account requirements.
I've been a company driver for 14 years now. Over the past years, I've wanted to buy a truck, but can never get anywhere with saving money up. So, if I'm going to do this, this seems like my best option available.
Like I said - it might be the best thing I've ever done, or it might be the absolute worst decision of my life. Either way, I have to do it, just to prove to myself.