new company driver thinking of buying Sprinter

mcavoy33 · Jun 15, 2011

Hi there everyone, new to the forum, so glad I found this place.

I'm working for a local company that does National Expediting, hot shot service in a major hub. They have TT, straight trucks, cube vans and cargo vans. They have about 50 drivers and I'm not sure what the mix is.

They are paying me $0.30 per mile, they pay for fuel, pay for my hotels and they give me $25 a day if I'm laid over. I ran about 2200 miles my first week. I'm just starting my 2nd week.

I'm seriously considering buying my own van. They would pay $0.96 cpm + FSC.

1. Is this a fair offer? Would I be better off looking at joining one of the big companies? This seems like a really good company and I'm pretty sure I'll be happy here.

But reading the forums, you guys make it seem so doom and gloom but I'm not sure if that is the O/O of the rigs that have higher overhead costs.

2. Do sprinters tend to make decent money? In the noobie forum, when someone asked if their deal was fair as a company driver, everyone just told him to buy a van cuz they were cheap, but when I read other forums, they say its hard to make money and you have to watch gas.

I read some of the FAQ and they were old threads but they said the cargo van market was saturated. 3. Is that still the case?

I enjoy the lifestyle, it suits me, I pack a cooler and I eat healthy, cut down on costs and doing site seeing while I'm waiting.

4. Are there times of day that are more optimal to getting loads and are there times of day that you usually don't get loads?

5. What are some good resources to purchase a used Sprinter van?

6. Is there a sub forum where van drivers talk that is separate from the T/T drivers?

7. What are the pros / cons of working for a small company vs one of the big chains?

Moot · Jun 15, 2011

My advice would be to stay on with this company as an employee for about six month. This will allow you to better understand the company, expediting and what type of van to buy. It will also give you time to save some money.

Pretend you own the van you drive. Keep track of maintenance costs (as much as possible), fuel expenses, mileage etc. This should give you an idea of the cost of running a van.

.96 cpm + f.s.c. is a very good rate for a van. Who did you say you worked for? The only problem I see with this company, being an O/O, is competing with company owned vans for loads.

highway star · Jun 15, 2011

mcavoy33 said:
I read some of the FAQ and they were old threads but they said the cargo van market was saturated. 3. Is that still the case?

Yes, that's the case and most likely always will be.

I'm with Moot on being concerned with competition from company owned equipment, especially if the O/O to company ratio leans heavily to company equipment.

mcavoy33 · Jun 15, 2011

highway star said:
I'm with Moot on being concerned with competition from company owned equipment, especially if the O/O to company ratio leans heavily to company equipment.

If that is the case, wouldn't he be happy keeping me on as a driver then? But I don't think he has that many that he owns himself. I obviously need to ask him what the ratio is.

But I have a feeling this might be the only one and he doesn't technically own it either, it belongs to his right hand man and I think he runs it and pays out the actual owner of the van $0.25-30 cpm because of the two runs that I got from the office, the paper had another driver assigned to the run along with me and that was the rate listed. Actually I just checked the ownership and confirmed this to be true.

EtowahE · Jun 15, 2011

if you want to buy something, buy a straight truck if you can afford it, or if you can get a loan to buy one.

there are some pretty good deals on good, used straights now days, but like anything else, you have to check them out good.

could not recommend sprinter or cargo van, unless you like sitting a lot.
on the other hand, straight trucks stay as busy as they want to.

mcavoy33 · Jun 17, 2011

EtowahE said:
if you want to buy something, buy a straight truck if you can afford it, or if you can get a loan to buy one.

there are some pretty good deals on good, used straights now days, but like anything else, you have to check them out good.

I'm curious, what is the advantage of a straight truck over a 53' van? Why not just buy a regular rig?

xiggi · Jun 17, 2011

Straight trucks are the life blood of the expediting industry.

mcavoy33 · Jun 17, 2011

xiggi said:
Straight trucks are the life blood of the expediting industry.

total noob question

why?

greg334 · Jun 17, 2011

mcavoy33 said:
total noob question

why?

Well I don't know... BUT IF you can get into a tractor, go for it. You will take freight from those straight trucks and vans at the same time.

purgoose10 · Jun 17, 2011

mcavoy33 said:
total noob question

why?

Sometimes it's the ease of loading at a tight place and same unloading. But that would be somewhat rare. The only thing different from the straight truck is the 10mpg average compared to the 6-7 in a rig and the price of a license plate. Maybe insurance as well. But then again if your staying on the road that tractor sleeper gets mighty small after awhile.

EtowahE · Jun 18, 2011

mcavoy33 said:
total noob question

why?

good question, and simple answer:
in this business, customers want their expedite shipments as cheap as possible, they got to watch their pennies, so straight trucks are the best bang for the buck,

why pay big rig rates when you do not have a 40000# load? if you only have 10000# that has to get there tomorrow morning, you put it on a straight truck because sprinters and cargo vans do not have that much capacity, and if you put it on a big truck, you will be paying a lot more than a straight truck, normally.

RMPM01 · Jun 21, 2011

Moot said:
.96 cpm + f.s.c. is a very good rate for a van. Who did you say you worked for? The only problem I see with this company, being an O/O, is competing with company owned vans for loads.

Is f.s.c. 24 cent these days